Free Software - How Downloading Programs from the Internet Can Bring Your Computer to a Screeching Halt
Posted: Monday, September 04, 2006
by Danny Davids
Virus. Trojan. Ad-ware. Spy-ware. Mal-ware. Once used only by the computer elite, these words have become a part of our everyday language. Why? Because computers have such a major impact on our life, we assimilate the terminology, sometimes changing the usage along the way. (Remember when “Google" and “spam" used to be nouns? They’re used regularly as verbs now.) Even if you don’t use a computer, you are probably familiar with the first two terms in the list above. Computer owners are more likely to know what the rest are.
The Long Road to Recovery
You might be thinking, “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad." After all, many computer manufacturers now include CDs that allow you to rebuild your computer as it was when you received it from the vendor. Insert a CD, follow the instructions, and a few keystrokes later you’re well on your way to getting back all those programs you thought were long gone. True - but that’s assuming your computer has been purchased in the last year or two. Many older computers never came with recover or restore CDs and would have to be built out manually. And what about all the data files you had on the hard drive? Whether they’re usable or not, they disappear once you start the rebuilding process. (If you wait until you have a problem to try to get a good backup, it’s too late.) Ditto for all the programs you installed and configured after you got your system set up. Oh, and by the way, when WAS the last time you rebuilt your computer? Do you even know how? That’s what I thought.
Assuming you have a current backup (if you have to ask, trust me, you don’t have one!), estimates range from four to twelve hours to rebuild a computer. Add on to that if you don’t know how to reinstall and reconfigure the software that didn’t come with the system; add on more if you don’t have your data backed up. Sometimes it takes weeks for users to get their computer to a useable state, between finding the programs and installing them, getting data onto the hard drive, and adding the peripherals back in (printers, CD and DVD drives, plotters, etc.). That’s time most people simply don’t have.
Preventive Medicine
Obviously it’s easier to prevent programs like this from causing problems than it is to deal with the fallout once one starts its rampage inside your system. Most likely you already have help in this area, even if you don’t know it. Your Internet service provider (ISP) is probably already checking your email for you. They’re refusing to deliver any messages that might contain viruses or Trojans, and giving you the option to route any spam to separate folders for viewing at a later time. Many ISPs also provide utilities like virus scanners, to verify the files on your computer are virus-free, and firewalls, to prevent files from sneaking in unexpectedly through links to other Web sites or routines imbedded in legitimate programs. If your ISP doesn’t provide this type of protection, you can get some through your operating system, especially if you’re running Windows XP. You can also purchase low-cost solutions for virus-scanning and firewall protection though several reputable vendors. All of these options warn the user when they determine either a known or potential dangerous situation (email attachment, software program download, link to a Web site).
Yet even with these safeguards in place, people still find their computers infected and attacked. Who’s to blame? For the answer to that, go take a look in the mirror. Yep, it’s time to place the fault where it belongs, right at the feet of the user.
Open Invitation
Regardless of how many utilities have been installed to defend a computer, they’re useless if the user bypasses them to obtain software that has the potential to infect his system. Whether it’s your teenager getting the coolest new instant messenger software, your spouse checking out some cool new Web sites discussed over the water cooler at work, or you downloading the latest user-created worlds to your online game, you can thwart your protection utilities by ignoring them and letting the computer connect to whatever you want, or download and install whatever you want. It’s like spending a fortune on a maximum-security system for your home and then giving a total stranger the keys to the front door simply because you like the new game he’s playing. Not exactly the wisest of moves.
So let’s see what happens when you ignore your protection utilities and decide to take your chances.
The Direct Attack
A software program doesn’t need to have a malicious virus embedded in it in order to bring your computer system to its knees. In fact, some of the viruses that cause the most damage to computer systems are the ones that do nothing more than slow the system down. They add extra processing cycles to your computer, making it take longer to do its work. First one cycle might be added, then two, then three. With a processor running at hundreds or even thousands of instructions per second, it might not seem like a lot. But over time, the cycles add up, especially if the number of extra cycles starts increasing. Your system will slow down, taking more time to do what it used to do with lightning speed. And if more than one program is infected, you can see how your system’s speed could decrease exponentially.
Other viruses may do things that seem just as innocent, like reading every contact in your email address book and emailing each contact a message from you. Innocent, that is, unless the email contains an infected attachment. Now you’re not only infecting your computer, but allowing all of your friends and associates to be infected too.
Finally, there are the vicious programs that do the really nasty stuff. “Nasty" can range from flooding your computer with pop-up ads, to displaying non-closing windows of Web sites containing less-than-desirable content, to deleting files on your computer or reformatting your hard drive. You’ve heard about them, so all I really need to say is that they’re very bad.
