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KLEZ
By Amanda Sledz
Finally, an advantage to having a Macintosh--you don't get the Klez
virus.
Just about every PC user has probably received at least one email
that included the Klez virus--a worm which has had greater circulation,
according to various internet sources, than any other worm virus,
including Melissa and Sir-Cam. Computers with the potential to be
infected with Klez are PCs running Microsoft Windows, as well as those
who use Internet Explorer, Outlook, or Outlook Express.
According to Wired magazine, the Klez virus is spread the same way
other worms are; a user receives an email with an attachment that
they download, and once the download is complete, the computer is
infected with the virus. Once the computer is infected, an address
is selected at random from the email addresses stored on the hard
drive or network, and the virus is then passed along to them. Sometimes
the Klez virus will be sent from a user to a mailing list--which leads
to that user being added to a number of mailing lists, and then the
email box being flooded with spam. In other cases, the computer user
begins to flood another individuals email box--which could cause an
ISP to block them for spamming, though the emails sent were unintentional.
This email can come from a friend of yours, a dead relative, a mailing
list, etc., and could have one of 120 different subject lines, such
as "SOS!" "Eager to see you" "Hi Honey"
and "Let's be Friends."
What separates the Klez worm from the rest of the herd is the many
wacky things it pulls off that Sir-Cam, for example, did not. One
of the tricks Klez plays is to send a message to a user that reads
like an average, "undeliverable mail" email. Problem is,
the user didn't send a message to the person it claims, and if the
user gets curious and opens the download to see what message they
supposedly sent, they have the virus.
Another unusual way that the virus is spreading is through a false
message of concern from either a friend or a stranger. This message
will inform the reader that they have been spreading the Klez virus,
and that they need to download the enclosed attachment in order to
disinfect the computer. The reader downloads the attachment, thinking
that they are saving their computer, and instead ends up downloading
the Klez virus.
One of the most disturbing parts of Klez is also one of the many things
that makes it different, and that's that it has been known to randomly
select files, folders, and even programs from infected computers and
send them along to random individuals, along with the virus.
The final trump card for Klez is what makes it almost a laughable
virus to get, and that is that Klez is notorious for infecting anti-virus
programs such as the popular Norton and McAfee. According to CNet
News, Klez disables anti-virus software by deleting the registry keys,
and then removing the virus definition files. Anti-virus companies
like McAfee, Symantec and Sophos are furiously scrambling to create
better, new patches to keep up with each aspect of the virus, and
are having some success.
For computer users who fear they may have downloaded the virus but
are unsure, there are several warning signs to be aware of. The most
obvious involves an attempt to open Outlook Express and send and receive
mail, which is suddenly cut short by either a seemingly random disconnect,
or a prompt to restart your computer. Another warning sign is suddenly
being subscribed to an amazing amount of mailing lists, and receiving
several messages a day that seem to be sent from yourself.
Frognet's tech support has been hopping ever since the virus was first
reported-so much so that they have an official warning about the virus
on their web page (http://www.frognet.net).
"I typically get a call a night, or two to three calls during
the day," Leslie Henne, a member of Frognet's Tech Support staff
said. "Plus, we get about 25 Klez messages per day in our trouble
ticket system (Frognet and non-Frognet users), so this is quite a
substantial amount." Tim Farmer, another Frognet technician,
says he takes about 6-7 calls a week. Other technicians reported as
many as six a day.
The good news is, individuals infected by the virus can easily cure
themselves. Included on the Frognet web page is a download for an
anti-virus program called AVG anti-virus, which is completely free
of charge (http://www.grisoft.com). After running the program or one
similar to it, unless the virus has been left alone for a long time,
the computer should be fine.
However, what individuals infected by the Klez virus don't want to
do is ignore it. "If left untreated, of course the virus will
continue to spread to others," Henne explained. "Klez dismantles
virus software, infects .exe (executable) files, among other things."
