Fighting Viruses not on your PC
Because it has been in the news, most computer users are aware of the fact that they need some type of antivirus software on their computer. However, you may use software and hardware that resides outside your personal computer. Things like email programs, file transfer protocol (FTP) services, web pages and other services are tied to other computers, known as servers. What can be done to protect those servers from virus attacks?
Computer viruses can attack all computers on a network(including your home network if you have one), from your personal computer to a server that assists the entire organization. A server is basically the same as a personal computer, but because it serves more people, it has more memory, disk space, and processors to carry the workload. There are normally email servers dedicated solely to sending and receiving email. Most web pages are served on exclusive servers that only deal with web traffic of those pages. Some places, if they share quite a few files with others, may even have a server dedicated only to file transfers.
These servers basically work just like your personal computer, so that means they are subject to attacks of viruses and other malware generated by hackers. It is just as important – if no more so – that they be protected against attacks. If a server receives a virus, it may affect anyone who connects to it, not just one individual.
Most servers have antivirus software installed to protect against an attack. Most also have a firewall, which protects the server from entry points that are vulnerable to hackers. But what else can be done?Hackers tend to target servers because they can do more damage. Rather than just disturbing the work of one person, they can disturb multiple, maybe even thousands of users with one attack. People who use the server can help by making sure that their own systems are protected. By doing this, you can ensure that a virus will not travel from your computer to the server. They can also be careful of what type of Internet browser they are using and how it is configured. Some browsers, such as Internet Explorer, are more susceptible to virus attack than others are. And there are browser configurations you can chance to protect your computer.
Administrators of the servers can give up using the server as a personal computer with email and word processing software as well as web browsers. Users can also actively help administrators secure servers. Because administrators have so much work to do, often security is overlooked. But users can help by being proactive in server security.
Everyone should avoid bootable CDs and DVDs that haven’t been run through antivirus software. Many users forget that viruses can lived on CDs or DVDs that have been burned from another computer.
FTP servers are used to both store and send files. Some versions of FTP cannot be secured since passwords cannot be encrypted, so it is easy for them to be picked up by sniffers. A sniffer is a piece of software or hardware that is used to spy on networks and pick up sensitive information, such as passwords. Only secure versions of FTP software should be installed on servers.
The Future for Fighting Viruses
Microsoft and other vendors are trying to design software and hardware, which is less vulnerable to hackers. One area many hackers attack is called buffer overrun. This is an area that contains memory of certain sizes. Hackers tend to write viruses that cause these buffers to overflow, thus giving them access to the programs. This buffer overrun vulnerability has been addressed, with many security fixes released to make these buffers more secure. Vendors are constantly working on ways to make computers and servers more secure from attacks from hackers.