search articles:     from the issue of July 15, 2004         Viruses, Trojans, worms can make the Web a scary world Twenty years ago, the world was introduced to the term "computer virus." Since then, we have been warned that "Trojan horses" may be hiding inside our computers and that "Internet worms" may be crawling around inside our PCs. While we know that these things are bad for our computers, we may not understand what they are and what it takes to avoid or remove them. A computer virus is a man-made piece of software that causes an unexpected and usually negative event. They are often disguised as games or pictures. What is really nasty about viruses is that they can insert themselves into other computer programs and are often designed to erase computer files or disrupt activities on a computer network. Internet worms are viruses that reside in a computer's memory and duplicate themselves. They typically send copies of themselves to other computers and interfere with a computer's normal functions. A Trojan horse is a malicious computer program that pretends to be a benign or good application. Trojans are not viruses because they do not copy themselves, but they can be just as destructive. If you have ever installed a free computer game onto your system, participated in a music sharing system or opened an e-mail attachment that seemed interesting, you may have also downloaded and installed a computer virus or maybe even a "keylogger." A keylogger is a type of spyware or Trojan that hides on your computer, records every keystroke you make (including your user IDs and passwords) and, unbeknownst to you, sends this information to the author of the spyware who, in turn, uses the passwords to access your credit cards, accounts, etc. Here are some steps you can take to prevent these problems in your computer: • Only download from companies you respect and know, and make sure that the Web site you're downloading from is really owned by the company. For example, is not owned by Mattel toys. • Never open e-mail attachments from people you don't know. When you receive an attachment from someone you do know, save it to your computer before opening it so your anti-virus software can check it. • Install university-supplied anti-virus software and anti-spyware software on your computer, run them frequently and keep the anti-virus files up to date. • Make sure you have the latest computer operating system patches. • Consider installing a personal firewall on your computer. Because firewalls can be tricky to use, you may want to consult the UNL Help Desk first. Removing these malicious programs once they have infected your computer is not always easy either. Sometimes your anti-virus software will clean things up, and anti-spyware will find any installed keyloggers before any damage is done. But some of the worst viruses, Trojans and worms can only be found and removed with special tools. If your computer begins to run sluggishly, behaves abnormally or is missing some files, call the UNL Help Desk at 472-3970 or visit www.unl.edu/helpdesk. More information can be downloaded from www.unl.edu/security/tools.html. About this series This column is one in a recurring series by Michael Carr, Computing Services Network information security officer for the University of Nebraska. Each month, he will address computer news and safety. GO TO: ISSUE OF JULY 15 NEWS HEADLINES FOR JULY 15 It's Not Summer Without A Trip To The Dairy Store $9 Million To Support EPSCoR Work Kean tackles goals to benefit undergrads Warming Hurts Rice Yield, Says Research Policy center, state to aid storm victims Refurbished Avery Hall welcomes new tenants Use New NCards After Aug. 2 Viruses, Trojans, worms can make the Web a scary world 731777S33385X