Viruses Revealed [Paperback]

Hardly a week goes by without news of some malicious program or other playing havoc with large numbers of computers somewhere on the Internet. Viruses Revealed shows where computer viruses come from, how they spread and how you can protect the computers you're responsible for. It recognises that viruses are inherent in the modern computing environment (which makes it easy to share data among machines) and that there's no absolutely certain way to maintain any degree of usefulness in a computer while eliminating all risk of viral infection. From there, the three authors proceed to make their readers informed participants in a dangerous computing world. They do this by defining terms (such as dropper, a program that isn't a virus itself but which serves to install one), explaining concepts (such as the difficulties anti-virus programs face in detecting Trojan programs) and documenting historical events (infamous viruses of the past--Love Bug, Kournikova, and so on--and why they worked).

To their credit, the authors go to great lengths to be authoritative. They document pretty much everything they say with references, and rarely assume that the reader knows what any but the most basic terms mean. Furthermore, they're modest, and don't claim that what they say will save your machines from viral attack. Rather, they say that appropriate defences will reduce your risk of infection, and solid documentation, backup and recovery mechanisms will help you halt successful attacks early and recover from them promptly. The prose here is well written and often funny--Viruses Revealed is a big winner. --David Wall

Topics covered: Computer viruses: What they are, where they come from, how they work, and how to deal with them. A combination of case studies and explanatory prose shows how to minimise your virus risk, regardless of what kinds of computers you run.

Defend your system against the real threat of computer viruses with help from this comprehensive resource. Up-do-date and informative, this book presents a full-scale analysis on computer virus protection. Through use of case studies depicting actual virus infestations, this guide provides both the technical knowledge and practical solutions necessary to guard against the increasing threat of virus attacks.

The definitive guide to understanding and protecting against computer viruses

With the growing number of computer virus infections today--and the billions of dollars spent on clean-up efforts--virus protection has become everybody's business. This detailed guide offers full-scale coverage and analysis of the origin, structure, and technology behind the expanding array of computer viruses, and addresses current methods of detection and prevention. By learning exactly how viruses do what they do, you'll better understand how anti-malware technology works--and be able to evaluate and implement practical solutions to protect your system. You'll get insight into the various types of malicious software--including Trojan horses, macro viruses, and worms--and also learn about virus hoaxes. Real-world case-studies provide you with a first-hand look at viruses in action and the damage they can cause. Thorough, insightful, and lucid, this up-to-date reference is essential reading for everyone--from network professionals and administrators involved in virus protection to the everyday computer user.

For more information, visit www.viruses-revealed.org.uk.

This guide will help you:

• Get a historical overview of the emergence and evolution of computer viruses
• Learn about the anatomy of viruses--including worms and Trojans
• Examine different virus types and infection mechanisms--macro and script viruses, stealth viruses, and others
• Understand the specifics of virus activity and operation
• Identify good sources for virus information and risk assessment
• Implement corporate defensive strategies and systems
• Gain insight into social and legal aspects of data protection
• Discover how to practice safer computing

David Harley is Support Services Manager for the United Kingdom's National Health Service Information Authority, specializing in virus management. He is an active member of EICAR (the European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research) and a charter member of AVIEN (the Anti-Virus Information Exchange Network), where he is participating in projects concerned with certification of anti-virus professionals and with virus analysis. His other affiliations include the WildList Organization and ICSA Labs, where he is working on Apple Macintosh-related security projects. His previous security-related writing includes several Internet FAQs, various conference papers, magazine articles, chapters on viruses and Trojan horses for the Third Edition of Maximum Security, and a chapter on security and healthcare for the Fourth Edition of the Computer Security Handbook (with Paul Brusil).

Robert Slade, M.S., B.Sc., CISSP, is a data communications and security specialist from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and founder of the DECUS Canada Security SIG. His research into computer viral programs started when they first appeared as a major problem "in the wild." Acting initially as the unofficial archivist for the budding research community, he has since become known for "Mr. Slade's lists." One of the working group for the VIRUS-L FAQ, he is best known within the virus research community for a series of review and tutorial articles that have been published as Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses. He is more widely known in the computer world for his series of daily technical book reviews. His next book will be a computer security glossary.

Urs E. Gattiker, PhD., MBA, is Obel Family Foundation Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at the Aalborg University, Denmark. He chairs the Task Force for Trust and e-Commerce of the European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research (EICAR) (http://Security.WebUrb.net) and is a member of EICAR's Scientific Advisory Board as well as the EICAR Board (http://www.EICAR.org). He is currently spearheading the efforts of a virtual research organization on e-commerce, new media and technology policy. His books include Technology Management and Organizations (Sage, 1990), The Internet as a Diverse Community Cultural, Organizational and Political Issues (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001); and he is currently co-authoring Electronic Patient Records, Internet and Data Security (Lawrence Erlbaum). Gattiker has served as Chair for the U.S. Academy of Management's Technology & Innovation and also the Research Method Division. He is also a board member of Vigilante (http://www.Vigilante.com) the unbiased "IT security specialist", Vupti A/S (http://www.Vupti.com) and B2BAgro Scandinavia A/S (http://www.B2BAgro.com) as well as an Advisory Board Member of Bankinvest's IT Venture Fund (http://www.ITventure.dk).