C

OMPUTER

VIRUSES
BY:-

Sumit Yadav

What is Computer
Virus..??
A computer virus is a small software program that spreads from one
computer to another computer and that interferes with computer operation. A
computer virus may corrupt or delete data on a computer, use an e-mail
program to spread the virus to other computers, or even delete everything on
the hard disk.
Computer viruses are most easily spread by attachments in e-mail
messages or by instant messaging messages. Therefore, you must never open
an e-mail attachment unless you know who sent the message or unless you
are expecting the e-mail attachment. Computer viruses can be disguised as
attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.
Computer viruses also spread by using downloads on the Internet. Computer
viruses can be hidden in pirated software or in other files or programs that you
may download.

Viruses Types and Examples

Boot Viruses :-
These viruses infect disc boot records or master boot records in hard
disks. They replace the boot record program (which is responsible for
loading the operating system in memory) copying it elsewhere on the disk
or overwriting it. Boot viruses load into memory if the computer tries to
read the disk while it is booting.
Examples:Form, Disk Killer, Michelangelo, and Stone virus

Program Viruses:These infect executable program files, such as those with extensions like
.BIN, .COM, .EXE, .OVL, .DRV (driver) and .SYS (device driver). These
programs are loaded in memory during execution, taking the virus with
them. The virus becomes active in memory, making copies of itself and
infecting files on disk.
Examples:Sunday, Cascade

 Multipartite
viruses:

A hybrid of Boot and Program viruses. They infect program files and
when the infected program is executed, these viruses infect the boot
record. When you boot the computer next time the virus from the
boot record loads in memory and then starts infecting other program
files on disk.
Examples:Invader, Flip, and Tequila

Stealth viruses:
These viruses use certain techniques to avoid detection. They may either
redirect the disk head to read another sector instead of the one in which
they reside or they may alter the reading of the infected files size shown in
the directory listing. For instance, the Whale virus adds 9216 bytes to an
infected file; then the virus subtracts the same number of bytes (9216) from
the size given in the directory.
Examples:Frodo, Joshi, Whale

Polymorphic viruses:
A virus that can encrypt its code in different ways so that it appears
differently in each infection. These viruses are more difficult to detect.
Examples:Involuntary, Stimulate, Cascade, Phoenix, Evil, Proud, Virus 101

 Macro
Viruses:A macro virus is a new type of computer virus that infects the macros within a
document or template. When you open a word processing or spreadsheet document,
the macro virus is activated and it infects the Normal template (Normal.dot)-a
general purpose file that stores default document formatting settings. Every
document you open refers to the Normal template, and hence gets infected with the
macro virus. Since this virus attaches itself to documents, the infection can spread if
such documents are opened on other computers.
Examples:DMV, Nuclear, Word Concept.

Active X:-
ActiveX and Java controls will soon be the scourge of computing. Most
people do not know how to control there web browser to enable or disable
the various functions like playing sound or video and so, by default, leave a
nice big hole in the security by allowing applets free run into there
machine. There has been a lot of commotion behind this and with the
amount of power that JAVA imparts, things from the security angle seem a
bit gloom

Computer Trojans:

Computer Trojans are simply malicious computer programs

disguised as something useful.

The major difference between viruses and Trojans is that viruses

reproduce, while a Trojan is just a one time program which
executes its payload as soon as the Trojan is executed.

Trojans are the most common way of bringing a virus into a

system.

A current example of a Trojan is a program called pkz300b.exe

which disguises itself as an archiving utility, but when run it will
delete your entire hard drive.

Computer Worms: Computer Worms are reproducing programs that run

independantly and travel across network connections. The

main difference between viruses and worms is the method in
which they reproduce and spread. A virus is dependant upon
a host file or boot sector, and the transfer of files between
machines to spread, while a worm can run completely
independently and spread of its own will through network
connections.
An example of a worm is the famousinternet wormof 1988:
Overnight the worm copied itself across the internet,
infecting every Sun-3 and VAX system with so many copies of
itself that the systems were unusable. Eventually several
sites disconnected themselves from the internet to avoid
reinfection.

How Do Computer Viruses

Spread?
Computer viruses usually spread in one of three
ways:From Removable media.

From Downloads off the Internet.

From e-mail attachments.

E-mail

Virus..
Removable Disc

Computer Virus Symptoms: Computer is infected with a malicious computer virus, it may begin to show a

series ofComputer Virus symptomsthat indicate that a virus is present.

Computer viruses can be very harmful and damaging to your computer

system, root files, and various program files. A computer virus can also
increase the risk of hacker threats and attacks, and open the door to even
more unauthorized downloads and software installations.
When a virus begins to spread, many program files can become unstable and

display warnings.
The operating system may not launch properly, and the computer user may

need to reboot and restart the computer frequently to ensure all programs
are starting and working fine.
Critical files may get deleted automatically, and this can happen periodically

or all at once. Error messages will become prevalent; it may become difficult
to save documents, and the computer may be running slower than usual.

 Symptoms of worms and trojan

horse viruses in e-mail messages:-

When a computer virus infects e-mail messages or infects other

files on a computer, you may notice the following symptoms:

The infected file may make copies of itself. This behavior may use

up all the free space on the hard disk.

A copy of the infected file may be sent to all the addresses in an e-

mail address list.

The computer virus may reformat the hard disk. This behavior will

delete files and programs.

A Computer Virus can damage your system : A computer virus can do a lot of damage to your system before you

even realize that it happened. Leaving your computer unprotected

is a primary reason why most of the computer viruses get into your
system.
Different types of computer viruses that invade your system. Scum

ware, Adware, Spyware, Trojan Horses, computer viruses and

Worms. Each one attacks your system in a similar way.
Computer Viruses: Quickly spreads from one computer to another

computer. It starts by attaching and loading itself onto the

computer without your knowledge.
A computer virus can be duplicated.

How to remove a computer virus

Install and Update the antivirus software on the

computer. Then, perform a thorough scan of the

computer by using the antivirus software.
Install the latest updates from Microsoft Update on
the computer.
Download, install, and then run the Malicious
Software Removal Tool to remove existing viruses
on the computer. To download the Malicious
Software Removal Too

How to protect your computer

against viruses: On the computer, turn on the firewall.
Keep the computer operating system up-to-date.
Use updated antivirus software on the computer.

Conclusion.
.!!