|
1200 West University Ave
Mitchell, SD 57301
Phone: 605-995-2697
E-mail: helpdesk@dwu.edu
Web: http://www.dwu.edu/is//
Viruses
1. What is a
Virus?
2. Why is it called a Virus?
3. Malicious or Benign?
4. Hoaxes
5. File-Sharing Software
6.
Disabling File-Sharing
7. Bandwidth
What is a Virus?
A computer virus is a
program that has the ability to make copies of itself, and to attach these
copies to other programs or files on the computer. A virus is also able to
attach itself to anything connected to the original computer, including
files on floppy disks and on other computers attached to the same network. A
virus is spread when infected files are taken from the original machine and
loaded onto a previously uninfected computer. It is easy to see that it is
possible for a virus to spread very quickly. The possibility of introducing
infected files onto your own computer is present every time you copy a file
from a floppy disk or over the network.
Back to
Top
Why is it called a Virus?
Such programs are called
viruses because they behave like biological viruses spreading among animals.
Like biological viruses, it is also possible to sometimes “cure” the
infection without damage to the “host” and to “vaccinate” against future
recurrences. Unfortunately it is also possible for a computer virus to
severely damage its host.
Back
to Top
Malicious or Benign?
Unlike biological viruses, computer viruses do not
occur naturally. They are written and introduced by people-some times
benignly, sometimes maliciously.
∞A non malicious virus will multiply and spread,
but although it may do something amusing or mildly irritating, it will not
damage the systems that it infects. An example of this is the "Stoned
Angelina" virus that ties up memory (so that the computer has trouble
working) but does not actually damage files.
∞A
malicious virus is deliberately destructive. It may delete files, or damage
he internal structure of your computer to such an extent that is becomes
unusable. An example of this is the "PKzip300.zip" virus. This pretends to
be the latest version of the program pkzip, but is actually a virus that
will damage files residing on the hard disk.
Back
to Top
Hoaxes
It has been known for hoax viruses to
appear. The most well known of these is the “Good Times” virus, which is
supposedly spread via e-mail messages. An e-mail by itself is harmless, as
it is just a text file. Trust the source from which the e-mail came, and
regularly disinfect your system.
Back to Top
File-Sharing Software
KaZaA as a
free file sharing software program has grown in popularity and use by many
students along with some faculty and staff. However, the use of KaZaA raises
many issues including potential copyright infringement, potential computer
hacking source, and ethical concerns. Prior to installing KaZaA on a
computer, the user must agree to a license agreement that pops up at
installation time. Most people do not read the details in the fine print of
the agreement and that is a major concern and potential problem with the use
of KaZaA on the DWU network.
Back to Top
Disabling
File-Sharing/Why Turn Off File-Sharing?
Most file-sharing programs consume a great deal of the
available bandwidth, causing slow Internet traffic. Many people are unaware,
that if file-sharing is on when they download a music or movie file, they
automatically turn their computer into a server, providing those files to
others across the Internet.
Most file-sharing programs are used to download and
share copyrighted music and movies. It is a violation of Copyright Law to
acquire and/or distribute copyrighted material without the express
permission of the copyright holder. Just because it is available for
downloading across the Internet, does not mean it is legal to do so.
Back to Top
|
