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Research for JOMC 50 at UNC-Chapel Hill
Spread and prevention of computer viruses
Section I-A:
During my childhood, the Internet was just beginning to come into everyday life.
My dad obtained his PhD in computer science, and then went to work for IBM in
the one of the security development department. So, I have grown up with many
computers and all of them had to have some sort of antivirus software installed
on them. I know that antivirus software is needed to detect and either repair
or quarantine viruses found on the computer. I also know that some viruses get
into your hard drive and delete the hard drive. I’ve heard talk of firewalls,
worms, and all sorts of security problems, but I do not actually know what these
terms mean.
So, I want to know more about computer viruses, their “duties” and prevention. What can people do to protect themselves? What viruses are old, and what viruses have just come out? Through finding out more about viruses in general, I want to learn about hackers and what their roles are.
Everyone who owns or uses a computer needs to know about computer safety. The damage that a virus or worm can cause is great. It is a hassle when your computer does not work. The best thing you can do is to make sure that you are doing everything possible to keep it working properly.
Section I-B:
Keywords:
UNC-CH: “computer crimes” AND “computer security”
cyber? AND hackers
Lexis-Nexis: computer w/5 virus NOT disease
cyber? OR computer AND security
Search engine on Web <http://www.google.com>
cyberterrorism AND war
“security measures” AND cyberspace
Section II:
Two print sources:
Denning, Peter J., ed. Computers under attack: intruders, worms, and viruses.
New York: ACM Press, 1990.
Call Number QA76.9.A25 C667 1990
Schwartau, Winn. CyberShock: surviving hackers, phreakers, identity thieves,
Internet terrorists, and weapons of mass disruption. New York: Thunder’s
Mouth Press, 2000.
Call Number QA76.9.A25 S3537 2000
Non-print source:
Sieber, Gary. Cyberspace: virtual unreality? Pro. By Michael W. Doyle and Michael
J. Schmiedeler. 26 Min. Films for the Humanities, 1996. Videocassette.
Call Number 45-V110
Section III: Electronic Indexes and Databases Sources
Barreras, Rhonda. “Weekend Slammer Worm Could Have Been Prevented.” PR Newswire, 28 January 2003, Financial Section (426 words). Available from LexisNexis Academic. <http://www.prnewswire.com> [23 January 2003].
Glover, Tony. “Cyber-terrorists to Target Small, Medium-Sized Businesses in UK.” Sunday Business (London), 3 November 2002, SU-CYBER-TERRORISTS, (362 words). Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Available from LexisNexis Academic. <http://www.sundaybusiness.co.uk> [23 January 2003].
Hart, Matthew. (2002, September 8). “Business oblivious to security threats.” The Courier-Mail, 9 September 2002, Pg. 18 (101 words). ABIX: Australasian Business Intelligence. Available from LexisNexis Academic. [25 January 2003].
Landers, Jim. (2002, August 20). “As Threat of Cyber Attacks Grows, Security Specialists Blame Faulty Software.” The Dallas Morning News, 20 August 2002, DA-CYBER-ATTACK, (1271 words). Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Available from LexisNexis Academic. <http://www.dallasnews.com> [1 February 2003].
Mangan, Joseph F. “Computer virus risks.” Risk & Insurance [Online]. July 2002, v13 i8 pg. 9(1). Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [31 January 2003].
Schwartz, John. “Technology Briefing Internet: Threat from Computer Worm.” The New York Times. Late Edition- Final, 3 October 2002, Section C7 col 3 (161 words). Available from LexisNexis Academic. [1 February 2003].
Section IV: Web Sources
Title of Web page: How Computer Viruses Work by Marshall Brain
Web address: http://www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
Brief Description: This page discusses how viruses work, both old and new. It
also gives tips on how to protect against them. The page is very easy to read,
very comprehensible, and very informative.
Source of Web site: Marshall Brain, founder of How Stuff Works
Title of Web page: Virus Info
Web address: http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/
Brief description: This page provides information on computer viruses, hoaxes,
and other issues dealing with computer security. It lets you check through lists
of some the interesting and most common viruses. It also provides links to security
information and recent articles on viruses or anti-virus issues.
