Tech Directions - August 2007 - (Page 14) mastering computers Reid Goldsborough reidgold@netaxs.com man viruses, computer viruses can replicate, spreading like a disease from one computer to another through e-mail or, less commonly, through infected CD-ROM discs, USB drives, music and other file-sharing networks, and Web sites. How Serious a Threat Are Computer Viruses? Who Creates Them “My computer is acting up. It must be a virus.” You’ve undoubtedly heard comments like this or even thought this yourself. Actually, most computer glitches are caused by software conflicts or user error. Viruses aren’t as common as other computer problems. They’re found in about 0.15 percent of e-mails, according to the latest figures from MessageLabs (www.messagelabs. com), a provider of Internet security products that each day analyzes more than 180 million e-mails worldwide for its clients. That makes viruses less prevalent than the phishing attacks that try to trick you into revealing your credit card, banking, or other personal information. They make up about 0.45 percent of e-mails. The most common e-mail problem, however, is spam, those unsolicited, untargeted commercial messages sent in bulk, with such messages comprising a whopping 44.96 percent of all e-mails. But viruses do get a lot of attention, and it’s easy to see why. They have an ominous and mysterious aura. And they can do serious damage, including wiping out all the data on your hard drive. Some may not do overt harm but instead scare you with a pop-up text message such as “Gotcha,” a photo of a raised middle finger, or a sinister audio or video file. All indications are that viruses are typically written by pranksters in their teens and twenties, according to virus experts. Some are written by truly disturbed individuals, the kind of sociopaths who indiscriminately slash tires. Some may be written in a more formalized way, by members of organized crime families or foreign terrorist groups. And some are intended as “good viruses” to delete other viruses, but they may inadvertently cause harm, for instance, by deleting a vital system file by mistake. Viruses may be written from scratch by programmers. Or they may be created with virus-writing kits, requiring no programming How They Work Computer viruses are simply small computer programs. Like hu- 152 On-Demand Classroom Projects for only 14 techdirections l Enhance your curriculum with these hands-on, affordable activities that make learning fun! Our On-Demand Classroom Projects will help students really understand the principles of technology and applied science. Simply print and use them in your classroom! $495! Visit www.techdirections.com/ projectCD.html to order online Save over 50%! Or, call 800-530-9673 x217 FAX 734-975-2787, or send order to Tech Directions Books & Media PO Box 8623, Ann Arbor, MI 48107 Special offer extended to October 31, 2007 ◆ AUGUST 2007 http://www.torcomp.com http://www.techdirections.com/projectCD.html http://www.techdirections.com/projectCD.html
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