1. Viruses and Jail Time
Declan Dinnadge, Theodore Sanchez, & Yanling You

2. What is a Virus?
“A piece of code that is capable of copying itself and
typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting
the system or destroying data.” – Google definition
Comes in various types (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.):
Traditional
Email
Trojan
Worm
Ad/Malware

3. Traditional Virus
First widely seen in the 1980s (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Spread of PCs and downloadable files (Brain &
Fenlon, n.d.)
Small size of operating systems (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Run from the boot sector or backpack off other
program (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Less prevalent today (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)

4. Email Virus
Spread through email attachments (Brain & Fenlon,
n.d.)
Triggered by opening the email or
downloading/opening the attachment (Brain &
Fenlon, n.d.)
Replicated by emailing itself to contacts in address
book (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Often a word document “macro” or executable file
(Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)

5. Email Viruses in History
I LOVE YOU Virus (2000) (Weinberger, 2012)
Activated by clicking on the attachment
Disguised as a love letter from a secret admirer
Corrupted files on the victim’s machine
Became a global pandemic in a matter of hours
MyDoom (2004) (Weinberger, 2012)
Caused a denial of service attack
Infected one million computers
Fastest spreading email virus ever seen prior

7. Trojan Horse
Disguised as another seemingly harmless program
(Fuller, n.d.)
Works by creating a Trojan “server” on your system
(Fuller, n.d.)
Infects other files on the system (Fuller, n.d.)
Can send information to the developer (Fuller, n.d.)
Creates zombie computers called “botnets” (Fuller,
n.d.)

8. Worms
Has the ability to copy itself over machines (Brain &
Fenlon, n.d.)
Use up processing power and network bandwidth (Brain &
Fenlon, n.d.)
Exploits holes in an operating system (Brain & Fenlon,
n.d.)
Replicates through networks (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Carry payloads that can do significant damage (Brain &
Fenlon, n.d.)

9. Worms in History
Code Red (2001) (Weinberger, 2012)
Exploited a flaw in Microsoft Internet Information Server
Brought down the whitehouse.gov website
Slammer (2003) (Weinberger, 2012)
Released packets that slowed down the internet
Affected the Bank of America, a 911 emergency response
system, and a nuclear power plant in Ohio
Fizzer (2003) (Weinberger, 2012)
First worm created for financial gain
Sent out spam

11. Adware & Malware
Many malware programs are poorly coded (Baratz, 2004)
Comes bundled with other programs (Baratz, 2004)
Can be installed mistakenly by the user (Baratz, 2004)
Places advertisements on screen (pop ups) (Baratz, 2004)
Capture information about you and your computer
(Baratz, 2004)
Hijack your computer (Baratz, 2004)
Can disguise themselves as legitimate programs (Baratz,
2004)

12. Malware in History
Zeus (2007) (Weinberger, 2012)
Used to compromise identity information
Sells the data to underground markets
Agent.btz (2008) (Weinberger, 2012)
Spread through infected thumb drives
Affected the Pentagon
Considered cyber warfare
Stuxnet (2009-2010) (Weinberger, 2012)
Caused damage in the real world
Damaged machinery
Infected a centrifuge plant in Iran

13. How to Protect Yourself
Virus Protection Software (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Updates and Patches (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Avoid .exe files unless you are certain of their origin
(Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Use firewalls (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Skeptical computing (Brain & Fenlon, n.d.)
Be careful – learn about viruses and malware

14. References
Baratz, A. (2004). Malware: What it is and how to prevent it.
Retrieved from arstechnica:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2004/11/malware/5/
Brain, M., & Fenlon, W. (n.d.). How Computer Viruses Work. Retrieved
from How Stuff Works:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus1.htm
Fuller, J. (n.d.). How Trojan Horses Work. Retrieved from How Stuff
Works: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/trojan-horse2.htm
Weinberger, S. (2012). Top-Ten Most Destructive Computer Viruses.
Retrieved from Smithsonian Mag:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-most-
destructive-computer-viruses-159542266/?all