Viruses - Faster and More Complex

There is a villain in the computer industry that can strike fear into any company or individual that encounters it. It has been wreaking havoc in both the business and personal computer world for many years. Its frequency and intensity of attack is on the rise. It’s the computer virus.
Viruses are programs designed to interfere with the proper functioning of a computer. They are quickly infecting every segment of the computer industry, attacking with greater frequency and efficiency due to their increased complexity.
Years ago, viruses had the ability to attack vulnerabilities in computer programs that were two years old or more. This allowed businesses ample time to patch and update security systems before the computer was confronted with an attack by the virus.
But more recent viruses, known as worms, are designed to exploit weaknesses in computer programs that are less than a year old. The increased propagation speed tends to decrease the ability of companies to install patches and updates before they are infected with the worm.
One specific worm—the Blaster worm—has managed to travel through network connections to transport itself throughout the world in six minutes. Experts predict that this increased sophistication is only the beginning of faster, more efficient viruses.
It is expected that there will be 11% more viruses this year than last year. Why? As computers become more complex, the amount of code required increases exponentially. There is an average of 10-20 errors for every 1000 lines of code written for a computer—that’s only 1 to 2%—but consider that current programs contain as many as 45 million lines of code. This tremendous quantity of code means thousands of vulnerabilities and therefore, systems are vulnerable to many lines of attack by viruses. Considering that recent viruses can attack 10-20 vulnerabilities at a time, it is relatively easy for viruses to invade and attack new computer systems.
Besides the increasing number of vulnerabilities, viruses are evolving into more sophisticated and complex vehicles of destruction. One type of worm—the SoBig worm—no longer needs e-mail to propagate itself and has evolved about every two months since its inception. This makes it difficult to keep security measures updated to combat each new form of the worm.
Other viruses—known as blended worms or cocktail viruses—lie dormant and appear to be neutralized for extended periods of time, but then regenerate and do their nasty thing after receiving commands from the virus author.
So, what is the solution to this rising problem? You can begin by increasing the types and quantity of security in your computers. Be sure to install firewalls, anti-virus guardians and update software and patches weekly. Better yet, schedule automatic updates for your computer programs and automatic weekly (or daily) scans from your virus checker. With the ever-increasing speed of mutating viruses, it is no longer adequate to update monthly. With a few safety precautions in place on your system, you can greatly reduce your risk of attack by these quicker, more efficient, quickly evolving viruses.

Worm or Virus...What's the Difference?

Everyone has been infected with a virus at one time or another either through the common cold or the flu. A virus attacks the human body by entering through one of the many openings and attaching itself to a host cell. It releases a piece of genetic information into the cell and recruits the cell’s enzymes to propagate the genetic information. Once the genetic code has been adequately replicated, it destroys the cell and attacks cells nearby. How does a computer virus simulate a biological virus? Just as a biological virus injects its own genetic information into a cell and interferes with the body’s normal operations, a computer virus is a program written to interfere with the proper functioning of a computer. It may damage programs, delete files, reformat hard disks and perform other forms of destructive acts. To be classified as a virus, a program must meet two criteria. It must be able to execute itself by placing its own code in the execution path of another program. The program must also be able to replicate itself by replacing existing computer files with copies of the virus-infected files. Similar to the way a biological virus requires a host cell, a computer virus requires an infected host file to propagate itself. Viruses have become the villains of the computer world, propagating themselves and destroying everything in their path. However, another tool of destruction, known as the worm, has been creeping into the computer industry. Most of us have heard of the dreaded Blaster worm that attacks Microsoft websites, but what exactly is a worm and how does it differ from a virus? Actually, a worm is a type of virus that attacks the computer in a method differing from the way a typical virus attacks a computer. Unlike the typical virus, the worm does not require a host program to propagate. A worm enters a computer through a weakness in the computer system and propagates itself using network flaws. The typical virus requires activation through user intervention, such as double clicking or sending outgoing email. However, a worm releases a document containing the “worm” macro and sends copies of itself to other computers through network flaws, therefore bypassing any need for user intervention. So, what can you do to protect your computer from virus infection? There are a number of preventative measures that you can take. For example, you can purchase and continually update virus scan software. Make sure that this software contains the “real-time” scanning feature which monitors all incoming and outgoing mail. You may also install a firewall which prohibits unauthorized access to your computer. By installing these preventative devices, you can proactively defend against viruses.

