Combating viruses

Failure to update anti-virus software and non-compliance with basic computer virus protection such as deleting or discarding of suspicious e-mail attachments remain as major factors why computer viruses continue to infect millions of computer users around the globe, according to anti-virus firm Sophos.

The European software company also stressed that 99 percent of viruses today are transmitted from one user to another using Internet technologies, the most common of which is via e-mail.

"No matter how many times you say to people to upgrade their software or avoid opening file attachments, there will always be cases where viruses will spread because of human errors," said Jan Hruska, chief executive officer of Sophos.

Hruska, who is also a co-founder of Sophos, said an anti-virus software is not a panacea to guarantee that a user’s computer will be safe from viruses, adding that updating your anti-virus applications should be complemented by anti-virus "best practices."

Hruska said one of the targets of viruses are security vulnerabilities found in common applications such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser.

While Microsoft may have fixed security loopholes in its products, Hruska said people sometimes do not even bother to upgrade their software or get software patches to fix security problems.

The need to protect computers from viruses becomes even more important as viruses have also evolved in form and that "social engineering" has become a popular means to transmit these nefarious programs.

"We all know that sex sells. Viruses have been able to infect millions because of social engineering, like for instance the Love Bug virus," said Hruska.

The United Kingdom-based anti-virus firm also cautions users to become aware of RATs or remote access Trojans that have become a threat to computer networks.

While a Trojan program is strictly not a computer virus – by virtue of not being able to make copies of itself inside the computer – it is nevertheless considered a threat, because the program can stealthily carry a deadly "payload." – Quadmedia News Agency