A threat by any other name... (page 1 of 2)

We're confronted with a host of cryptic, technical, and whimsical handles—worms and viruses, Trojan horses, blended threats. Nimda, Bugbear, Sobig, WarPigs. It can all be a bit overwhelming. The good news is most of these threats are less enigmatic than their names imply, and rest assured Symantec has developed advanced technologies to defend against them.

Beating the virtual flu
Probably the best known security threat is the computer virus. The name, although disquieting, is apropos. In nature, viruses are microorganisms capable of growth and multiplication in living cells. They also cause sickness.

Likewise, computer viruses, which thrive and replicate within host computer files, are capable of doing harm to your PC or Mac. Moreover, just as humans contract viruses through contact with other infected persons, computers contract viruses through contact with infected files—whether they encounter those files as email attachments, Web downloads, or on floppy disks.

The analogy stretches even further. In the organic world, we take steps to avoid spreading and catching viruses like the flu. We get vaccinated, pay attention to hygiene, and avoid close contact with others when we're sick. You can also act to prevent computer virus infections. For example, you can use trusted virus protection software like Norton AntiVirus™ to detect, contain, and eradicate infected files before they damage your computer. You can run Symantec LiveUpdate™ on a regular basis.

LiveUpdate acts as a kind of booster shot, keeping your virus protection up to date. And, should your computer become infected, you can avoid spreading viruses to others by limiting communications with other computers. Fortunately, these measures are more successful in the digital world than they are in nature. We still haven't found a cure for the common cold, but we have developed the means to ward off most computer viruses.

Those clever Greeks
The famed Trojan horse. According to myth, Odysseus and a group of his soldiers piled into a giant, wooden horse and then had the horse presented to the city of Troy. The Trojans, intrigued by the massive structure, brought it inside the city walls. The Greeks thereby infiltrated Troy and defeated the Trojans in a surprise attack. The image endures. A Trojan horse has come to stand for anything intended to defeat or subvert from within.

In computer parlance, Trojan horses are malicious programs disguised as something benign. They've been known to pose as games, utilities, and email attachments. Once opened, Trojan horses act differently than expected. Some merely annoy, sending emails to everyone in your address book. Others do serious damage, to the point of stealing passwords and data files.

As with viruses, there are ways to protect yourself from Trojan horses. Defenses like Norton Internet Security™ are able to detect and destroy these subversive programs before they affect your computer. Norton Internet Security is ever-vigilant, scanning your drives for known Trojan horse programs and employing LiveUpdate to inform itself about the latest Trojan horse threats. So, take a lesson from Greek myth. Secure your computer with Symantec software, and it's unlikely you'll find yourself hoodwinked like those ill-fated Trojans.

Digging worms
Worms. Now they have one of the juiciest names going. Do they live in the digital underground? Are they virtual fish bait? Do they poke their heads from shiny, red computer apples.