ciac.llnl.gov/ciac
www.mcafee.com/support/techdocs/vinfo/default.asp
IBM's virus warning site
Computer Virus Myths
Symantec's Anti-Virus Research Centre
www2.offutt.af.mil/wipo/virushoax.html
csrc.ncsl.nist.gov/virus/
 

COMPUTER VIRUSES

Computer viruses are programs that can duplicate themselves to modify other programs and disrupt the functional abilities of a computer system.  Dr. Fred Cohen who set the foundation on information of computer viruses through his dissertation in 1986 defined a computer virus as "a computer program that can infect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a copy of itself."  Computer viruses are also known as "malicious logic" or "malware."

Viruses are not the only computer viral microbes.  There are also Worms and Trojan Horses that have similar characteristics like viruses but they have distinct differences.  The major difference between viruses and worms is that worms do not cling to a program.  The host computer worms and network worms are the two main types of computer worms.  Host computer worms use computer programs to run on and use the computer connections to transfer from one computer to another.  After the host computer worm replicates itself, it destroys its original self from the original computer so that there is only one worm running at a given time.  Network worms are similar to computer worms except that they have one main segment which controls other segments on a network.

Trojan Horses are programs that are hidden in softwares, hardwares and other programs that the programmers deliberately included without the users knowledge.  Some Trojan Horses have the ability to infect other programs and transform them into Trojans.  Hence, some Trojan horses are viruses.  Majority of people only refer to non-duplicating computer microbes as Trojan Horses.

There are two main types of viruses,  the File Injectors and the System Infectors.  File Injectors are subdivided into two other categories, Non-resident and Resident.  Non-resident File Injectors cling to one or more programs and replicate each time the programs are executed.  However, Resident File Injectors attach themselves directly to the memory and infect all other programs when they are opened or executed.  System Infectors only attack certain regions of a disk.  All of the System Infectors are memory residents and mainly attack the DOS boot sector and the Master Boot Record.

In addition to the two main types of computer viruses, there are viruses that can infect both boot and file.  There are commonly known as Multi-Partite or Boot and File viruses.
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The history of computer viruses goes way back to the beginnings of computers.  Many minor viruses originate from university students as franks and hoaxes.  Malicious viruses and Trojans with the intent to attack and infect computers and networks originate from people who have specific motives such as revenge or profit.

The infamous Jerusalem virus is clearly the most successful Resident File Injector virus ever discovered.  It was originally named Israeli Virus since it was first detected in Israel in 1987.  Some believe that it may have been an act of terrorism by the PLO against the Israel government.  The success of the virus is due to its ability to reside in the memory and infect all other programs when they are executed.  The Jerusalem virus evolved into many strains and types just like the biological common cold.  In addition to the evolution, many virus authors use the Jerusalem virus as base template to create new variants.

The Brain Virus is similar to the Jerusalem virus in its success.  The Brain Virus was first detected in 1986.  It is a MS-DOS virus that evolved into many strains which is still prevalent today.  The Brain virus is a Boot Sector Infector virus that infects the hard disk and infects all other programs in the system.  It is believed to be created by the Brain Computer Services in Pakistan and distributed via pirated software.

MICHAELANGELO
 

The Michaelangelo was also a Boot Sector Infector.  In March 1992, the American public was prompted that the Michaelangelo Virus would crash millions of computers.  The people bought thousands of antivirus products and the event set a trend of increase virus awareness.

One of the most infamous Trojans was the AIDS Trojan from a company from Panama call PC Cyborg.  In the fall of 1989, the company sent copies of AIDS information softwares to different medical institution as a field test.  The software came with a fine print stating not to use the product unless you intend to pay for it.  The software changed the programing of whatever computer system it was executed on and lock it.  To unlock the computers, the medical facilities needed to purchase the codes from PC Cyborg.  Just a warning to all, make sure you read all the fine prints before executing any programs in your computer.

There are many more famous viruses.  Stoned, Empire and Azusa are also famous Boot Sector Infectors just to name a few.  Dark Avengers, Dark Angel and Nowhere Man are infamous anonymous virus authors.  If you want to read more about the history of viruses please click through the resource listing provided above.
 

