Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 17:59:32 -1000
From: Akira Sasabe
To: Leon James
Subject: My Report 2
Dr. James,
I decided to retype the whole thing today and I did just about the half of it now, and the information seems to appear all right on
my web page. It was really unfortunate since this time I decided to use computers only at Porteus and Moore Hall. I still do not
know what was the cause of the virus problem, but I think as long as I stick with one computer, it seems to be OK. I found my
"favorite" computer at Porteus and do my best to secure the seat whenever I come in to do the work.

I just hope that I find out the cause of this problem so other people who do not have computers at home will not suffer like
me...

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Edupage Online, December 1997:

     DOE ISSUES WARNING ON CRACKER TOOLS The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a bulletin
     warning that two new computer attack tools, known as Teardrop and Land, are being used maliciously by
     crackers intent on breaking into computer systems and networks. The software sniffs out vulnerable servers and
     launches attacks based on the "denial-of-service" strategy that overwhelms servers with bogus messages, blocking
     out legitimate traffic. "They hit the button and go down to the cinema with their girlfriends," says a senior systems
     consultant with the Defense Information Systems Agency. "They come back and see that they have looked at
     200,000 systems." (TechWeb 24 Dec 97)

            I don't know much about this new tool that the crackers are using, but I think its amazing that they have a
program that does all the work for them.  They don't even need to be sitting at the computer to be running the
malicious programs.  These tools are good for crackers because they don't need to sit at their computers all day
and are able to spend their time doing other things while making life a living hell for others.

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

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            Basically, a computer virus is a program that is able to make copies of itself.  These programs are usually
designed with malicious intent.  Computer viruses travel by attaching itself to other programs and reproducing.
Some viruses are harmless and just create a nuisance, but others are intended to alter data or destroy an entire
hard drive.  The virus protection programs have to come with updates because new viruses are being discovered everyday.

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            When a virus enters a computer system, it begins to initialize the computer and tries to gain control of the
operating system.  The virus looks for available host programs that it can attach itself to.  The virus lives in the
host program and each time the host program is executed, so is the virus.  At each execution, the virus seeks out
more hosts to attach to.  It spreads to numerous systems by attaching itself to as many hosts as it can and then
making copies of itself.  Viruses can enter a computer by internet connections or by contaminated disks.

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            According to the Network Associates Services virus information, the ten most common viruses are Cap,
Concept, Wazzu, Antiexe, FORM, Laroux, Anticmos, Junkie, NPAD, and Parit Boot.  Information about these
viruses can be found by clicking here.

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            Because computer viruses are potentially very harmful, there is concern by many on how it is spread.
Computer viruses can spread in various ways, but there are some myths that are not entirely true.  One myth is
that a virus can be caught by simply being connected to the internet.  This is not the case.  Rather, the danger
comes when infected files are downloaded.  When the infected files are opened, the virus can spread to your
computer.  Also, viruses can enter your computer through certain web programs on a browser.
            Getting a virus by reading your email is another myth.  Simply reading your email will not put you in danger
of receiving a virus despite of what some hoaxes say.  However, files attached to the email may have a virus and
precaution should be taken when executing those files.  To be safe, all files received through the internet should be
scanned first before using it.
            In addition to myths, there are a bunch of virus hoaxes.  There have been many warnings about these
viruses, but all are made up stories.  Some famous hoaxes are the Irina, AOL4Free, Sandman, and PENPAL
GREETINGS!.  One notorious hoax that I remember hearing about was the Good Times virus.  This virus
suposedly came to you by email with the subject line reading Good Times.  The hoax warned not to read any email
with that title and to delete it immediately.

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            Computer viruses enter the computer system and attach itself to a host and makes copies of itself.  This
is similar to human viruses because they attach to cells and alter their DNA.  The virus enters a cell, attaches itself
to the DNA, and instructs the cell to make more viruses.  The cell breaks open and releases new viruses.  "The
current breaking news says that they're coming out with intelligent agents software that seek out and attack
computer viruses wherever they can hide on the internet or on your hard drive."  These intelligent agents are like
the body's immune system.  T-cells move throughout your body to encounter viruses and destroy them.  The
immune system is continually challenged by substances they recognize as foreign. These substances are called
antigens.  The T-cells are like the body's immune surveillance system.  The T-cells can be compared to the
intelligent agents software that seek out to attack the computer viruses.  These intelligent agents software seek
out the viruses on your computer, attack them, and destroy them.  These agents are like the computers version of
T-cells.

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            Most of the other students doing reports on computer viruses have more information than my own.  I try to make the page easily navigable to keep the reader from dozing off or finding another report to read.  I also try to make it easy to read with the colors and fonts.  I hope that it makes a difference when it comes to the next person.

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            From this report, I have learned that many computer viruses are harmless, but some are powerful and
can be very destructive.  It is very important to protect our equipment from viruses.  There really is no 100%
guaranteed way to protect ourselves, but having a anti-virus program is extremely helpful.  I have learned to be
very careful when downloading files off the internet and to scan them before using it.  Also, backing up important
files was good advice I came across just in case my hard drive becomes infected and dies.

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    For future generations doing a report on computer viruses, I would recommend searching for many sites.
There is an abundance of pages with information on computer viruses, but many will not contain all the information
needed for a report.  Also, it would be very helpful to find someone who has had first hand experience with a
computer virus and interview that person.  It is easier to understand the effects of a virus when hearing about it
from someone who has experienced one.

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