Ways that Anti Virus Programs

Ways that Anti Virus Programs are Coping with Viruses

Computer Security

Antivirus software companies are stumped as they are now left to have no other choice but to rebuild their product base. The virus writers are racing ahead which is causing anti virus companies to be left in a compromising position. Referring to Kakworm and Bubble boy, which are small scripts, which live in the body of an email message. These are not in an included attachment; they are right in the body. These have been around for a while but antivirus companies are still having a hard time with them.

Symantec's Norton Antivirus and Trend Micro software have been addressing this issue but the problem is that these viruses can not be found until they are already executed. One thing is certain and that is that there is a long lasting struggle between virus writers and antivirus program companies. The difficult thing is that virus writers come up with new viruses every week but they are never of the magnitude that requires major reconstruction of antivirus software.

Opening an email is a lot easier to get people to do rather than open an attachment and virus writers know that which makes it all the more dangerous. The biggest problem with this whole situation is the speed that these viruses are spreading at. There is no longer an option of updating viruses once a month or so, now it is more like once a day or even more. Symantec is in the process of considering a special piece of software that deals solely with the Kakworm virus. Many of the Norton antivirus program users have just quarantined their in box files while measures are being slowly taken to deal with their virus. Experts have agreed that the best way to deal with this is to disable the running of scripts in email software.

Kakworm and the LoveBug virus are running neck in neck for first place of the most reported virus but many feel that Kakworm will be the winner is single most reported cases. Viruses in the email text are especially dangerous because they can lay dormant for a while before someone happens to stumble on them again. These viruses are started from simply reading an email. Viruses from email texts are expected to surge because computer users and systems have not been able to catch up with the new method. In particular, this is exactly what virus writers are counting on too.

Norton, if updated, will detect and quarantine the Kakworm virus however it first was able to send messages to everyone else in the Outlook Express mail system. If their systems are not fully updated then you will find yourself playing the flip flop game with this virus. The Kakworm virus proved that you do not have to open an email attachment in order to get a virus, it can manifest from an email and can then spread to countless other machines in record time. Today's viruses are more destructive and much better organized than they have ever been in the past.