The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 45

Fighting 1 -'7 i I J1 he virus JOT jsss CI --W i "LITTLE GOLDEN" BOOIIS 20 PIECE DINNEil 13 liblLb A wide selection of new and traditional favourites. Setting fcr 4 people in pretty 'grape' design. GLASS SETS if a iL7 HA OF 40 EI081 FOPS 'HEADACHE' OR TROUBLE' PERSONAL computer users have a new weapon in the continuing fight against computer viruses, now reaching plague proportions across corporate Australia. The new weapon is an electronic bulletin board which helps users of two popular anti-virus programs update their software to take immediate care of new infections cost-free. The board has been set up by Symantec Pty Ltd, distributor of the Norton Anti-Virus (NAV) for IBM-type PCs and Symantec Antivirus for Macintosh (SAM) for Apple users.

Symantec cijims to have the remedy on the bulletin board as soon as a new virus is identified, accessible 24 hours a day. Users can download the virus as it's known, via a modem, a device which allows computers to converse via telephone lines. Within seconds NAV or SAM is updated and ready to go to work against the new invaders. Those without modems can copy down the definition data line by line from a messages on recorded voice newslines, then type it into the program. Symantec's general manager in Australia, Garry Sexton, says the bulletin board service will help turn the tide against viruses.

Symantec's headquarters in the US just a microchip's throw from Apple Computer's international HQ in California's Silicon Valley has a team on constant alert to identify new viruses. They are certainly kept busy. More than 100 viruses have so far been identified in the MS-DOS world, many of them quite malignant The worst can destroy all data on a hard disk. In the Apple Macintosh scene, the count is still less than 20, but growing rapidly. So far most viruses have been relatively benign more of a nuisance than a major threat to data security.

A computer virus is a piece of software code designed to affect adversely the way the computer works. Some have been the work of disgruntled software company employees, others the product of ama teur programmers looking for fun. But their fun can have serious consequences. The US National centre for Computer Crime esti mates businesses losses due to viral attacks at more than S500 million a year. Just as a biological virus works by attaching itself to a host and spreading from cell to cell, a computer virus attaches itself to a computer file and systematically spreads to others.

It can spread from one computer to another by hitching a ride aboard floppy disks. Hidden deep in the software code, it can also download itself across phone lines, where Computers DAVID FRITH a modem is in use, or network cables. If you're a PC user who hasn't yet experienced a virus attack, there is every chance that you will in the near future. Some of the signs to watch for are frequent hard disk crashes; files that mysteriously expand in size; a dramatic slowdown in operations; disappearing data; odd cursor behaviour (bouncing, for instance, like a billiard ball from side to side of your PC screen). But sometimes it's possible to have an infected system without knowing it.

Bugs menace the system When I tested NAV last week on an office PC which is used once only every week or so, it took only a few seconds to discover a strain of the infamous "Stoned" virus which had previously gone unnoticed. In its most common form this infection, first discovered in New Zealand in 1988, simply displays the message, "Your computer is now stoned. Legalise marijuana" every eighth boot-up. More deadly strains of the virus can infect hard disks and freeze screens. In our case it's now gone forever.

Alerted to the problem, we instructed NAV to expunge the virus and repair the file where it was lurking. It was done within seconds. NAV is now doing watchdog duty, standing permanent guard on the hard disk, ready to alert us to any future invasion or suspicious behaviour. SAM does similar duty on our office Macs. From the Symantec dial-up bulletin board last week, we downloaded the latest definitions to deal with three of the latest potential Macintosh interlopers: the "Garfield "Anti-Ange" and "ZucB" viruses.

Garfield 2 creates difficulties with accessing applications or menus in the Mac system; Anti-Ange attaches itself to applications resource code, sometimes causing them to crash; ZucB, an Italian strain, causes your cursor to go crazy. If an infected file is found, Symantec recommends trashing it and replacing it with a new version, copied from the original source. If that not possible. Virus Clinic in most cases will instantly repair the infected file. At full strength SAM needs more than 700 kilobytes.

NAV requires 384 kilobytes. Both SAM and NAV sell for a recommended $159. Symantec can be contacted on 879 6577. NwVJ Delicious ready to freeze ice blocks. Great fun family board games.

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BROKEN HILL CLOSED 4H IHfc SUN-HfcRALD, March 31, 1991.