Computer Virus and Economic System - Literature review Example

Computer Virus and Economic System According to Bhuvad, Kakad, Kamble and Malavade a computer virus is a computer program which can propagate (replicate) itself without the user’s consent.” The virus spread systematically to computers in a given system resulting to entire infection of the entire system. In most occasions, the virus has a very malicious intent. For instance, it is evident that it affects the entire performance of a given system. According to Bhuvad et al. (1), virus can be grouped into two; transient or resident. Transient virus is a type of virus that its survival depends on the lifespan of the host. It runs when the program is running and gets terminated when the attached programme is removed. During its execution in the system, it affects other programs. Resident virus on the other hand locates itself in the memory of a given device. Unlike transient virus, it remains viable even when the program becomes inactive. Antivirus software is the one that is used in removing viruses from computers. The antivirus uses some specific scanning algorithms in providing safety to the computers. In connection to this, the paper will provide detailed information on the metamorphic virus “the Win95/Bistro virus” and its troubling effects to online banking as well as trading system. It will expound on how the virus influences economic system along providing detailed information on how the banks and other organizations can prevent themselves from the virus. Metamorphic virus is a generation of polymorphic viruses that have the potential of transforming themselves automatically through changing their command codes. The change of the command results to different variants whenever the system in which they are located runs. According to Konstantinou and Wolthusen (2), a research that was carried in the UK recently showed that the virus infection was one of the contributing factors for insecurity incidents as well as business complications. The research also showed much time, as well as resources, was used in solving issues related to virus infections. Of all the types of viruses that attack organizations in the UK, metamorphic viruses were found to be the most sophisticated. According to Konstantinou and Wolthusen (3), writing a decent metamorphic engine was the one that posed a great challenge to the organizations involved in the production of antivirus. In justifying their point, they assert that metamorphic viruses often transform their code as they change making their detection difficult. They further assert that the viruses employ code obfuscation techniques in challenging deeper static analysis as well as beat dynamic analyzers like emulators by changing their behavior when they sense a change in their environment. As introduced above, metamorphic viruses change themselves from time to time depending on the environmental condition (Aycock 46). Such changes however are associated with the formation of the new generation of viruses that are difficult to remove or kill. Additionally, it is evident that metamorphic viruses employ garbage code insertion technique in evolving their code regularly. The change of the appearance of the code also contributes to difficulties in detection of the location of the virus in the system. According to Konstantinou and Wolthusen (8), the Win95/Bistro virus involves itself in mutating its products in addition to the code of the host. In doing this, the virus manages to generate new viruses as well as worms that affect the system. According to Konstantinou and Wolthusen, the virus manages to do this by randomly executing the code morphing routine. As a result of the change of the code of the host as well as its generation, disinfection of the virus is often done imperfectly. According to Bkav (1), over 2.2 million computers were infected with this virus in 2008. The infection had resulted to loss of data since they led to the destruction of the system. From Bkav’s assertion one can depict that the economic consequences of the metamorphic virus are significant. For instance, it is evident that the presence of a virus in the computer results to functionality problems. As a result of this, it is evident that some computer users decide to format their hard disks in order to get rid of the virus. Unfortunately, such steps are associated with the loss of valuable information. For instance, the deletion of bank information may result to loss of all information of the clients. Such a loss may lead to not only loss of potential customers, but also loss of money to other software. Virus also leads to alteration of host codes in banks making transactions difficult. Additionally, the virus led to the loss of system security. Metamorphic virus has the potential of reproducing itself in a host machine. In most occasions, the replication of the virus is associated with corruption of valuable information. For instance, it is evident that the virus may make some stored information in the computer appear as shortcuts. Such as corrupt documents often do not assist the user of the computer, and as a result of that, an individual is forced to redo the work he had saved or to seek for computer wizards to assists in the retrieval of valuable information. Unfortunately, the processing involving retrieval of the lost information is also costly. It is through such activities that some people make their living. Thus, the correction of a mistake made by the virus may force an individual to incur more cost in solving the problem. The activity of the metamorphic virus may also result to overwrite of the whole disk. In doing so, the virus forces a computer to use his time in deleting the extra information. Unfortunately, deletion of the overwritten information may also lead to loss of the valuable information. In some occasions, the virus may bar deletion of contents from the computer. With such a problem, a computer user is forced to waste a lot of time in going through the same information in the search of a valuable