Ideally, the average computer user would never get a virus in the
first place. The best way to avoid getting them? Don't open attachments.
"Don't view attachments, even if they are from friends-you never
know who is infected," Henne warned. "If you get an email
from someone you don't know, delete it. I haven't had a virus in three
years because I don't open attachments and run an updated virus scan
every so often as a precautionary measure."
Tim Farmer recommends that a computer user follow his "rules
of safe surfing" to keep their computers safe. "Never open
mail from someone you do not know. Do not visit sites that have a
lot of pop-up advertisements. Keep a list of places you give your
email to. If someone does not get on your list, don't open it,"
Farmer explained, then added, "Do not fall for hoaxes such as
"delete this file in your computer or your washing machine will
explode" messages."
Though it is possible to avoid getting the virus, it's not possible
to avoid getting random emails with dangerous contents. For now, PC
users will just have to get happy with the delete key, and allow Mac
users the oh so rare moment to gloat. |
Mozilla
by Amanda Sledz
Sick of being enslaved by Bill Gates, or concerned over the lack
of competition that comes with 93% of internet users using Internet
Explorer (IE) exclusively? Fear not savvy internet surfers, for
there's many a browser available at your fingertips that doesn't
come with a "Microsoft" scribbled all over it. One of
these is Mozilla, a browser that offers you the same wealth of web
pages at zero cost and zero padding of Gates' all ready bulging
wallet.
According to the Washington Post, the Mozilla project began in 1998
when Netscape decided that, in an effort to compete with Microsoft,
they would release their source code software blue print to the
public and encourage independent developers to offer improvements.
The Mozilla team formed, creating Mozilla.org and consisting exclusively
of volunteers. Though the Mozilla team began by working with this
blue print, they soon scrapped the Netscape code and decided to
start from scratch. Their recently released version 1.0 can be used
on a Mac, a PC, with Linux, and in 38 other computer operating systems.
Versions are also being developed for cable and television internet
hook-ups.
The top priority of the Mozilla team was (and is) to ensure that
all web pages are rendered accurately. What this means to the average
computer user is that a page that "cannot be displayed,"
or purchases that you can't make at certain sites for security purposes
in IE can be brought up easy as pie in Mozilla.
Jeff Shilt, a member of the Technical Support staff at Frognet and
an independent web designer, told the Insider that Mozilla has set
a solid set of footprints for other browsers to walk in. "Presumably,
Microsoft will have to follow suit and web designers
will finally have better odds of a page displaying correctly regardless
of what browser is being used," Shilt said. "Even (small
browser) Opera has better support for standards than IE."
Mozilla also offers a number of convenient options not readily available
in other browsers. For example, Mozilla's "form manager"
saves personal information to spare the user from having to enter
it over and over again when buying merchandise or subscribing to
a mailing list. Mozilla also offers additional security features,
in that each web site password is also protected by a master password,
so that folks using another individuals computer for the day will
not be able to place orders in the computer owner's name.
Among Mozilla's more popular underlying technologies is the Gecko
layout engine, which allows a user to completely re-organize the
browser to suit individual needs and aesthetic desires--you can
even build it so the skin imitates Internet Explorer. Because of
its modular build, Mozilla can serve as ground zero for not only
browser applications, but calculators, games, video players, and
word processor programs. The open sourced Gecko layout code is so
popular that Netscape 6 and 7 were built on it, as well as Galeon
for GNOME, the browser K-Meleon, and rumors are circulating that
America Online version 8 will be built on it as well.
For bugs and problems, Mozilla has Bugzilla, which tracks bugs and
allows a user to see what changes have been made since the bug was
last reported. Since the Mozilla folks consider it to be a work
in progress, they request that users continually assist them in
developing Mozilla by bringing to their attention any flaws.
