Project By Ben Woodard
ISC 110
Professor: Dr. Elaine Wenderholm
What is a computer virus?

.Small software programs designed to spread from one
computer to the next to:
.Corrupt/ Delete Data
.Hack personal information
.Erase information on a hard drive
.How do they spread?
.Through pop-ups, email attachments, downloads
.All
computer viruses are a type of Malware
.Malware, short for, “Malicious Software” is programmed to disrupt
the proper functioning of a private computer, gather sensitive
information and more
Types of Malware and how they
work

Some of the most common types of Malware include:
 Trojan Horses
 Computer Worms
 “ScareWare”

“ScareWare”:
○ Alert you of a virus on your computer, convince you to download
a program to “clean” the computer

Computer Worms:
○ Use computer networks, find lapses in program security. Allows
them to multiply rapidly

Trojans:
○ Appear harmless, when downloaded open a “backdoor” through
the use of Rookits.
What is an Antivirus System?


.Computer Software designed to protect a private
computer from Malware.
There are two main techniques Antivirus Systems
use:
 Signature Detection
○ Scanning incoming files and cross referencing the file codes
with those of known viruses
 Sandbox Security
○ Scans already running programs and looks for
untested/unwanted codes
Other Key Features of Anti-Virus
Systems:

Scheduled and On Access Scanning:
○ Scan downloaded programs on site as well as daily complete
system scans

Fire Walls:
○ Protects users by not allowing unauthorized access to their
compuer

Constant Updates:
○ Relates to Heuristics, most systems have constant updates for
new software as well as virus signatures that were not originally
in the system

Automatic clean-up:
○ Anti-Virus systems will stop the infected program, isolate it
(depending on system) and quarantine or delete the file/program

Heuristic Scanning:
○ Detect new “wild type” or modified malware
BitDefender
Romanian Based Company: Softwin.
 Original Anti-Virus System Release: November, 2001
 Notable Technologies:

 Active Virus Control:
○ Used when a program is infected. Checks every running
program for malicious characteristics
○ When a threshold of malicious activity is reached in a program, it
will be deemed as harmful and treated as malware
 B-Have:
○ Created in 2006, to decrease dependency on virus signatures
○ Instead, the system looks at the behavior of programs to
determine if they are malicious
○ Uses a virtual computer system to test new programs
○ If clean the system is allowed to run, if suspected as malware,
the system will destroy the file and record its information
Norton Anti-Virus



A Product of Symantec Company
Mostly uses virus signatures with constant program and
heuristic updates.
Notable Technologies:
 Insight:
○ The “smart scanning” of programs, where information is sent to Norton to
update the system of new malware
○ Allows for “trusted” programs and files to be looked over in scans thus
increasing scan speed
○ Performed when computer is idle to not interfere with the user
 SONAR:
○ Much like B-Have in that it checks program behaviors, not signatures
○ Constantly scans running programs using algorithms to find out attributes
about the program. Such as, if the program is using shortcuts to gain
access to private files
○ Main goal is to identify any malware instantaneously, known as “zero day”
threat detection
AVAST! Anti-virus
Developed by AVAST Software a.s.
 Key Features:

 Primarily monitors program activities to determine if they are





malicious
Has a “Safe-Zone” firewall which helps to go undetected on the
internet
Impossible for malware to destroy AVAST!
Sorts corrupted files from safe files and quarantines them known as
a “virus chest”
Real time protection as files are downloaded
GMER
○ Designed to locate and destroy Rookit technology
○ Rookits enable constant access to a computer to malware or a hacker.
They are hard to detect due to the fact that they will die within seemingly
safe programs, often times the user has no idea there is a Rookit until it is
too late
Sources/ Questions?

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"Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013." Bitdefender. N.p., n.d. Web. 5
May 2013.
"The All-new Avast! 8 Is Here." AVAST 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 5
May 2013.
Norton AntiVirus." Norton AntiVirus 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May
2013.
"What Are Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses? - Knowledge
Base." What Are Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses? Knowledge Base. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2013.
What Is a Rootkit? -- Definition by The Linux Information Project
(LINFO)." What Is a Rootkit? -- Definition by The Linux
Information Project (LINFO). N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2013.