How many e-mails do you get that say, “New highly dangerous computer virus as reported by CNN! McAfee and Norton can not catch it”? I receive a few of these every week. The sad part is that usually it is either a hoax, or a virus that came out long ago that antivirus programs with updated virus definitions are able to detect and cure. The only thing these e-mails seem to do is work people into a frenzy. Some BTC Customers have deleted java and system files following directions in these types of e-mails. I have been dealing with many different viral situations in the Colleges of Business and Technology over the past year and I wanted to pass along some advice that may save you problems and undue stress.

The best thing you can do is to make sure that you have an antivirus program on your computer. There are many good antivirus programs available on the market, and something is always better than nothing. Norton and McAfee are the big names. The BTC uses Norton (which is available to faculty, staff, and students for checkout to install on personally owned home computers, too). However, your antivirus protection is only as good as the last virus definition update. The virus definition is a list of viruses that the program can detect. If the virus is not in the list, the program is not aware of it, and can infect your computer. Some programs have features that will look for “virus like activity,” and can occasionally catch viruses that have not been added to the list. Most antivirus programs purchased off the shelf or that are bundled with your computer will usually include a subscription for definition updates. After that, you will need to pay a fee. Keep your virus definitions updated, and do it often. Most antivirus programs default to updating once a week. For most home use, this is sufficient. If you use your computer all the time, or keep a constant connection to the internet, you will want to update more often. If you use a dial-up connection, it can take additional time to get this file to download, so as often as every day may not be appropriate. If your internet connection can handle the large files without much trouble, the more often you can update the better.

E-Mails that are forwarded to you from anyone warning you of the “worst virus ever to be created” should be taken with a grain of salt. Very few are legitimate, but most are either outdated or a hoax. Some are created with the purpose of tricking you into damaging your computer on your own by deleting system and other important files. Keep your virus definition files up to date, and use good judgment.

If you receive an e-mail from somebody you have never heard of, do not open it. If you receive an e-mail from somebody you do know, but the content of the letter is completely out of context, do not detach or download the attachment.

E-Mails that contain attachments with file extension of .com, .exe, or .dll should never be opened. Files with .exe and .com endings are executable programs which computers legitimately have hundreds. When you run a program, these are files that are accessed. But, most viruses are also executable files that need to be run in order to infect a computer. Files that end in .dll are what are called “driver” files. These files make the hardware work with the software. There are thousands on a single computer which are completely safe. Most of the time, picture files (ending in .bmp, .jpg, .tif, and .gif) are safe, but virus creators are able to hide viruses inside these files. In addition, a file may be infected or corrupt if it has two extensions (an extension being the part of the file name to the right of the period). If you see a file that looks like “document.doc.dll”, it is most likely a virus. The first two parts of the name “document.doc” are legitimate parts of a word document name. The last part “.dll” is the suspicious part. What the virus did in this instance is that it looked through the first victim’s “My Documents” folder for files, acquired the file, added itself to the file, and added the “.dll” to make it load up in the computer. The virus then, most likely, went into the victim’s e-mail address book and sent itself to everybody in the address book and in all the e-mails it could find. The next potential victim then receives an e-mail from somebody they more than likely know, with a file attached that they may very well know about. Then, they open the virus. At this point, the whole process starts all over again.

In closing, I just want to convey the message to use good judgment when people send you one of these virus “warning” e-mails. As long as you have virus protection on your computer, the definition file is kept up to date, and you arm yourself with good judgment, you should not have anything to worry about.