When "It can't happen to me" Happens

Irony is a funny thing. This is the second version of this article, and at the end I'll explain why in more detail. But it does involve irony.

I've recently become a victim of the "practice what you preach" rule. It's been quite a while since I've penned even a small treatise on the evil of computer viruses. In that time, either I've become complacent on the issue, or I convinced myself that I had so much work to do that viruses dropped pretty significantly on my priority list. Either way, I dropped my guard and got a swift kick in the pants as a result. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Be careful out there ...

If you use Microsoft Word, you cannot be too careful. Even if you think you are being careful, chances are you're not being careful enough. Word Macro viruses are being written and spread at a rate higher than ever before, and this trend shows no signs of changing. There are two conditions that are helping to contribute to this increase. One, Microsoft changed the structure of documents and macros in Word 97 in an attempt to deter the spread of macro viruses. This has encouraged "experienced" macro virus authors to crack the changes made by Microsoft and find ways of infecting Word 97 documents. Two, anti-virus software vendors have developed tools that can effectively and safely identify and remove macro viruses. This has encouraged macro virus authors to churn out new virus code faster than they hope the anti-virus software vendors can match. There are other factors, but the latest onslaught of new viruses indicates that there is a race on between the virus authors and the virus killers. And we are caught in the middle.

In this war, we can ally ourselves on one side or the other. By doing absolutely nothing, we can ally with the virus authors. By doing nothing, we can become pawns in the game by allowing our copies of Word to become infected, thereby spreading the infection to every document we touch and distribute to our co-workers, superiors, and friends. By doing nothing, we can ignore the entire problem, hoping that it will go away, or hoping that nothing will happen to us. Or we can choose to ally ourselves with the virus killers.

We can work proactively to make sure that we don't allow our computers to become infected, eliminating one avenue for future spread. We can proactively work to identify when others have become infected and assist them in killing off the infection. We can proactively work to educate others and tell them just how bad it is out there and why they need to be concerned and proactive themselves.

You can Help

Here are some ways you can help yourself and others:

1. Use anti-virus software, but don't assume that the job ends there.
2. If your anti-virus software supports it, configure it to automatically scan floppy disks and other removable media inserted in your computer.
3. Keep your anti-virus software updated regularly.
4. Scan everything, and I mean everything, you download off the net.

These are simple things you can do, and if you do them proactively, you can protect yourself against a majority of the virus onslaught. If you do find yourself infected, however, remember the best piece of advice offered by Douglas Adams: Don't Panic! Keep your wits about you, and you can probably come out of the situation without much damage.

But above all else, remember that it can happen to you. I was reminded of this again as I started this article the first time. Right after I finished berating myself for not practicing what I had been preaching as I was writing this, I violated a second golden rule and was once again victimized by the same clause. Microsoft Word crashed, taking with it every byte of this unsaved article.

Irony is a funny thing.

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