Internet Technology

Ed Nottingham

The bad news is apparently many of friends and colleagues did not have virus protection or did not have updated virus protection so Norton ended up having to detect and quarantine seven incidences of the virus, effectively shutting my email down for several hours. But, that is not the worst news! According to the Symantec AntiVirus Research Center (see www.symantec.com/avcenter), the Wscript.KakWorm virus spreads using Microsoft Outlook Express, and simply reading the received email message places the virus on a system (in other words, an attachment does NOT have to be opened), and it starts to spread unless stopped by virus detection software or Outlook Express users had applied a patch that corrected this security hole.

Remember Alfred E. Newman's famous saying in Mad Magazine, "What, me worry?" Too often I am afraid that psychologists (and others) who use their computers have the same philosophy: "I'm not worried. I don't download software or open attachments. So, I don't have to worry, right?" Wrong! As our little friend Wscript.KakWorm showed us, if you use email and even if you don't open attachments, your computer can become infected and you can contribute to the infection of countless other computers.

A recent PC World article (Miastkowski, 2000) article cited the International Computer Security Association (go to www.icsa.net for more information that you would ever want!) that reported that our chances are 1 in 10 in any given month of getting "hit" with a virus. To me, the most frightening aspect of the statistics quoted was that this was double the rate from just one year ago! The article goes on to state that the viruses are more destructive and better organized than in the past, and Wscript.KakWorm is proof of that in that just reading an email is enough for the virus to spread.

A Few Definitions

A quick review of some definitions may be helpful, and these are directly quoted from Fred Langa's Langalist (www.langa.com ) of June 1, 2000.

"Virus: a self replicating program that "infects" one or more files on your system. When an infected file is run or accessed, the virus is triggered, often with malicious and destructive consequences.

Worm: a program that moves through a network, depositing itself at each system it encounters along the way.

Trojan Horse: a file or program that seems legitimate but performs some surreptitious action when run or accessed." (6/1/2000 issue of the Langalist)

Langa goes on to note that often there is overlap among the definitions, for example, the "Luv Bug" virus infected files, it used email to move from computer to computer through the internet (worm), and it arrived disguised as a love letter (Trojan Horse).

Protect Yourself (and Others)

While I certainly do not consider myself an expert on antivirus software, my recent experience reminded me that there are basic steps that can be taken to avoid becoming the victim of computer virus infection. You can stop using email, never go on the Internet and download anything, never accept an attachment if you use email, never open a file from a friend or co worker, etc., but this is not very practical in the this day and age. Another option is to get a copy of the February, 2000 issue of PC World that included not only material on virus protection but also excellent information on dealing with and getting rid of those annoying computer bugs we all know and love. From my perspective, here are some important steps to take:

Buy (and install) an antivirus software program. There are many good ones out there, but I am only familiar with Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan (having used both over the years). PC World gave Norton AntiVirus 2000 (Norton SystemWorks 2001 is now available) a "Best Buy, thanks to comprehensive protection, innovative features, ease of use, and excellent support" (Miastkowski, 2000, p. 126). McAfee was described as finishing a close second. I prefer Norton because of the "Live Update" features that makes updating virus definitions a snap.

Keep those virus definitions current! I had a relative who sent me an email with an attached virus. Norton caught it, but when I contacted my relative, I was informed that it could not have been him because he had a virus protection program installed on his machine. Turns out, it was the factory installed version that was literally four years old and had NEVER been updated nor were the virus definitions close to being current! New viruses are introduced daily, so I check for updates of virus definitions several times a week.

Keep your email programs updated as well. As noted earlier, Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express are notorious targets for hackers and others who use them to spread viruses. Run Windows Update and while there, check for Microsoft Office updates which will include Outlook. Also handy is Updates.com (updates.zdnet.com) which scans your system and look for updates.* Be careful when opening attachments. If you do not recognize the sender, the attached file name does not "ring true," etc., then you can delete it. Or, if in doubt, contact the sender and ask for information on the attachment. Some programs, e.g., QuickView Plus (www.jasc.com ), allow you to view the attachment without actually opening it.

Go back in time if all else fails! If you really want to protect yourself, you can install programs that allow you to turn back the hands of time in order to "undo" the damage done. (If only life allowed for such!) Again, there are several such programs, but I have only used GoBack 2.21 (www.adaptec.com ) which has saved me on occasion. (Note: I found out the hard way that there are some problems with GoBack and Zip drives, so if you rush out and get GoBack and notice your system will not boot beyond the "splash" screen, you may have to download the most recent drivers for your Zip drive.) SecondChance (www.powerquest.com ) from the makers of Partition Magic also tracks changes made to your system and allows you to recover from problems. I'm told (and have read) that Windows ME will also allow for some type of "go back" feature.

Make frequent backups of your system. Regardless of your level of protection including having "recovery" programs such as those above, make regular physical backups of your system just in case. This is especially true of important clinical information such as progress notes (of course, you should have a hard copy as well), billing information, etc. At the end of each day I make two backups of my Therapist Helper and QuicDoc data on Zip drives and take one with me, and I back a full tape backup of my entire system once a month (and probably it could be more frequent).

As our parents lovingly told us, nobody ever promised us life would be fair. Getting a computer virus is not fair, especially when it is related to some uninformed people who did not have virus protection on their computers, did not update their virus protection software, etc., and gave the gift that "keeps on giving." But, we can be part of the solution rather than being part of the problem by following the steps (or at least some of the steps) outlined above.

So, be careful out there, and with apologies to Jerry Springer, "Be kind to yourself . . . and to others."

References:

Langa, Fred. (6/1/2000). Langalist Newsletter which can be found at www.langa.com.

Miastkowski, S. (2000, February). The swat team: Bullet proof PC protection. PC World, 18 (2), 124 136.

Footnote:

Dr. Nottingham is in solo independent practice in Memphis, TN, and is Board Certified (ABPP) in both Clinical and Behavioral Psychology. Additionally, he is a CompTia A+ Certified Service Professional.