Computer techs scramble to battle viruses

Computer technicians are scrambling to clean up the mess caused by the latest e-mail infections which swarmed through the Internet last week.

Private computer users were lined up at local computer service stores, and institutions such as schools, colleges and even the State of Nebraska found out just how good their firewalls were.

Unfortunately, even some of those with good systems in place found themselves swamped by the flood of messages generated by infected computers. According to one report, 75 percent of the e-mail on the Internet today was infected by the latest virus.

It only goes to point out just how much we have come to depend on digital communications, and how vulnerable we are to sabotage. According to experts, the MS Blaster worm and the SoBig.F virus, nasty as they are, could have been much worse if their creators were more skilled at programming, of if they would have had more malicious intentions.

As it is, the first thing most people with infected computers know with the MS Blaster, for example, is that their computer begins restarting itself every 60 seconds, without any user input.

The SoBig.F virus is installed in your computer when you click on attachments from e-mails carrying such harmless-sounding subject lines as "Details," "Approved" and "Thank you." You'll know you have it when your computer starts sending out e-mails on its own, and you begin receiving "bounces" from messages you never sent.

But what can we do? Short of staying off the Internet altogether, the most important steps we can take to prevent a computer infection is to buy a good virus protection software program, and keep it updated regularly. Also, obtain the latest security patches for your operating system, and keep it updated as well.

Above all, don't click on attachments you aren't absolutely sure of, even if they come from someone you know. And, be sure to back up vital data on your computer, in case all of your security efforts fail.