MELISSA VIRUS
A SMALL VIRUS IS SMALL PROGRAM THAT ATTACHES ITSELF TO ANOTHER PROGRAM AND ATTACK ANOTHER SOFTWARE BY MAKING COPIES ITSELF.
| Type | Macro virus |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | David L. Smith |
| Operating system(s) affected | Microsoft Windows |
Contents:
Around March 26, 1999 Melissa was put in the wild by David L. Smith of Aberdeen Township, NewJersey. (The virus itself was credited to , who was shown to be macro virus writers and by comparing MS Word documents with the same globally unique identifier — this method was also used to trace the virus back to Smith.) On December 10, 1999 Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years, serving 20 months, and was fined US $5,000.The arrest was the result of a collaborative effort involving (amongst others) the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, Monmouth Internet and a Swedish computer scientist.
See also:
- Timeline of computer viruses and worms
- List of computer viruses
- Morris worm
- SQL Slammer
- Code Red (computer worm)
Notes and references:
A computer virus is a malware program that, when executed, replicates by inserting copies of itself (possibly modified) into other computer programs, data files, or the boot sector of the hard drive; when this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected". Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as stealing hard disk space or CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on the user's screen, spamming their contacts, or logging their keystrokes. However, not all viruses carry a destructive payload or attempt to hide themselves—the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer programs which install themselves without the user's consent.
Virus writers use social engineering and exploit detailed knowledge of security vulnerabilities to gain access to their hosts' computing resources. The vast majority of viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows,employing a variety of mechanisms to infect new hosts, and often using complex anti-detection/stealth strategies to evade antivirus software.Motives for creating viruses can include seeking profit, desire to send a political message, personal amusement, to demonstrate that a vulnerability exists in software, for sabotage and denial of service, or simply because they wish to explore artificial life and evolutionary algorithms.
Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars worth of economic damage each year, due to causing systems failure, wasting computer resources, corrupting data, increasing maintenance costs, etc. In response, free, open-source antivirus tools have been developed, and a multi-billion dollar industry of antivirus software vendors has cropped up, selling virus protection to users of various operating systems of which Windows is often the most victimized, partially due to its extreme popularity. No currently existing antivirus software is able to catch all computer viruses (especially new ones); computer security researchers are actively searching for new ways to enable antivirus solutions to more effectively detect emerging viruses, before they have already become widely distributed.
Macro Virus is a type of mini-program that can easily infect a particular computer system. Macro virus runs inside another program. Macro virus possesses immense ability to spread in a swift manner thus infecting popular applications used for everyday computing purposes. There can be least doubt about the fact that Macro virus is possibly the chief problem that is necessary to eliminate without the least delay. Such viruses are extremely annoying and are less harmful as compared to some of the other forms of viruses. A system infected with Macro virus exhibits manyannoying messages and pop up displays. Computers get affected with Macro virus when one attempts to open a Microsoft Office document suite.
Macro Virus Poses Security Threats
One needs to realize the fact that Macro virus poses a serious threat to security issues. Macro Virus is considered to be extremely unsafe due to the below mentioned facts.
- Marco Virus is Responsible for Spreading Fake Security Messages
- Macro Virus Poses a Real Threat to Security
- Violates the Terms of Policy
- Installs Additional Spyware
- Trojans is responsible for Spreading Micro Virus
Every possible step needs to be taken to eliminate Micro Virus as it may repair files and ensure automatic updates as well. It is possible to detect easily whether a PC is infected with Macro virus. A computer system infected with Macro virus displays maddening pop-ups and changed icons as well.
