Absolute PC Security and Privacy.pdf

It would be irresponsible to deny that the threat of viruses exists. It does. But the fact remains
that most computer users don’t get infected by most viruses. Which means you should be
cautious about contracting a virus, but not paranoid about it.
You see, while you can engage in totally safe computing, the reduction of risk probably isn’t
worth the functionality you’d have to give up. As with all things in life, you have to make
some compromises in order to realize any benefits—and the benefits of personal computing
require you to accept some level of risk.
This concept isn’t unique to computing. For example, suppose you use a credit card at a
restaurant. To realize the benefit of using the charge card (not having to carry cash around,
not having to pay for thirty days, etc.), you have to accept a degree of risk. You have to accept
that the waiter could steal your card, or write down your card number and use it later. You
have to accept that a bum or a thief could go through the restaurant’s trash and obtain your
card number. You have to accept that your credit card company may be using your personal
information in some very disturbing ways. But nearly all of us accept those risks, because the
benefits of using the charge card make for an acceptable compromise.
It’s the same thing with computers and viruses. You accept some risk of infection in order to
realize all the benefits of using your computer. Yes, you could receive a virus attached to an
e-mail message, but it’s worth the risk in order to receive e-mail from your friends and family.
Yes, you could inadvertently download a virus-infected file from the Internet, but it’s worth
the risk in order to download all those MP3 files to play on your PC. Yes, you could open a
Word file that contains a macro virus, but it’s worth the risk in order to collaborate on all
those reports and memos with your teammates at work.
So be cautious, but don’t overdo it. Being smart is better than being paranoid—and much
better than actually contracting a virus.
Summing Up
Most viruses spread when an infected program or document is opened. You run the risk of
infection whenever you copy or download unknown files to your computer, by any number of
methods—sharing floppy disks, downloading files from the Internet, opening e-mail
attachments, and so on.
You can protect your system against virus infection by avoiding contact with other computers.
That means not downloading files, or opening e-mail, or surfing the Web. More practically,
you can engage in all these activities with only moderate risk by taking the appropriate
precautions—chief of which is rejecting any files sent to you from untrusted sources. Even
then, you only risk infection if you actually open the file.
Starting with the next chapter, we’ll examine specific types of viruses—how they work, and
how to deal with them. In Chapter 3 you’ll learn about two of the earliest types of malicious
programs—boot sector and file infector viruses.
Chapter 3: Boot Sector and File Infector
Viruses