If Bugzilla doesn't save the day, you can always head to the Slashdot
recommended http://mozilla.gunnars.net, which offers volunteer tech
support for various issues a user may encounter with Mozilla. For
further assistance and general information, a user can also check
out MozillaZine.org, which serves as the official online magazine
for Mozilla. This magazine is especially useful for adding those
"personal" touches to make the browser pretty.
While there are lots of perks to using Mozilla 1.0 (lessening your
codependence on Bill Gates being a big one, for sure) nothing tops
the ability to block pop-up ads. Usually, business-related sites
(in particular, the biggies such as Amazon.com) have a tendency
to leave a user lost in an overwhelming sea of pop-up ads--a mess
that may take a user several minutes to work their way out of. With
Mozilla, a user need only follow a few simple steps to turn off
the pop up function, and it'll be smooth internet surfing from then
on out.
In addition to dodging the pop-ups (which could be considered "primary
ads") Mozilla also assists the user in dodging "secondary
ads" such as the mysterious collection of bookmarks Internet
Explorer graciously selects for you--and that all lead you down
the primrose path to Microsoft products. Mozilla not only spares
you from Gates' top ten bookmarks of the week, but lets you dodge
the dreaded MSN homepage, and the mysterious AOL and MSN icons that
make their way on to your desktop.
The "new tab" function is a personal favorite, as it allows
a user to have several sites open at once within the same window.
That means that the days of opening up IE six different times and
arranging them in minimized icons at the bottom of your screen are
over, as you can quickly flip from one tab to the next to reference
several web pages at once. Mozilla also offers faster download times
for multiple image sites, which means a user won't have to wait
several minutes for that one last picture to open up.
For the type happy, Mozilla offers Chatzilla, an instant messenger
program. Though Chatzilla lacks the popularity of programs such
as AIM (American Online Instant Messenger) or Yahoo, it can still
boast a steadily growing membership. A user can even abandon Internet
Explorer's mail companion, Outlook Express, and instead use Mozilla's
mail program, which is similar enough to Outlook that the average
IE junkie should be able to adapt.
For site developers, Mozilla features a composer for creating personal
web sites, and according to Shilt, the creation of browsers such
as Mozilla could solve a lot of problems designers face. "Mozilla
supports standards (HTML, Stylesheets, Javascript, etc.) as laid
out by the World-Wide-Web Consortium, and doesn't support anything
non-standard," Shilt explained. "Writing cross-browser
pages has always been a pain, while NS and IE went back and forth
sticking in their own tags and features (like the BLINK tag), and
not completely supporting other ones. You had to either use only
basic tags that all browsers understood, write separate pages for
each browser, or use Javascript to output certain code depending
on the browser type."
With Mozilla, the hassle is over.
The downside? It takes up 10-15 megabytes of space, which is about
the same amount of space Internet Explorer hogs up. This can be
annoying for someone without much space left on their hard drive,
or for someone with a dial up connection, who can essentially learn
the secrets of time travel before the program has completely downloaded.
The pluses far outweigh impatience, and through the increased popularity
of programs such as Mozilla, perhaps Mr. Gates will one day have
some internet competition.
Download Mozilla at http://www.mozilla.org
|
KLEZ
By Amanda Sledz
Finally, an advantage to having a Macintosh--you don't get the Klez virus.
Just about every PC user has probably received at least one email that included
the Klez virus--a worm which has had greater circulation, according to various
internet sources, than any other worm virus, including Melissa and Sir-Cam.
Computers with the potential to be infected with Klez are PCs running Microsoft
Windows, as well as those who use Internet Explorer, Outlook, or Outlook
Express.
According to Wired magazine, the Klez virus is spread the same way other
worms are; a user receives an email with an attachment that they download,
and once the download is complete, the computer is infected with the virus.
Once the computer is infected, an address is selected at random from the
email addresses stored on the hard drive or network, and the virus is then
passed along to them. Sometimes the Klez virus will be sent from a user
to a mailing list--which leads to that user being added to a number of mailing
lists, and then the email box being flooded with spam. In other cases, the
computer user begins to flood another individuals email box--which could
cause an ISP to block them for spamming, though the emails sent were unintentional.