The general public has a fear of computer viruses infecting their files and computer and blowing their computers up right in front of them.  Viruses can not infect monitors, printers and scanners.  Viruses can infect disks and executable files and programs.  Viruses will not devour your computer and you will not see your computer slowly deteriorate right in front of your eyes.  I must admit, I had the fear prior to researching this topic.

Majority of the public dub all computer virals as viruses.  This is due to the lack of understanding the computer viruses.  Trojan Horses and Worms are more appropriate names for some of the computer microbes out there.  Trojan Horses have been around since the beginning of the computer era.  Trojan Horses were initially used to embezzle money or to steal information from various institutions.  Viruses have been around since the 1960's when hackers use them as hoaxes and pranks.  Many people believe that majority of virus authors are teenagers.  Yes, teenagers have programed and released viruses but they are not the only ones.  A magazine editor once released a virus and many businessmen use viruses and Trojan horses to acquire information or use them as weapons against competitors.  The Department of Defense creates computer viruses and use them as weapons.

There are many antivirus softwares out in the market today.  Many people with such softwares believe that antivirus softwares completely protect them from viruses.  This is a false sense of security.  Viruses evolve and mutate like the biological flu and cold.   An antivirus may scan and catch old viruses but it might not detect newly evolved viruses with new codes and algorithms.

The computer viruses are so much like the biological viruses.  Both have the benign and the malignant variety.   They reproduce to modify and destroy programs or organs and proceed to attack and destroy the entire system, namely the computer or the body.  They have the same abilities and types.  Computer and biological viruses can be fast or slow infectors.  They can also be polymorphic where they can reproduce self operational clones.  A good example of a biological polymorphic virus or disease is a cancer cell.  Both computer and biological viruses also evolve into different strains.  The best cure for both is primary prevention.  Prevent contracting computer and biological viruses so that you can continue to be a happy surfing cyber citizen.

It is unimaginable to look at this world without computers.  People use computers to virtually do everything and anything.  Email is now an everyday event.  About 10 years ago it was crazy to think that people would depend on computers to communicate.  Email is a good thing.  I personally like it.  Unfortunately, there are people out there who unleash viruses, trojans, hoaxes, email pranks and other annoying computer problems.  When people encounter hoaxes and email pranks on their inbox, the first reaction is to try to shut down the system and try to clean it up.  Before this report I know that I would have probably reacted the same way.  The fact is that most people overreact when they encounter such hoaxes.  Do not overreact.  Relax.  Computer viruses are seldom delivered via email.  It is possible when executable files are included in the email but most email pranks and hoaxes are just annoying problems.

People also tend to overreact when they feel or think that they have a computer virus in their computer.  I will say it again, DO NOT OVERREACT.  Know the symptoms and try to assess what or how is your computer behaving differently.  The most common symptoms for computer viruses are the evident change in file sizes and the change in the location of the files.  If you positively identified that you have a virus, do not start to erase all of your files in your hard drive.  Identify which files were infected and delete and replace only what was infected.

I clicked through my generation and the contents were similar.  The formats of the reports were also similar.  The major difference that I saw was the presentation style of material.  Some were presented with graphics, styles and a little bit more creative on how the report was written.  Few basically just wrote on black and white like a normal Word document.  Only a handful of my classmates reported on this topic but it appears that my generation has thoroughly researched computer viruses.

When I started this report, I have no knowledge what so ever on computer viruses.  I knew that they could damage files and computers but I did not know how they actually worked and what they really are.  I feel somewhat gratified in completing this report.  Not that I am just glad of finishing this report for my grade but I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to research computer viruses and gain valuable knowledge.  Now I know what are viruses, worms, trojans, hoaxes, chain letters and it raised my awareness of what to expect and how to react when I encounter a computer virus.  I hope this report provided you as a web surfer some insight on computer viruses.  I highly encourage you to click through the list of resources I have listed above.  Aloha.

This report opened new doors for me.  It increased my level of understanding and my awareness of computer viruses.  Understanding the virus and its capabilities erased doubts and answered questions.  I recommend everyone to take a step forward and learn more about computer viruses and know what to expect and how to react when you experience the dreaded computer mayhem.  Besides the links I listed above there are also good books out there that may provide more light on the subject.  Aloha and don't let the bug bite you.
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