With more and more computers having a permanent connection to the internet the threat of security problems increases every day. Your computer can be crippled by a virus, a worm may cause you to lose data or you may even need to re-install your machine when someone cracks it. This happens every day and all over the world. And you might not even notice when it happens.
As soon as your computer is powered up and connected to the internet it becomes a possible victim. Scans that look for possible problems to exploit are going on 24 hours per day. To speed this up, most infected machines start scanning nearby computers first. Infections can come within minutes after a connection to the internet is made.
Next to these worms a lot of worms and viruses come through e-mail. Often disguised as regular mails (and using various bugs in Outlook to disguise executable attachments as normal ones) a virus infection is easily made. With some older versions of Outlook simply opening the e-mail is enough to get infected. And before you know it your own computer is sending out viruses, relaying spam or attacking other computers as part of a DDoS attack network.
Why does this happen?
There are many reasons why computers get compromised. Sometimes attackers target a specific machine, to get certain data or to crack a website. Today, this is only a small part of the problem. Most incidents involve worms or viruses which propagate automatically through known bugs in (mostly) Windows 2000 and XP (or the versions of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express that come with 2000/XP) and through opening of attachments.
While some of these worms only seem like a 'proof of concept' (they do nothing except spreading themselves) a lot other worms and viruses do create damage. Some examples:
- The MS.Blaster worm tried to built a large network of computers which would be used in attacking the Microsoft website
- Sobig.F tried to install proxy software on infected machines which in turn could be used to send spam through, without revealing the original sender of the spam
- The Cone Trojan comes in as an e-mail attachment but once opened it installs a keylogger which intercepts passwords and credit-card numbers.
So, what can I do?
With all these risks it is important to be aware of what can happen. When you are aware of what can happen you can find out how to prevent it. Check the Security - How page for some pointers on how to improve security for your home or office computer or network.