document. Additionally, it is evident that solving of that problem through purchase of an antivirus may involve the use of money that was planned for a different function. Metamorphic virus also results to internet disruptions. Such disruptions results to massive economic losses to both organizations and individuals who involve themselves in online transactions. For instance, it is evident that a single change in the code of a metamorphic virus results to failure of the scanner. Additionally, it is evident that the signature database of an organization needs to be regularly updated in order to handle the complications related to the impacts of the metamorphic virus. Unfortunately, such processes are very expensive and time-consuming. As introduced above, metamorphic viruses are also associated with the formation of new generations of their kinds. Additionally, they also result to occurrence of other worms that are very detrimental to the functionality of the system. It is as a result of their metamorphism that people take advantage of individuals who are carrying trading activities online; they sell to them fake antivirus. Such unworthy purchases often result to loss of money as well as drop of online economic activities. Additionally, it is evident that the metamorphic nature of metamorphic viruses results to the development of very many advanced metamorphic techniques which are also costly. Metamorphic viruses are also associated with loss of the computer user’s privacy. Unfortunately, the loss of the user’s privacy may also lead to the loss of valuable information to malware writers, and as a result, lead to inactiveness in economic activities. Prevention of the metamorphic viruses is very difficult. This is evidenced by the fact that metamorphic viruses have the potential to change their code as well as that of the host. The changing of code not only makes the identification of the viruses difficult, but also results to other worms that are hazardous to the computer system. To some extent, prevention of the economic system from the metamorphic system involves the use of scanners that overcame the impact of polymorphic virus in the DOS polymorphic days. However, scanners are also prone to fail in handling these viruses because of the alteration of their appearance occasionally. Even though most people considered scanners infective in handling issues related to viruses, it is evident that scanning is the best solution to the economic market regardless of its failures. From this assertion, one can deduce that technological advancement continues to introduce scanners that have the potential of detecting the ever-changing viruses (Arding and Hedelin 12). Additionally, it is evident that some viruses only remain active when the computer is installed with a specific window. For instance, the Win95/Bistro virus is very active in a system that is using window 32. Thus, the changing of the operating system of the computer to a different version is likely to aid in the prevention of the negative impacts of the virus. Additionally, avoidance of one from accepting online requests, as well as clicking on unknown things, also aids significantly in the prevention of the metamorphic viruses from hampering with the online trading system. Securing of the private keys also plays a very significant role in the management of this type of virus. Currently, code signing is used by organizations as well as by computer users in determining not only the publisher of a provided file, but also the possibility of the blinking file being associated with malicious software or virus (Arding and Hedelin 12). This type of computer security employs digital certificates in addition to public infrastructure in accepting and signing program files. From this claim, one can deduce prevention of the occurrence of the virus in the economic system is the responsibility of the users (Ferrie and Szor 11). In other words, it is very crucial for the computer users to avoid sharing their private keys with people they do not trust. In conclusion, a virus is a program designed by malware writers with the intention of affecting the functionality of a computer. There are many types of viruses; however, the most dangerous is the metamorphic virus. Metamorphic virus generates other viruses occasionally because of its ability to change its code regularly. The effect of the metamorphic virus ranges from causing duplication of materials, deletion of important data to shutdown of the whole system. Management of this virus involves checking files online carefully before clicking on them. It also involves changing the operating system of the economic system so as not to lose valuable data. Despite being less effective, it is evident that scanners also play a very significant role in the management of this virus. Since metamorphic virus keeps evolving continuously, it is advisable for preventive measures to continue evolving at the same pace and time. Works Cited Agarwal, Shiv and Shrivastava, Vishal. Basic: Brief Analytical Survey on Metamorphic Code. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering Vol. 2, Issue 9, September 2013. Arding, Petter and Hedelin, Hugo. Computer Virus: Design and Detection. (2014): Web. 24, Nov. 2014. Aycock, John. Computer Viruses and Malware. New York: Springer, 2006. Bhuvad, Shrinivas, Kakad Ankush, Kamble Siddharth and Malavade, Vinayak. Study and Comparison of Virus Detection Techniques. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering. Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014. Bkav. Metamorphic Virus - Challenges to Antivirus Software. (2010): Web. 24, Nov. 2014. Ferrie, Peter and Szor, Peter. Hunting For Metamorphic. (2008): Web. 24, Nov. 2014. http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/reference/hunting.for.metamorphic.pdf Konstantinou, Evgenios and Wolthusen, Stephen. Metamorphic Virus: Analysis and Detection. (2008): Web. 24, Nov. 2014. Seltzer, Leon. Securing Your Private Keys as Best Practice for Code Signing Certificates. (2014): Web. 24, Nov. 2014. Read More