Ancestry Magazine

Anti-virus software may ease our fear of computer viruses, but nothing guarantees security—except backups of our data.

To the informed and prepared computer user, a virus is little more tha n noise on the wires–an annoyance but rarely a disaster. To the uninformed and unprepared, a computer virus can seem like a frightening monster of hideous proportions. Most of us fit somewhere between these two ends of the reaction spectrum.

Because of the fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding computer viruses, subscribers of genealogy mailing lists often behave as if the world were ending when they are confronted by a computer virus. Perhaps addressing some of the common concerns regarding computer viruses and genealogy mailing lists will help to alleviate these panic attacks.

What Is a Computer Virus?
Computer viruses are usually malicious computer programs that run on your PC unbeknownst to you. They attempt to replicate themselves and then spread to other computers. The “payload” of a virus, i.e., the action it is programmed to perform, can vary. Sometimes they are harmless pranks, but often they can cause serious damage to your computer, even erasure of your hard drives.

There are easily over 60,000 different known viruses in the world. Some are confined to a few test labs, but most run rampant “in the wild.” Viruses differ significantly in the operating systems they target and the replication methods they use. Of most common concern for family historians are the viruses that reproduce themselves using e-mail. They tend to spread by taking advantage of one particular brand or version of e-mail software.

Education is one of your best defenses against computer viruses. You’ll want to read up on what computer viruses are and what they can do. For a variety of informative links, visit CyndisList.

Who Writes Computer Viruses?
Viruses do not arise spontaneously on a computer; there is a human programmer behind every virus. And most viruses aren’t written from scratch, but are copies of previo usly released viruses that are then tweaked to behave differently.

Profiling done on virus writers reveals that most of them are trying to show off their technical computing skills. There is a great diversity of reasons for this particular type of malicious behavior. Some virus writers do it for knowledge, some for fame, some to join the “underground fraternity” of virus writers, and some out of sheer malice toward others. And they’re not all kids. The author of the Melissa virus was thirty years old when he was arrested.

Most people, family historians included, have neither the time nor the inclination to create these malicious programs. If you are unfortunate enough to receive viruses from fellow genealogists, odds are high that they not only didn’t create the virus but that they are completely unaware that they are also infected. Many of the recent computer viruses that spread via e-mail hide their presence from the computer’s owner. They then use the e-mail program on that computer to send out infected e-mail messages.

Anti-Virus Software
To reduce the threat of computer viruses, obtain a reputable anti-virus software program and keep its anti-virus patterns updated. Two anti-virus programs, Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus and McAfee’s VirusScan have worked well for my household and the corporations I have worked for. They are also used extensively by Fortune 500 corporations to protect the PCs of those companies. The software can be configured to be “on” constantly in the background processor of a computer so they will continually scan for incoming viruses. There are dozens of other anti-virus programs available. Some are even shareware or freeware. Constant Vigilance
Having a good anti-virus software program is necessary but not sufficient for ongoing protection. As ne w viruses are being created all the time, so the reputable anti-virus software vendors try to keep up with the new viruses by developing new anti-virus patterns to stop them.

Your anti-virus software can only stop the viruses it knows about and unless you keep it updated, it won’t be able to stop new viruses. Therefore, you need to keep your anti-virus software patterns updated on a regular basis. You can do this manually by visiting the vendor’s Web site to download the new anti-virus patterns. Alternately, the aforementioned vendors have automatic update features that will make downloading new anti-virus patterns very easy. With automatic updates, your anti-virus software can really be “set and forget.”

Good anti-virus software turns receiving a computer virus into a non-event. Configured to constantly scan for viruses as a background process, the software automatically checked for computer viruses among any incoming e-mail and attachments. I configure my software to simply delete the viruses without informing me so I won’t be questioned about what to do with the virus itself. Combined with automated updates for new anti-virus patterns, such a configuration makes computer viruses no big deal.

Backup, Backup, Backup
Making regular backups of the important data on your computer is the only sure way to fully protect your computer from a virus. Keep these backups somewhere safe. The point behind the backups is that if your anti-virus software fails to detect a new virus (and this is possible), you will be able to recover the important information on your computer with backups created before the virus hit your computer. You cannot be 100 percent protected by anti-virus software. A good old-fashion backup disc or CD is the best defense against all computer viruses. Hue and Cry
Warnings, complaints, comments, and curses about computer viruses are usually not appreciated on genealog y mailing lists. Computer viruses are not about family history, after all, and viruses are rarely a universal problem for everyone on a genealogy mailing list.

Viruses take advantage of specific operating systems and e-mail software to spread themselves. Since all of the subscribers to a particular mailing list are probably not using the same operating system or the same e-mail software, a virus problem for one subscriber may be a non-event for another. Therefore, computer virus warnings (which are often hoaxes anyway) and discussions about viruses are usually a waste of time on genealogy mailing lists. If you simply must discuss computer viruses with someone, there is a RootsWeb mailing list for that purpose.

Computer viruses are here to stay. New ones will continue to infect the uninformed and unprepared. Just like being a responsible automobile owner requires you to keep your brakes in good repair, so being a responsible computer owner obligates you to keep your anti-virus software protection and data backups updated. Your individual behavior regarding computer viruses can and will have an impact on your electronic neighbors and the genealogical community as a whole. a

Some Common Questions About Viruses and Mailing Lists

Can I get a computer virus from the RootsWeb genealogy mailing lists?
Highly unlikely. Most common computer viruses spread themselves via e-mail as attachments to e-mail messages. The RootsWeb genealogy mailing lists scan for and remove attachments sent into the mailing lists. It is possible that computer viruses that spread by e-mail but do not use attachments to do so may be propagated by RootsWeb mailing lists. Such a method of virus propagation is more complex than using attachments and would likely be e-mail software specific. Because of this, the potential for such a virus is limited. There have been no reports of such a virus using the RootsWeb mailing lists to spread itself.

Can another subscriber to the mailing list send me a virus?
Yes. While the RootsWeb genealogy mailing lists do not spread computer viruses directly to their subscribers, individual subscribers may infect other subscribers. Some recent computer viruses replicate themselves by sending copies of themselves to anyone the infected person has received an e-mail from. This means that if you post a message to a RootsWeb mailing list and an infected subscriber receives it in individual message mode (not digest mode which changes the FROM e-mail address), they may send back a computer virus to your e-mail address directly.

Did the person who sent me the virus do so maliciously?
Probably not. He or she was most likely the victim of the computer virus also. Recent viruses have the ability to infect a person’s e-mail software and send e-mails to others without a person’s knowledge. The person from whom your virus appears to come may have no idea that he or she has a virus and is sending it to others.

Who should I inform about a virus?
If you receive a virus, e-mail the person who sent you the virus directly, if you are able to determine his or her correct return address from the infected message. Inform them that they may have a computer virus and that they should run an updated anti-virus program against their machine to clean it up. It is safe to e-mail them since if your anti-virus software stopped the virus from them once, it will likely stop the virus again if your message triggers another one.

Mark Howells is list administrator for the Norfolk (England) genealogy mailing list hosted by RootsWeb. He can be found nonchalantly dealing with viruses at markhow@oz.net.