This email can come from a friend of yours, a dead relative, a mailing list,
etc., and could have one of 120 different subject lines, such as "SOS!"
"Eager to see you" "Hi Honey" and "Let's be Friends."
What separates the Klez worm from the rest of the herd is the many wacky
things it pulls off that Sir-Cam, for example, did not. One of the tricks
Klez plays is to send a message to a user that reads like an average, "undeliverable
mail" email. Problem is, the user didn't send a message to the person
it claims, and if the user gets curious and opens the download to see what
message they supposedly sent, they have the virus.
Another unusual way that the virus is spreading is through a false message
of concern from either a friend or a stranger. This message will inform
the reader that they have been spreading the Klez virus, and that they need
to download the enclosed attachment in order to disinfect the computer.
The reader downloads the attachment, thinking that they are saving their
computer, and instead ends up downloading the Klez virus.
One of the most disturbing parts of Klez is also one of the many things
that makes it different, and that's that it has been known to randomly select
files, folders, and even programs from infected computers and send them
along to random individuals, along with the virus.
The final trump card for Klez is what makes it almost a laughable virus
to get, and that is that Klez is notorious for infecting anti-virus programs
such as the popular Norton and McAfee. According to CNet News, Klez disables
anti-virus software by deleting the registry keys, and then removing the
virus definition files. Anti-virus companies like McAfee, Symantec and Sophos
are furiously scrambling to create better, new patches to keep up with each
aspect of the virus, and are having some success.
For computer users who fear they may have downloaded the virus but are unsure,
there are several warning signs to be aware of. The most obvious involves
an attempt to open Outlook Express and send and receive mail, which is suddenly
cut short by either a seemingly random disconnect, or a prompt to restart
your computer. Another warning sign is suddenly being subscribed to an amazing
amount of mailing lists, and receiving several messages a day that seem
to be sent from yourself.
Frognet's tech support has been hopping ever since the virus was first reported-so
much so that they have an official warning about the virus on their web
page (http://www.frognet.net).
"I typically get a call a night, or two to three calls during the day,"
Leslie Henne, a member of Frognet's Tech Support staff said. "Plus,
we get about 25 Klez messages per day in our trouble ticket system (Frognet
and non-Frognet users), so this is quite a substantial amount." Tim
Farmer, another Frognet technician, says he takes about 6-7 calls a week.
Other technicians reported as many as six a day.
The good news is, individuals infected by the virus can easily cure themselves.
Included on the Frognet web page is a download for an anti-virus program
called AVG anti-virus, which is completely free of charge (http://www.grisoft.com).
After running the program or one similar to it, unless the virus has been
left alone for a long time, the computer should be fine.
However, what individuals infected by the Klez virus don't want to do is
ignore it. "If left untreated, of course the virus will continue to
spread to others," Henne explained. "Klez dismantles virus software,
infects .exe (executable) files, among other things."
Ideally, the average computer user would never get a virus in the first
place. The best way to avoid getting them? Don't open attachments. "Don't
view attachments, even if they are from friends-you never know who is infected,"
Henne warned. "If you get an email from someone you don't know, delete
it. I haven't had a virus in three years because I don't open attachments
and run an updated virus scan every so often as a precautionary measure."
Tim Farmer recommends that a computer user follow his "rules of safe
surfing" to keep their computers safe. "Never open mail from someone
you do not know. Do not visit sites that have a lot of pop-up advertisements.
Keep a list of places you give your email to. If someone does not get on
your list, don't open it," Farmer explained, then added, "Do not
fall for hoaxes such as "delete this file in your computer or your
washing machine will explode" messages."
Though it is possible to avoid getting the virus, it's not possible to avoid
getting random emails with dangerous contents. For now, PC users will just
have to get happy with the delete key, and allow Mac users the oh so rare
moment to gloat.
|