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Interview with a HITman Back to Articles & Reviews
Virus Problems Reporter: Is there really anything to be concerned about using email and the Internet? After all, it’s not like walking alone in a bad area. HITman: Sitting in your home you might be physically safe, but if you are surfing on the Internet without the proper protection, you are looking for trouble. Reporter: What are some of the issues people should be concerned with? HITman: Here are a few of the problems you could be prone to: viruses, worms, spyware, bots, phishing, pornography, identity theft, trojans, and spoofed sites. Reporter: How does one get a virus? HITman: In order for a computer to become infected with a virus, it needs to be run or executed. Viruses can tag along with music, movies or other programs which are downloaded.The writers of viruses can be very devious. Sometimes email messages are used to lure a person to open what may seem to be an innocent photo, but hiding inside is a virus. Other times they take advantage of a flaw in software which allows the virus to be run. Reporter: Why are viruses so dangerous? HITman: A computer infected with a virus can have disastrous results, ranging from sending out to messages to stealing information. Email or your computer can come to a grinding halt. Businesses or ISP’s scanning for viruses may reject your email if your computer is infected. The virus could be used to attack other computers or websites, putting the blame on you. Viruses can delete or make data on your computer un-readable. A virus could also send out an embarrassing email in your name to everyone in your email list. Viruses can be pretty nasty. Reporter: What is a Trojan horse? HITman: Trojan horses typically contain software which has the ability to allow a hacker or criminal to take control of your computer. Trojans can record keystrokes. You could be accessing your bank account or pay online service and your username and password could be capture everything you type, then send it to a third party. Let’s say you have an Internet camera attached to your computer; someone could turn the camera on when you least expect it, save the images, and send them to someone, or turn your system into a streaming website. Viruses can contain Trojans and Trojans can contain viruses. Reporter: What is a worm? HITman: A worm works like a virus, but does not need another program to run as they have the ability to recreate or clone themselves. Reporter: What can be done to protect against viruses? HITman: Installing a high quality anti-virus program is a start. It must be kept up-to-date. Many of the programs today do this for you automatically if you have a broadband connection. Be careful about reading emails. It used to be as long as you didn’t open the attachment you would be ok, but all that has changed. Don't open any attachment unless you are absolutely sure it is safe or you are willing to gamble your data on it. Reporter: What should I do if I get a virus? HITman: The best thing to do is unplug your computer from the Internet, then request a HIT. |