Understanding Viruses

Anyone with even a small amount of computer experience has heard of computer viruses. Even with no knowledge of how a virus functions, the word strikes fear into the heart of computer owners. What exactly is a virus and how does it function?
What is a Virus?A virus is a computer program designed to enter your computer and tamper with your files without your knowledge. Once the program containing the virus is open, the activated virus can not only infect other programs and documents on your computer, it can duplicate and transmit itself to other computers that are connected to yours, just like a physical virus can move from one human host to another.Viruses began in the late 1980s as personal computers and electronic bulletin boards became more common. Back then, operating systems, word processing programs and other programs were stored on floppy disks. Hidden viruses were programmed onto these disks; as the disks were transferred from person to person, the virus spread.
Who Creates Viruses?Where do viruses come from? Every virus is created by an author with a different motive—but all virus builders feel their actions are justified. For some, a killer virus is the ultimate technical challenge, like climbing a mountain. For others, creating viruses is a form of self-expression. Some disgruntled employees, consumers or citizens turn to virus building as revenge for perceived injustices. And though it’s a frightening thought, some viruses are built and aimed by legitimate (but disreputable) businesses to weaken competitors. Other virus authors want to make their mark in Internet history; these writers get a thrill out of seeing their virus cause damage enough to attract news headlines both online and on the evening news.
What Do Viruses Do?Today’s viruses are far more potent than the beginner versions we saw several decades ago. Viruses may be sent by opening email attachments, clicking on spam, visiting corrupt websites and links online, opening spreadsheets or even the original method—infected disks. But the Internet is now the superhighway for virus transmission. Some aggressive viruses—such as the Melissa virus—automatically duplicate copies of itself to the first 50 people in your computer email address book. A frightening prospect—opening an email from someone you trust to be greeted by a virus, and that’s exactly what the author is counting on, your trust. The damage caused by these viruses varies from minor delays in computer function to complete destruction of your hard drive. For companies, the price is far higher. A downed website can cost a company millions of dollars a day.How does the virus infect your computer? Because floppy use is nearly extinct and the majority of CDs that change hands cannot be altered, you will most likely bump into a virus through online activity.Some viruses attack your boot sector, the start up section of your hard drive. Other viruses infect executable program files, activating each time the program is started. The virus travels into the memory and further copies itself.Macro-viruses are the most common type of computer virus. This type of virus attacks data files containing macros. Macros are lists of commands or actions found under key headings. The virus resembles a macro but when the file is opened, the virus is activated. Multi-partite viruses are a combination of the boot sector and file virus. These begin in the boot sector and affect both your boot records and program files.
Is My Computer Infected?How can you tell if your computer has a virus? There are warning signs that your computer may be infected with a virus. For minor viruses, you may encounter strange messages, images, noises or music on your computer. An infected computer may have less memory available, or you may notice name changes. A computer infected with a virus may be missing programs, or files may malfunction. If you encounter any of these characteristics on your computer, you are most likely experiencing an attack from a virus. Is there any hope? How can you protect your computer from viruses? If you do not have any virus software on your computer now, consider installing some soon. Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly; this way you’ll be protected from new viruses that crop up.Use your software to scan for viruses weekly. Don’t open emails from unknown sources, and be cautious when opening attachments—even attachments from people you trust. Hyper vigilance requires you to contact the sender and confirm the attachment before you open it, but this is too much. Just be aware. It Aunt Gertrude typically includes a newsly, well-written letter with the jokes she sends, and this attachment email from her comes with: “Open this now, baby!” alarm bells should go off. Don’t open it. Constantly back up your data in case a virus attacks your hard drive and you need to reformat. Better yet, set up your computer to automatically back up your data weekly so that you don’t have to worry about this chore.
What Should I do if I have a Virus?What do I do if I find out that I have a virus on my computer? Know that it’s not the end of the world. As a courtesy, contact everyone (by phone, preferably) you have been connected by email to warn them possible exposure to the virus right away. Clean your computer with anti-virus software. If your computer is still not functioning and you have data you are concerned about recovering, consider hiring a trusted expert. Often data can be successfully extracted from an injured hard drive, but the process is complex and will involve another computer, special software, and a technician with a lot of experience in data recovery. As a last resort, reformat your hard drive, even if it means destroying all of the information located there. Reinstall the software and data using your backup files.

