Havoc of computer viruses

The Northern Virginia computer firm Reliable Integration Services recently moved its headquarters from Dunn Loring to Vienna. Minutes after the company’s workers plugged in their computers for the first time at the new site, their anti-virus software swatted away five viruses.

Computer users at home aren’t always so fortunate.

Computer viruses and worms seem to be everywhere these days. These “malicious codes” wreak havoc on computer systems, creating problems ranging from slower system speeds to the obliteration of precious computer files.

A computer virus is a set of computer instructions, or code, that piggyback onto other programs and run simultaneously with them, often slowing them down or doing other destructive behavior.

A virus might reside in someone’s computer without ever reaching out to other computers.

Worms are more insidious. A computer worm is a virus that actively scans other computers for security holes to exploit, then sends itself out when it finds some.

Viruses are spread through e-mail attachments, downloadable programs or when a program containing a virus is started.

Just last week, police arrested an 18-year-old suspected of creating the SoBig.F virus to open holes in e-mail systems, costing the country millions in lost productivity.

Last month, worms dubbed either Blaster or LoveSan hit more than 500,000 computers, jamming the systems at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, among other places. Before that, the Welchia worm hit computer systems, including those of Air Canada, which canceled some flights due to the problem.

Valerie Perlowitz, the president and CEO of Reliable Integration Services, says it takes a number of high-profile viruses to teach the public that their computers are at risk.

“It’s not until you have a major event where people say, ‘Maybe I’m not as secure as I need to be,’” Ms. Perlowitz says. “I can’t tell you how many companies out there don’t have virus protection. They think it’s not a big deal.”

The truth, she says, is that such thinking can cost millions in damages.

Marty Lindner, team leader for incident handling at CERT Coordination Center, a nonprofit center for Internet security at Carnegie Mellon University, says computer users are always at risk of virus attacks. Installing anti-virus software is the best way to protect your computer from attacks, Mr. Lindner says.

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