In recent months, there have been numerous reports of computing systems and networks affected by computer viruses. Computer viruses are programs specifically written to intentionally cause some form of damage to computer systems or networks. Other forms of damage-causing programs include network worms and Trojan horses. This group of programs is more properly referred to as "malicious software."

Network worms are programs that spread through network connections, employing user names as passwords and commands to copy themselves into the system. They are extremely dangerous because they can behave as computer viruses, implant Trojan horse programs and perform any number of disruptive or destructive actions.

Because most of the computers at Old Dominion University are networked, "worms" are particularly threatening. The program is sent as an e-mail attachment which, when executed, will infect the computer system and indirectly cause widespread performance problems with our mail servers. The highly reported ExploreZip.exe is an example of a network worm.

Computer viruses and other malicious software all affect the computer in the same way - by first infecting the computer and then detonating programs to cause damage. The infector portions of viruses replicate to spread from disk to disk or network to network. Viruses can only infect executable programs or the area of disks called the "boot sector."

The boot sector is the program and data area and contains a small program essential to the initial boot-up or login process of the computer. Executable programs are those with .com, .exe, .sys, .biv or .ovc extensions.

Once the computer is infected, the detonator sets the virus in motion and causes the damage.

Frequently, there are hoaxes related to the transmission of viruses through e-mail. The good news is that you can't get the virus simply by reading the e-mail message; viruses transmitted via e-mail are almost always contained in a file attachment. These attachments usually have a .exe extension, designating it as an executable file. Unfortunately, in today's global mail environment, most clients are not authenticated when they send mail. Therefore, it is easy for anyone to send you mail and make it appear as though the message came from someone else.

This makes running any e-mail .exe attachment extremely hazardous. Other types of attachments are less risky, but you should use discretion in determining what actions to take.

There are several ways to handle suspicious attachments. Before running an attached .exe file, verify the identity of the sender with a telephone call. If you are unable to do so, it is best to delete the message. If you are using a university standard computer on the network, you have been provided with virus-scanning capabilities. To scan an attachment prior to opening, detach the file and save it in one of your directories. You can then use the McAffee Netshield program (Start/Programs) to scan the document prior to opening the file.

OCCS provides regular McAffee upgrades to all university standard machines through the Novell Application Launcher.