Viruses Revealed - Softcover

Harley, David; Gattiker, Urs E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0072130903 ISBN 13: 9780072130904

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2001

Synopsis

Observes the effects of recent attacks on computer networks and subsequent clean-up efforts to analyze the origin, structure, and technology of computer viruses as well as current detection and prevention measures.

About this title

Review:

Hardly a week goes by without news of some malicious program or other playing hob with large numbers of computers somewhere on the Internet. Viruses Revealed shows where computer viruses come from, how they spread, and how you can protect the computers you're responsible for. It recognizes that viruses are inherent in the modern computing environment (which makes it easy to share data among machines) and that there's no absolutely certain way to maintain any degree of usefulness in a computer while eliminating all risk of viral infection. From there, the three authors proceed to make their readers informed participants in a dangerous computing world. They do this by defining terms (like dropper, a program that isn't a virus itself but which serves to install one), explaining concepts (like the difficulties antivirus programs face in detecting Trojan programs), and documenting historical events (infamous viruses of the past--Love Bug, Kournikova, and so on--and why they worked).

To their great credit, the authors go to great lengths to be authoritative. They document pretty much everything they say with references and rarely assume that the reader knows what any but the most basic terms mean. Furthermore, they're modest and don't claim that what they say will save your machines from viral attack. Rather, they say that appropriate defenses will reduce your risk of infection, and solid documentation, backup, and recovery mechanisms will help you halt successful attacks early and recover from them promptly. The prose here is well written and often funny--Viruses Revealed is a big winner. --David Wall

Topics covered: Computer viruses--what they are, where they come from, how they work, and how to deal with them. A combination of case studies and explanatory prose shows how to minimize your virus risk, regardless of what kinds of computers you run.

From the Back Cover:

The definitive guide to understanding and protecting against computer viruses

With the growing number of computer virus infections today--and the billions of dollars spent on clean-up efforts--virus protection has become everybody's business. This detailed guide offers full-scale coverage and analysis of the origin, structure, and technology behind the expanding array of computer viruses, and addresses current methods of detection and prevention. By learning exactly how viruses do what they do, you'll better understand how anti-malware technology works--and be able to evaluate and implement practical solutions to protect your system. You'll get insight into the various types of malicious software--including Trojan horses, macro viruses, and worms--and also learn about virus hoaxes. Real-world case-studies provide you with a first-hand look at viruses in action and the damage they can cause. Thorough, insightful, and lucid, this up-to-date reference is essential reading for everyone--from network professionals and administrators involved in virus protection to the everyday computer user.

For more information, visit www.viruses-revealed.org.uk.

This guide will help you:

• Get a historical overview of the emergence and evolution of computer viruses
• Learn about the anatomy of viruses--including worms and Trojans
• Examine different virus types and infection mechanisms--macro and script viruses, stealth viruses, and others
• Understand the specifics of virus activity and operation
• Identify good sources for virus information and risk assessment
• Implement corporate defensive strategies and systems
• Gain insight into social and legal aspects of data protection
• Discover how to practice safer computing

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0072130903
• ISBN 13: 9780072130904
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 725