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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hcm1943 who wrote (16265)	2/13/2001 5:55:44 PM
From: PMS Witch	Respond to of 110631

I'm not a viruses expert, so don't take what I say as the final word on the issue. As I understand it, .DOC files, and I'm assuming Microsoft Word document files here, can contain macros. These macros can perform some unwanted work on your system. However, a computer virus has the ability to replicate. It's this ability to infect other files and other systems that made virus such an attractive name for this type of malevolent code. Such code embedded in .DOC files rarely have this ability. The more exact name would be a Trojan, a name given code introduced to a system by being placed inside another, welcome, file. This name stems from the famous Trojan Horse, a gift filled with enemy soldiers brought within the city walls only to later attack from within. With .TXT files, the story differs. These files are usually associated with text editors which do not possess the ability to process macros. Without a means to process introduced instructions, there's little danger. As well, if .TXT files DID contain executable instructions, they would no longer appear as text, and once opened by an editor, they would appear to contain garbage and most likely be deleted, as it would be obvious something was wrong. I've only dealt with .TXT and .DOC files. For really nasty things to take place, the code would most likely be delivered in a .COM .EXE .DLL .BAT format. However, there's the possibility of delivering the code in a more benign type file, only to have it create one of the more potentially destructive file types on your system on arrival. Anyone wishing to add more light to this topic, please do. This is one area where I have much to learn. Cheers, PW. P.S. For VBS, or Visual Basic Scripting to work, it must be enabled on your system. Click Control Panel, Add Remove Programs, Windows Setup tab. Highlight Accessories (assuming it's box is checked) and click Details button. Scroll down and see if Windows Scripting Host has been installed. If you don't use WSH, or need WSH, your system will be more resistant to attack if this feature is disabled. (Changes requires a re-boot to take effect.) For those interested in Windows Scripting Host, check the files in C:\WINDOWS\SAMPLES\WSH for some samples.