Source of Web site: Sophos
Title of Web page: Virus Information Library
Web address: http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.asp
Brief description: This site lets you search through 62,000 plus computer viruses.
It informs you where they came from, how they infect your system, and how to
remove them. McAfee is one of the producers of antivirus software.
Source of Web site: McAfee Security
Title of Web page: Antionline.com: Hackers know the weaknesses in your system.
Shouldn’t you?
Web address: http://www.antionline.com/index.php?action=home
Brief description: A well-created and informative site filled with security
updates and facts you need to know to be “cybersafe.” It tells you
how to “fight back” against hackers, and it also allows you to join
discussion groups or newsgroups. This website is good at answering fairly basic
security questions and it is fun to use.
Sources of Web site: CEO John Vranesevich
Title of Web page: Stay Safe Online
Web Address: http://www.staysafeonline.info/index.adp
Brief description: This Web site allows you to take a safety test to see how
safe you are. It also gives you tips on how to be safer and has links to other
security sites. It is a complete basic guide on protecting yourself against
viruses or worms, but it is a pretty boring website.
Sources of Web site: National Cyber Security Alliance
Section V: Mini- Essay
SQL Slammer shows need for better security awareness
(TOPIC AREA: Dark Side of the Net)
The weekend of January 24, 2003 was a real wakeup call to the computer world. Beginning late Friday night, the “Slammer” worm started infecting computers that use Microsoft’s SQL Server database software. (1) The worm caused high miscellaneous data traffic on the server, which slowed the system down. Just a couple of messages would take so long to receive that other messages were unable to get through, leading to an overload and shutdown of many systems.
Microsoft had issued a patch for the SQL software in July and then again in October. (1) This would have fixed the software’s weaknesses and made the worm unable to do any damage. As a leader in computer security, Microsoft regularly offers patches and updates to fix problems occurring with the different operating systems. The major problem is that often these patches go unnoticed or unused. The company became very aware of this problem when the “Slammer” worm affected some of its computers that weekend. “A spokesperson for Microsoft, Rick Miller, confirmed that a number of the company’s machines had gone unpatched, and that Microsoft Network services, like many others on the Internet, experienced a significant slowdown.” (2) This illustrates that even a leader in the business is not completely safe.
Other systems that were affected include ATM machines, police dispatch operations,
credit card companies Web sites, and others. People were unable to use Bank
of America’s ATM machines. Police dispatchers outside of Seattle had to
hand write information obtained. (1) Businesses throughout the US and especially
those in other countries felt the effects of the worm. This crisis reminds us
that we cannot take computer security lightly. It is our duty, as computer users,
to protect ourselves and others from virus attacks.
NOTES:
(1) Kristi Heim, “’Slammer Worm’ Attack Shows Weak Spots
in Computer Systems Worldwide,” San Jose Mercury News, 28 January 2003,
SJ-VIRUS, (964 words). Also Available [Online]: LexisNexis Academic [Accessed:
1 February 2003].
(2) John Schwartz, “Worm Hits Microsoft, Which Ignored Own Advice,”
The New York Times, 28 January 2003, Late Edition pg. C4 col. 3 (375 words).
Also Available [Online]: LexisNexis Academic [Accessed: 1 February 2003].
WEBSITES:
Title of Web page: “SQL Slammer” worm wreaks havoc worldwide
Web address: http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Jan/gee20030127018346.htm
Brief description: This page tells you the basics about the SQL Slammer. Then
it gives you the writer’s opinion on computer security and allows you
to voice your opinion through a discussion board.
Source of Web site: Geek.com
Title of Web page: Customer Update on the “Slammer” Attack
Web address: http://www.microsoft.com/security/slammer.asp
Brief description: This page gives a brief description of how the worm works
and what Microsoft did to remedy the situation. The last part of the page gives
links to information that customers who think their computer is infected should
read.
Source of Web site: Microsoft Corporation
Title of Web page: SQL Slammer: How it works—prevent it
Web address: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-982226.html
Brief description: This page gives a rather complexly written view on how the
SQL slammer worm works. Also, it tells you how to prevent it or fix it. This
page seems to be for people who know a lot about computers.
Source of Web site: ZDNet