In our fast moving world of information technology, computers
have become a way of life and it would be foolish to turn a blind eye to this
fact.
Since the last few years, the PC (Personal Computer) range of machines have
reached and even surpassed the power of minicomputers and have made inroads in
the business world. Large corporations employing mainframes and minicomputers
also have a large base of PCs installed. The main thrust of Pcs has been to
bring the power of the computer to the desk of the end user - in his office and
at home.
Computer viruses threaten to snatch this power and control away, and replace
it with fear and uncertainty. Why would anyone want to take such a gigantic step
backwards? While it is not our aim to analyze the minds of the depraved who
gloat in the discomfort of others, you will be shocked to know that a majority
of the Indian viruses are the handiwork of fertile brains of premier educational
institutes in India. As if this were not enough, there are people who are
selling 30 known viruses, and certain computer classes are teaching students how
to write Trojans! It amazes us to what level people will sink to make a fast
buck.
With the emergence of various viruses, it has become common practice and a
convenient excuse to attribute the slightest bit of malfunctioning or data loss
to viruses. Data can and does get lost in computers, ranging from a PC to a
CRAY, for a vast number of reasons. Power surges, mechanical/electronic
failures, or even operator errors can lead to data loss. Hence, jumping to
unwarranted conclusions and blaming viruses for all occurrences of data loss is
simply trying to shrug away the problem. There is no need to get paranoid.
Viruses have been there and will continue to be there as long as perverse minds
are at their destructive best. The important thing we have to consider is how to
protect ourselves and safeguard our computers from such infiltrations.
The virus which has attacked your machine may turn out to be a "joke"
(harmless virus) or a lethal one. Still, the mere fact that an alien force has
succeeded in penetrating your system is scary and humiliating. Besides, what is
the guarantee that the next viral attack will not be damaging?
So, what are we to do? Do we just take things lying down? While it would be
difficult to track down the culprits, the least we can do is protect ourselves
from such attacks - and that is where this book comes in. We have ourselves been victims to viral attacks. And, time and again, we have
watched it happen to hundreds of other innocent computer users. We could not
shrug off the feeling of helplessness and despair. And, thus, the concept of
writing this book was born. Considering the complexity of the subject, we have
tried to keep the language as lucid as possible. We hope that we have succeeded
in making this book as "reader-friendly" as possible.
The Book The second part covers the different types of viruses with their
characteristics and other details on all known viruses.
The third part contains reviews of several international as well as Indian
products tested by us. At this point we would like to mention the sad fact that
the response we received from abroad was much more encouraging than that from
our own countrymen. Despite several requests, very few came forward to let us
test their software.
The last part covers protection and recovery measures. The book ends with a
chapter on backups - an important safeguard against data loss arising from a
viral attack or hardware and software problems.
Scattered throughout the book, you will find some "virus infected" nursery
rhymes. Is nothing safe from the virus epidemic?
When a volatile topic, such as viruses, is being tackled, there has to be a
wide spectrum of inputs to make the work meaningful and up-to-date. There are so
many people to thank, that the list would probably make up a book on its own.
Extracts Disk Poems Graphics Materials
The information
that we have tried to supply in this book is aimed at dispelling all such fears
and the mass hysteria that has gripped the computer world. If we succeed, it
will be one more victory in the war against those low-level life-forms who gain
sadistic pleasure in destroying the work of others.
The book is divided into four parts. The first deals with
a general introduction to viruses and its relation to the working of DOS. It
ends with a chapter on the symptoms of a viral attack.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"The Origins Of Computer Viruses" (Chapter 1) and parts of
the DOS chapters are extracts from two workshops held by Microcomputer Users'
Club, conducted by Neville Bulsara and us.
We are grateful to Mr.John McAfee and Mr.John DeHaven for
allowing us to include their popular products, VirScan and VC 3.2 respectively.
We also thank Neville Bulsara and Jhankar Shah for their software.
The delightful rhymes are by Peter Theobald, totally his
idea!
Akhil Shahani, Shipra Nagwekar (Graphic Vision) and
Rohinton Malloo (Adverts), for providing the artistic touch to the cover and
graphics.
We would specially like to acknowledge with deep
gratitude the materials of the following writers/newsletters which has helped us
in our efforts to make this book as informative as possible.
Not to forget We also extend our
heartfelt thanks to:
Alan Dawson
War On Virus BBS, Thailand.
Connectivity
Newsletter of the IBM PC Users Group,
UK.
Dr.Alan Solomon
S&S International, United Kingdom
Jim Goodwin
Homebase BBS, USA
John DeHaven
Bangkok Security Associates, Thailand.
John McAfee
McAfee Associates, USA
Neville Bulsara
Microcomputer Users' Club, Bombay,
India.
Patricia Hoffman
Excalibur! BBS, USA
PC Update
Newsletter of PC Users Club,
Australia.
Wanda Sloan
Bangkok Post and Post Database,
Thailand.
Woody Khoman
Bangkok Users Group (BUG),
Thailand.
Our very special thanks to Swarup and the other members of the
Javeri family for their moral support and for putting up with us throughout all
the stages of this book.