Viruses and Malware

A good virus will not crash a machine. It simply attaches itself to executable parts of the software inside our machines. It’s triggered by an event and will do whatever it has been designed to do (payload) and simply let the machine continue where it left off. The virus is a parasite. It feeds on the host cell (the infected machine) and most likely changes its DNA.

Here’s the premise. Software is either data or program. Data is either read or written and programs are executed. There are just three attributes – Read (R), Write (W), or Execute (X). RWX. A virus does not look at ‘R/W’. It goes for the ‘X’. The ‘X’ gives it control of the machine. So, it looks for executable parts of your software – typically OS (Operating System), executable files, and supplementary programs.

Can there be a virus inside data? The answer is ‘No’. Data does not get executed. A GIF file or a PDF file is safe. However, a Word (.DOC) or Excel (.XLS) file can have a virus. This is because they support macros (VBA – Visual Basic for Applications) which are a scaled-down version of a programming language. Occasionally, there can be a data sequence that can break the machine. However, most of these crash the machine and hence I would say they are ineffective viruses.

Earlier, most of the antivirus programs would go by malware signatures. Then they relied on heuristics. (patterns) Now with the advent of AI, they correct human mistakes. For example, the weakest link in your system is the network. That means your IP addresses and ports. A hacker can get access to the system if you have a misconfiguration. A bad username/password can also be a reason, among several others.

There is no such thing as 100% security. However, you can take steps to avoid breaches.

1. Use proper anti-virus (paid)

2. Do not use password managers (I have paid the price for that)

3. Use strong passwords

4. Take backups (This is something people take lightly)

5. Keep your eyes and ears open for anomalies

6. Do not panic if your machine has been compromised

To your peace of mind …

God Bless!