Virus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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1. Do I have to worry about malicious programs?
2. How many viruses are there?
3. What are the names of some famous viruses?
4. How much damage can viruses do?

1. Do I have to worry about malicious programs?

If you read the newspapers and watch television, you know the answer is "yes". You also know the media exaggerates to create a good story. There are even web sites that purport to document just how exaggerated these stories are (vmyths.com).

Let's take a quick straw poll. How many of our viewers can declare, with a straight face, that they have never encountered a virus or other malicious program. If you are one of those few, congratulate yourself, but don't let down your guard. Your days are numbered.

There are two facts that cannot be ignored.

Malicious programs do exist and they do serious damage.
You cannot afford to ignore the precautions against being infected as discussed in this chapter

2. How many viruses are there?

There are tens of thousands of viruses, but most of them are not seen in the "wild". This means that there are examples in virus laboratories, but not on people's working computers.

In any given month, about 200-250 viruses are reported according to Joe Well's Wild List. The list is a compilation of sightings made by 80 virus information specialists. In order to get on the list, the virus must be reported by at least two observers. Another 600-700 viruses are reported by only one corespondent, indicating that their incidence is very low. Another interesting tidbit is that only 2,3 or 4 viruses create the majority of the havoc on people's computers in any given month.

The Wild List changes monthly and viruses drop off regularly. This indicates that viruses have a natural life cycle. As anti-virus software is updated to recognize the new pest, it is caught before it can spread and eventually dies off.

3. What are the names of some famous viruses?

Stories about viruses are often in the daily news because of the panic and hysteria they cause.

Here is a list of famous virus scares.

"Brain" virus, the first known virus (1987)
Internet worm, shut down a large part of the Internet (1988)
Stoned (1990)
Michelangelo (1991)
Concept, the first Microsoft Word virus (1995)
Melissa (1999)
I Love You virus (200)
Code Red worm (2001)
432/SirCam virus (2001)
Nimda (2001)

4. How much damage can viruses do?

The amount of disruption a virus causes will determine how much effort you will go to protect yourself from one. Damage can be extensive or it can be minimal. Here is a rundown on some of the effects of these programs.

Billions of dollars of damage. Well, anyway, that's what is reported. The damage from the ILOVEYOU virus was reportes as being between $2 Billion (CBSNEWS.COM) and $10 Billion (APBNEWS.COM)
Sends email to your contact list with infected word document (melissa).
Overwrite at random a part of the hard disk (Dark Avenger)
Formats your hard disk (911 Worm)
Music files (MP3) are hidden (ILOVEYOU)
Block access to antiviral web sites (Win32.Hybris)
Call 911 via your modem (911 Worm)
Disable anti-virus software (Klez)
Disable other viruses to prevent interference with it's actions (Klez)

As you can see, some of these effects are silly, some can cause grievous damage and some are plain embarrassing. Imagine sending an email to all of your friends and business associates explaining that a virus had got hold of your address book and their computers are now infected.

Some of the damage that viruses do is unintentional, but nevertheless real. So much virus code is amateurish and doesn't behave as expected when installed in a real computer. After all, if Microsoft with armies of programmers still has bugs in its commercial software, why would you expect virus programmers to be perfect? When a virus runs amok in a computer, files become damaged or deleted and the computer can run slow or hang up.

InfoRoadKill.com