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© Copyright 1999, Jim Loy
Here is a virtual pat on the back going out to Peter Norton. Someone just sent me a dazzling fireworks display (which I didn't get to see) called happy99.exe. And Norton Anti Virus wouldn't let me download it (or run it), because it is the dreaded Happy99 worm virus! It is also classified as a Trojan Horse. Apparently, it corrupts some of your system files. Actually, you are safe until you run it. So, because of Norton Anti Virus, my computer was not infected. Ahhhhhhhh, feels good.
If you have an anti-virus program, make sure you continue to get the latest updates, because new viruses keep coming out.
Addendum:
Why do people make viruses? The answer to that is, "Why harm other people? Why destroy their property? Why steal? Why kill?" There are sick people, who want to exert control over other people, to destroy what they have. It is also a way to show how clever you can be. But, that is a joke. It does not take much brains to create a killer virus. Many viruses are just a trivial change to an existing virus.
Are all viruses destructive? No. Some are hardly noticeable. Beneficial viruses (which may optimize your hard drive, for example) have been proposed. But a few of the worst viruses (like the Arpanet Worm) were meant to spread without doing damage. Somebody goofed. Regardless, I don't want programs running on my computer without my permission.
What makes a virus destructive? A virus spreads. That is its main purpose. But viruses produce secondary effects, either intentionally or not. The programmer may have intentionally added a routine to format your hard drive, or corrupt other files. Or the program may accidentally fill up your hard drive with copies of itself.
What is a Trojan Horse? Many viruses run without your help, once they have been copied onto your computer. Somehow the operating system is conned into running them. A Trojan Horse requires your help. The Happy99 virus will do nothing until you double click on its name or icon. It is a Trojan Horse. A Trojan Horse is a particularly crude kind of virus. You and I could write one of those, if we could think of some way to get other people to run it, like displaying a dirty picture and calling it sex.exe.