Scribd
Upload
17 views18 pages

VIRUS

Uploaded by

ixxak51
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
17 views18 pages

VIRUS

Uploaded by

ixxak51
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 18

WHAT IS A "VIRUS"?

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.
WHAT IS A "VIRUS"?

BIOLOGICAL VIRUSES

• A biological virus is not a living thing


• A virus is a fragment of DNA inside a protective jacket
• A biological virus must inject its DNA into a cell

COMPUTER VIRUSES

• 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
VIRUS HISTORY

Traditional computer viruses were first widely seen in the late 1980s
Viruses took advantage of these three facts to create the first self-
replicating programs!

FIRST FACTOR
Spread of personal computers

SECOND FACTOR
Use of computer "bulletin boards"

THIRD FACTOR
The floppy disk
CLASSES OF VIRUSES

1. FILE INFECTORS VIRUSES


a. Embedded in program
b. Runs when program gets executed
c. Loads in memory
d. Cycle continues through sharing files

2. BOOT-SECTOR VIRUSES
a. Load viruses into memory
b. Infect the boot sector on floppy disks and hard disks

3. MACRO VIRUSES
a. Infects data files
b. Executed in embedded scripts
c. Inserts copies of itself into other documents
d. Spreads by sharing data files
CLASSES OF VIRUSES

EXECUTABLE AND BOOT SECTOR VIRUSES


ARE NOT VERY THREATENING ANY MORE

1. Large size of today's programs (executable)

2. Operating systems now protect the boot sector


E-MAIL VIRUSES

E-MAIL VIRUSES ARE THE LATEST INVENTION

Melissa Virus (March 1999)


a. Embedded into Word document
b. When opened, sent to first 50 email addresses in address book
c. Included a friendly note making it look harmless
d. If opened by any of the recipients, sent to another 50
addresses of the current recipient
Worm

1. Worm - is a self-replicating program, similar to a computer virus. A virus


attaches itself to, and becomes part of, another executable program;
however, a worm is self-contained and does not need to be part of
another program to propagate itself.
2. Worms – 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.
Executable Viruses

• Traditional Viruses
• pieces of code attached to a legitimate program
• run when the legitimate program gets executed
• loads itself into memory and looks around to see if it can find any
other programs on the disk.
Boot Sector Viruses

• Traditional Virus
• infect the boot sector on floppy disks and hard disks
• By putting its code in the boot sector, a virus can guarantee it gets
executed
• load itself into memory immediately, and it is able to run whenever the
computer is on
Zombies

• Infected computers — mostly Windows machines — are now the major


delivery method of spam.

• Zombies have been used extensively to send e-mail spam; between


50% to 80% of all spam worldwide is now sent by zombie computers
Prevention

• Updates
• Anti-Viruses
• More secure operating systems
e.g. UNIX
Typical things that some current Personal Computer
(PC) viruses do

• Display message
• Erase files
• Scramble data on a hard disk
• Cause erratic screen behavior
• Halt the PC
• Many viruses do nothing obvious at all except spread!
ORIGINS

THREE REASONS PEOPLE CREATE VIRUSES

1. The same psychology that drives vandals and arsonists

2. The thrill of watching things destroyed

3. Bragging rights, or the thrill of doing it


FIGHTING VIRUSES

ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS

- Norton Antivirus (Symantec)

- VirusScan (McAfee)

- F-Secure Anti-Virus (F-Secure)

- Avast Antivirus

No anti-viruses guarantee 100 percent protection from viruses!!!


STATISTICS

Position Name Number of occurrences

1 I-Worm.Klez 96.49%
2 Win95.CIH 0.84%
3 I-Worm.BadtransII 0.52%
4 I-Worm.Hybris 0.30%
5 Trojan.PSW.Delf 0.24%
6 I-Worm.Sircam 0.21%
7 Win32.Elkern.c 0.16%
8 Macro.Word.Cap 0.13%
9 Win32.FunLove 0.09%
10 I-Worm.Magistr 0.07%
STATISTICS

NUMBER OF INFECTED FILES BY COUNTRY, WITHIN THE LAST 30 DAYS

0-100

101-1000

1001-10,000

10,001-100,000

100,001+
The End

You might also like