First, let's quickly review some terms:

1) VIRUS: a self-replicating program that "infects" one or more files on your system. When an infected file is run or accessed, the virus is triggered, often with malicious and destructive consequences.

2) WORM: a program that moves through a network, depositing itself at each system it encounters along the way.

3) TROJAN HORSE: a file or program that seems legitimate but performs some surreptitious action when run or accessed.

There's some overlap among the three definitions. For example, the recent "Luv Bug" actually is all three: It infects (and ruins) files on your system---it's a virus. It uses email to move itself from system to system through the Internet---it's a worm. And it arrives disguised as a love letter---it's a Trojan.

The better antivirus apps do their best to identify and stop all three kinds of trouble, but Trojans are notoriously hard to identify. So, some security-enhancing tools go a step further:

Fred: You may want to check out this site and/or suggest it to your readers. They offer a *free* version of their software that is supposed to do good stuff for you. I'm am by no means an expert in the area, but their program was able to see their demo virus programs while the newest version of ZoneAlarm was unable to. Consequently, I have them both running. Anyway, here is the site if you would like to check it out. http://www.finjan.com/trojan_overview.cfm  Cheers,  Bob Norway

Thanks, Bob! The program is called "SurfinGuard," and it creates a restricted "sandbox" for downloaded executables to run in: Inside the sandbox, the executables are prohibited from doing much of anything to your system. Thus, you can run a downloaded app---even a Trojan horse app---and it shouldn't be able to mess up your system.

Long time readers know I'm a fan of multiple layers of defense: I'd never rely on something like SurfinGuard (or any single layer of protection) as my only defense. But if you download your apps only from known-safe locations (or from trustworthy and computer-savvy friends) and your antivirus app sees nothing wrong with the downloaded files, then you could run it inside a SurfinGuard sandbox as a final precaution. That way, you'd be about as safe as humanly possible.

To see a safe demo of how Trojans can sneak past antivirus apps, see http://www.finjan.com/exe_attackdemo.cfm . It's eye-opening.

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3) Resume Worm

When I name names in this item, I'll substitute an "*" in place of "e" so as not to trigger email antivirus filters; just make the mental substitution back again, and you'll know what the names are:

A variant of the "M*lissa" macro virus made the rounds last week: It's a destructive macro virus that hides inside a Word document; this hiding behavior makes it a Trojan. It's also a worm because it email copies of itself to people in your Outlook address book.  Antivirus vendors have named it W97M.M*lissa.BG, or the R*sum*Worm or W97M.R*sum*.A

It currently arrives as a fake resume from one "Jan*t Simons," but the subject and name could be anything. IF you don't antivirus-scan email file attachments before you open them AND if you open the resume AND if you have no have no macro filters in place, then you can have serious trouble.

No doubt, there will be other variants that will disguise themselves as other kinds of files. But it doesn't matter: Simply don't open ANY attachment from ANYONE, EVER, no matter what the file claims to be, until and unless you have run the file through an antivirus scan or otherwise have taken steps to protect yourself. That's all it takes to be 100% safe from viruses, worms and Trojans that reside within clickable email attachments. 

Some email viruses are harder to catch. But this type of attachment virus is SO EASY to avoid (just don't click!) and so much has been written about them, that I'm starting to believe that anyone who clicks on email attachments without checking them first kinda deserves what they get. That may sound harsh, but at some point, people have to take responsibility for their own clicks.

When it comes to email attachments, just remember: "When in doubt, throw it out."

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4) More "Task Manager" Information

Reader Tony G Writes:

Dear Fred,

One of your readers mentioned "Another Task Manager" as being a good free program to inspect the inner workings of the computer process.

I have tried it and it's good, but "TaskInfo2000" is 'great' at doing the same and more. It is likewise free and can be downloaded from:

http://www.iarsn.com/

Try it out. Gives you all kinds of information....more than most need (including me), but sometimes the information you can glean from this program is just the ticket for tracking down odd behavior, not to mention programs that use up a lot of system resources.

Great newsletter....thanks for putting in the time.

Thanks Tony! The site is actually the home page of Russian programmer Igor Arsenin; click to the "downloads" page for TaskInfo.

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