Tekologik

Virus – a threat to every computer whether used at home or in any organization. Most of us must have encountered a data loss after a virus attack on our computer. Those who haven’t may face a virus attack in future. A virus basically is a computer program, which is capable enough to destroy the entire data saved in the hard drive of a computer system.

Who creates these computer viruses?

Programmers with good knowledge of various computer programming languages create such malicious applications, which are intelligent enough to target certain loopholes like open ports, code vulnerability etc. of the computer operating system or BIOS.

What are the main causes and consequences of a computer virus?

The main cause of a computer virus is the connection of the computer system to the internet. Most of the viruses attack the computers when a user is downloading any file from the internet. Viruses can attack your system when you are downloading an attachment (containing the virus) from your email. Installation of poor anti-virus software can also lead to virus attack on your computer. If no firewall is installed on the computer or the network (hardware firewall) can result in virus attack.

The main consequences of a fatal virus attack are as follows:

1) Loss of data viz. from My Documents folder in Windows as the viruses target files with certain extensions as well

 

2) Operating system file corruption viz. Windows/System/System32 folder files get infected in Windows  Read more... (423 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

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The process of Data Recovery involves easy and systematic recovery of lost data from storage media like hard disk, pen drive, memory cards, optical disc images etc. Data Recovery is a unique process that is performed by the users to recover different type of data files such as office suite files, photos, videos, music etc. The data saved in the hard drive can be damaged or lost due to operating system failure, improper system shutdown, accidental deletion, virus infection, partition table corruption or loss, file system corruption, software malfunction etc. To completely recover the lost data, the user needs to use effective Data Recovery Software.

Generally we observe that when a user creates an important document like the annual financial report of the organization, there are various components in it like text, diagrams, tables etc. Such critical reports should always be backed up properly as by using Microsoft Backup files or copying them manually to an external drive. In this case, the data loss may happen because of file corruption. The file corruption is generally attributed to malicious software like virus and malware. In such circumstances, we should scan the system for infected files and then try to disinfect them. The files get corrupts as per the virus behavior. Normally, it is not easy to disinfect a file and maintain the data integrity at the same time. The files generally go corrupt and don’t even open with the Office application. So, we need to opt for Data Recovery Software that enables the user to recover the lost report.  Read more... (460 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

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No matter who you are and what you do today the use of a computer is vital to your success. With increasing technological advances and direct connection of the entire world through networks, the web, and various lines of communication, using computers is becoming the way of life. With all its benefits come the problems associated with it. Granted the pros out-weigh the cons, it is still evident that nothing good comes easy. That is why so much malware is constantly revealing itself through our computerized world. Malware is short for malicious software and is typically used as a catch-all term to refer to any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network, whether it is a virus, spyware, and or anything harmful to your computer. We all know that viruses, just as in the medicinal world, can quickly spread and evolve as it cleverly finds ways to inflict damage of some sort to any computer (most times accidental). Viruses are computer programs or scripts that attempt to spread from one file to another on a single computer and/or from one computer to another, using a variety of methods, without the knowledge and consent of the computer user. This makes it hard to predict because most users have no idea that they are sending and receiving viruses. The most significant characteristic of a virus is that it spreads itself most commonly through emails.

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In 1983, Fred Cohen coined the term “computer virus”, postulating a virus was “a program that can ‘infect’ other programs by modifying them to include a possibly evolved copy of itself.” The term virus is actually an acronym for Vital Information Resources Under Seize. Mr. Cohen expanded his definition a year later in his 1984 paper, “A Computer Virus”, noting that “a virus can spread throughout a computer system or network using the authorizations of every user using it to infect their programs. Every program that gets infected may also act as a virus and thus the infection grows.” Computer viruses, as we know them now, originated in 1986 with the creation of Brain – the first virus for personal computers. Two brothers wrote it (Basid and Farooq Alvi who ran a small software house in Lahore, Pakistan) and started the race between viruses and anti-virus programs which still goes on today.

Using the above explanation, it can be said that viruses infect program files. However, viruses can also infect certain types of data files, specifically those types of data files that support executable content, for example, files created in Microsoft Office programs that rely on macros.

Compounding the definition difficulty, viruses also exist that demonstrate a similar ability to infect data files that don’t typically support executable content – for example, Adobe PDF files, widely used for document sharing, and .JPG image files. However, in both cases, the respective virus has a dependency on an outside executable and thus neither virus can be considered more than a simple ‘proof of concept’. In other cases, the data files themselves may not be infectable, but can allow for the introduction of viral code. Specifically, vulnerabilities in certain products can allow data files to be manipulated in such a way that it will cause the host program to become unstable, after which malicious code can be introduced to the system. These examples are given simply to note that viruses no longer relegate themselves to simply infecting program files, as was the case when Mr. Cohen first defined the term. Thus, to simplify and modernize, it can be safely stated that a virus infects other files, whether program or data.

Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some of the traits of biological viruses. A computer virus passes from computer to computer like a biological virus passes from person to person.

There are similarities at a deeper level, as well. A biological virus is not a living thing. A virus is a fragment of DNA inside a protective jacket. Unlike a cell, a virus has no way to do anything or to reproduce by itself — it is not alive. Instead, a biological virus must inject its DNA into a cell. The viral DNA then uses the cell’s existing machinery to reproduce itself. In some cases, the cell fills with new viral particles until it bursts, releasing the virus. In other cases, the new virus particles bud off the cell one at a time, and the cell remains alive.

A computer virus shares some of these traits. A computer virus must piggyback on top of some other program or document in order to get executed. Once it is running, it is then able to infect other programs or documents. Obviously, the analogy between computer and biological viruses stretches things a bit, but there are enough similarities that the name sticks.

A computer virus is a program that replicates. To do so, it needs to attach itself to other program files (for example, .exe, .com, .dll) and execute whenever the host program executes. Beyond simple replication, a virus almost always seeks to fulfill another purpose: to cause damage.

Called the damage routine, or payload, the destructive portion of a virus can range from overwriting critical information kept on the hard disk’s partition table to scrambling the numbers in the spreadsheets to just taunting the user with sounds, pictures, or obnoxious effects.

It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that even without a ”damage routine”, if viruses are allowed to run unabated then it will continue to propagate–consuming system memory, disk space, slowing network traffic and generally degrading performance. Besides, virus code is often buggy and can also be the source of mysterious system problems that take weeks to understand. So, whether a virus is harmful or not, its presence on the system can lead to instability and should not be tolerated.

Some viruses, in conjunction with “logic bombs,” do not make their presence known for months. Instead of causing damage right away, these viruses do nothing but replicate–until the preordained trigger day or event when they unleash their damage routines on the host system or across a network.  Read more... (6961 words, estimated 27:51 mins reading time)

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Viruses:

Viruses – A virus is a small piece of software that replicates itself. A virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc. E-mail viruses – An e-mail virus moves around in e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim’s e-mail address book. Worms – A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well. Trojan horses – A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game, or a “free” piece of software) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically. They are called Trojan horses because they are sometimes disguised as normal computer programs.

Spyware:

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