But not all attacks on your computer system are so direct. In fact, some of the most insidious problems are caused by legitimate programs that don’t contain any viruses whatsoever, but grant authorized access to your computer for any number of companies. And you give your permission to let them do it.
Reading the Fine Print
Some vendors give out free software for you to install on your computer. They’re usually little utilities that do things like display your current weather in the tool bar, automatically update your computer’s clock, or provide vendor-specific buttons to your Internet Explorer window. But they do so much more.
Almost all software programs, whether commercial, shareware, or freeware, come with something called an End User License Agreement, or EULA. It’s that legalese that most people skip over when they’re installing software. They simply click on the “I Accept" button and continue on. By doing so, they agree to the terms outlined in the EULA.
The vendors mentioned above add something to the standard EULA. In addition to agreeing not to modify their software and to make sure you give them credit when passing the software on to your friends (which is greatly encouraged), you also agree to let them install an extra little piece of software on your computer. It doesn’t take up much space and doesn’t use a lot of extra computer cycles, but what it does do is collect data. Your data. It tracks every Web site you go to and sends that information to the vendor’s advertisers. So, for example, if you frequent a particular jewelry Web site, that information is sent to the vendor’s advertisers who sell jewelry. These advertisers have the information they need to send you email, or pop-up ads, concerning their products. Ditto for any other site you might access, whether on purpose or inadvertently. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how this can lead to your getting information about all kinds of products you don’t need, and don’t want. It can become devastating if an advertiser decides the best way to give you information about his site is to flood your computer with pop-up ads. Can’t shut ‘ em down, your system is locked up, and rebooting solves the problem only until the advertiser starts sending the pop-ups to your computer again – which is usually only a few minutes after rebooting.
The Domino Effect
Regardless of whether the attack is overt or covert, once your computer has been infiltrated by any of the means identified above, the problems snowball. A virus can download another to your system and start it. Pop-ups from one vendor are assumed to be legitimate by the tracking software now installed on your computer, and that information is sent on to similar advertisers who send their pop-ups and emails to you. Before you know it, you’re spending more time trying to get rid of unwanted email and pop-up ads than you are getting your work done. Things can get bad enough to where you need to choose the ultimate resolution – rebuilding your computer.
The Other White Meat
Right now there’s a small (but very vocal) group hollering, “ YOU WOULDN’T HAVE THIS PROBLEM IF YOU’D BOUGHT A MAC!" Two or three of them are my good friends (and they’ve been yelling at me for awhile now). We know that viruses don’t infect Macs, guys – at least, not now they don’t. With the much-lauded new feature of Macs being able to run Windows, will that remain the case? And you can’t tell me that some 13- or 14-year old die-hard Mac programming guru isn’t trying to figure out how to “crack the code" and go down in history as the first person to successfully write a virus for the Mac OS. It’ll eventually happen. And when it does, you’ll have to leave computing utopia and join the rest of us over here on the dark side. Heh-heh-heh …!
The Best Offense Is…
Use the tools that your ISP provides (usually as part of your monthly service fee). Find out from their tech support group how to install and maintain the programs. Set up your computer to scan automatically for viruses on your system, preferably several times a week during the middle of the night (or more often if you frequent many sites on the Internet or download a lot of files). Make sure your virus program automatically gets updates from the vendor on a regular basis (I’m talking daily, not weekly). When you have emails identified as spam, don’t open them without first verifying that they’re from people or companies you know. When linking to new Web sites, check to see if they’re located outside the United States (check the two-character code at the end of the site’s main URL) and be wary of sites that are, especially Brazil and China (two countries with the biggest increases in spam and virus Web content). If you need to download files, check first to see if they exist on larger download sites like CNet.com or TuCows ; these sites usually verify the files they include in their download list are virus-free. If you have to use a peer-to-peer download program, scan all files through your virus-scanning program before installing them. Don’t allow your children to install software on their computers or on the family computer; require an adult do the installation, or supervise them as they do it. Always read the EULA when installing software and make sure you’re not letting the vendor add any user-tracking software; if you find the program allows it, don’t install it. NEVER ignore your firewall, anti-virus, or other utility programs when a program is flagged as containing a virus or when your computer asks for permission to access a site you’ve never been to before.
Seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Maybe so. But compare it to the amount of work you’ll have to do if you have to start from scratch tomorrow morning, and you’ll see the benefits of doing some ongoing preventative maintenance on your computer.
Additional sources for this article include “Wired" magazine, June 2006 issue, and Counterexploitation .
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Thanks for the warning!
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