Intel® 975X Express Chipset

Platforms based on the Intel® 975X Express Chipset and Intel® Pentium® processor Extreme Edition deliver incredible high performance for gaming, multimedia entertainment and demanding business applications of today and tomorrow.
The Intel 975X Express Chipset enables Intel's highest desktop performance platforms, with support for the latest Intel dual-core processors, adding intelligence to help manage and prioritize multiple (quad) threads received from the processor.In addition to multiple thread support, the Intel 975X Express Chipset enables key performance-optimized capabilities such as support for multiple 2x8 graphics cards, Intel® Memory Pipeline Technology (Intel® MPT), 8GB memory addressability to enable 64-bit computing, and ECC memory support.

AMD Multi-Core Technology

Multi-core processors represent a major evolution in computing technology. Placing two, four, or more powerful computing cores on a single processor opens up a world of important possibilities.
Evolution of multi-core technology
With the introduction of the first computer came market demands for more computing capacity. Symmetrical multi-processing (SMP) has long been used to increase computing performance and efficiency by spreading computing loads across multiple processors. SMP has proved effective in multi-threaded environments where many tasks (threads) need to be handled simultaneously.
As application performance demands grow, processor designers are facing the issue that it takes more power to drive more computing capability. More power means that heat dissipation levels also need to be managed. Add the demand for computers to decrease in size – more servers in a rack, thinner and lighter laptops, and reduced footprints for desktop systems.
Multi-core processing helps address these computing challenges. This evolution in technology allows for increased performance and higher productivity in smaller computers that can simultaneously run multiple complex applications and successfully complete more tasks in a shorter amount of time.
Multi-core advantage
In today's digital world the demands of complex 3D simulations, streaming media files, added levels of security, more sophisticated user interfaces, larger databases, and more online users are beginning to exceed the capabilities of single-core processors.
Multi-core processors enable true multitasking. On single-core systems, multitasking can max out CPU utilization, resulting in decreased performance as operations wait to be processed. On multi-core systems, since each core has its own cache, the operating system has sufficient resources to handle most compute intensive tasks in parallel.
Multi-core technology can improve system efficiency and application performance for computers running multiple applications at the same time.

Coming in 2008: Intel's next generation microarchitecture

Intel's architecture and silicon technology advancements are based on a rapid that delivers an accelerated pace of innovation in driving processor performance and energy efficiency for the next decade and beyond. Intel calls this cadence the "tick-tock" model of silicon and microarchitecture. Each "tick" represents a new silicon process technology with an enhanced microarchitecture. The corresponding "tock" represents the design of a brand new microarchitecture. The cycle repeats approximately every two years.
The Penryn family, with its 45nm Hi-k silicon technology, is the latest "tick" and includes many microarchitecture innovations to Intel Core microarchitecture. Coming in 2008 is the following "tock," Intel's next brand new microarchitecture codenamed "Nehalem."
Nehalem is a truly dynamic- and design-scalable microarchitecture. It will deliver both performance on demand and optimal price/performance/energy efficiency for each platform.Nehalem's dynamic scalability includes:

• Dynamically managed cores, threads, cache, interfaces, and power
• Leveraging leading 4 instruction issue Intel Core microarchitecture technology (Intel Core microarchitecture's ability to process up to 4 instructions per clock cycle on a sustained basis as compared to 3 instructions per clock cycle or less for other processors)
• Simultaneous multi-threading (Intel Hyper-Threading Technology) to enhance performance and energy efficiency
• Innovative new Intel® SSE4 and ATA instruction set architecture additions
  Superior multi-level shared cache that leverages Intel® Smart Cache technology
• Leadership system and memory bandwidth
• Performance-enhanced dynamic power management

Nehalem's design scalability will enable optimal price/performance/energy efficiency for each market segment through:

• New system architecture for next generation Intel processors and platforms
• Scalable performance for from one-to-sixteen (or more) threads and from one-to-eight (or more) cores
• Scalable and configurable system interconnects and integrated memory controllers
• High performance integrated graphics engine for client platforms