Vectors and hosts

Vectors and hosts

Viruses have targeted various types of transmission media or hosts. This list is not exhaustive:

• Binary executable files (such as COM files and EXE files in MS-DOS, Portable Executable files in Microsoft Windows, and ELF files in Linux)
• Volume Boot Records of floppy disks and hard disk partitions
• The master boot record (MBR) of a hard disk
• General-purpose script files (such as batch files in MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, VBScript files, and shell script files on Unix-like platforms).
• Application-specific script files (such as Telix-scripts)
• System specific autorun script files (such as Autorun.inf file needed by Windows to automatically run software stored on USB Memory Storage Devices).
• Documents that can contain macros (such as Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, AmiPro documents, and Microsoft Access database files)
• Cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in web applications (see XSS Worm)
• Arbitrary computer files. An exploitable buffer overflow, format string, race condition or other exploitable bug in a program which reads the file could be used to trigger the execution of code hidden within it. Most bugs of this type can be made more difficult to exploit in computer architectures with protection features such as an execute disable bit and/or address space layout randomization.

PDFs, like HTML, may link to malicious code.^{[citation needed]}PDFs can also be infected with malicious code.

In operating systems that use file extensions to determine program associations (such as Microsoft Windows), the extensions may be hidden from the user by default. This makes it possible to create a file that is of a different type than it appears to the user. For example, an executable may be created named "picture.png.exe", in which the user sees only "picture.png" and therefore assumes that this file is an image and most likely is safe.

An additional method is to generate the virus code from parts of existing operating system files by using the CRC16/CRC32 data. The initial code can be quite small (tens of bytes) and unpack a fairly large virus. This is analogous to a biological "prion" in the way it works but is vulnerable to signature based detection.

This attack has not yet been seen "in the wild".

Infection strategies

Infection strategies

In order to replicate itself, a virus must be permitted to execute code and write to memory. For this reason, many viruses attach themselves to executable files that may be part of legitimate programs. If a user attempts to launch an infected program, the virus' code may be executed simultaneously. Viruses can be divided into two types based on their behavior when they are executed. Nonresident viruses immediately search for other hosts that can be infected, infect those targets, and finally transfer control to the application program they infected. Resident viruses do not search for hosts when they are started. Instead, a resident virus loads itself into memory on execution and transfers control to the host program. The virus stays active in the background and infects new hosts when those files are accessed by other programs or the operating system itself.

[edit] Nonresident viruses

Nonresident viruses can be thought of as consisting of a finder module and a replication module. The finder module is responsible for finding new files to infect. For each new executable file the finder module encounters, it calls the replication module to infect that file.

[edit] Resident viruses

Resident viruses contain a replication module that is similar to the one that is employed by nonresident viruses. This module, however, is not called by a finder module. The virus loads the replication module into memory when it is executed instead and ensures that this module is executed each time the operating system is called to perform a certain operation. The replication module can be called, for example, each time the operating system executes a file. In this case the virus infects every suitable program that is executed on the computer.

Resident viruses are sometimes subdivided into a category of fast infectors and a category of slow infectors. Fast infectors are designed to infect as many files as possible. A fast infector, for instance, can infect every potential host file that is accessed. This poses a special problem when using anti-virus software, since a virus scanner will access every potential host file on a computer when it performs a system-wide scan. If the virus scanner fails to notice that such a virus is present in memory the virus can "piggy-back" on the virus scanner and in this way infect all files that are scanned. Fast infectors rely on their fast infection rate to spread. The disadvantage of this method is that infecting many files may make detection more likely, because the virus may slow down a computer or perform many suspicious actions that can be noticed by anti-virus software. Slow infectors, on the other hand, are designed to infect hosts infrequently. Some slow infectors, for instance, only infect files when they are copied. Slow infectors are designed to avoid detection by limiting their actions: they are less likely to slow down a computer noticeably and will, at most, infrequently trigger anti-virus software that detects suspicious behavior by programs. The slow infector approach, however, does not seem very successful.

History

History

The Creeper virus was first detected on ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet in the early 1970s.^[3] Creeper was an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN in 1971.^[4] Creeper used the ARPANET to infect DEC PDP-10 computers running the TENEX operating system. Creeper gained access via the ARPANET and copied itself to the remote system where the message, "I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!" was displayed. The Reaper program was created to delete Creeper.^[5]

A program called "Rother J" was the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" — that is, outside the single computer or lab where it was created.^{[citation needed]} Written in 1981 by Richard Skrenta, it attached itself to the Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and spread via floppy disk.^[6] This virus, created as a practical joke when Skrenta was still in high school, was injected in a game on a floppy disk. On its 50th use the Elk Cloner virus would be activated, infecting the computer and displaying a short poem beginning "Elk Cloner: The program with a personality."

The first PC virus in the wild was a boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain^[7], created in 1986 by the Farooq Alvi Brothers, operating out of Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written^{[citation needed]}. However, analysts have claimed that the Ashar virus, a variant of Brain, possibly predated it based on code within the virus.^{[original research?]}

Before computer networks became widespread, most viruses spread on removable media, particularly floppy disks. In the early days of the personal computer, many users regularly exchanged information and programs on floppies. Some viruses spread by infecting programs stored on these disks, while others installed themselves into the disk boot sector, ensuring that they would be run when the user booted the computer from the disk, usually inadvertently. PCs of the era would attempt to boot first from a floppy if one had been left in the drive. Until floppy disks fell out of use, this was the most successful infection strategy and boot sector viruses were the most common in the wild for many years.^[8]

Traditional computer viruses emerged in the 1980s, driven by the spread of personal computers and the resultant increase in BBS, modem use, and software sharing. Bulletin board-driven software sharing contributed directly to the spread of Trojan horse programs, and viruses were written to infect popularly traded software. Shareware and bootleg software were equally common vectors for viruses on BBS's.^{[citation needed]} Within the "pirate scene" of hobbyists trading illicit copies of retail software, traders in a hurry to obtain the latest applications were easy targets for viruses.^{[original research?]}

Macro viruses have become common since the mid-1990s. Most of these viruses are written in the scripting languages for Microsoft programs such as Word and Excel and spread throughout Microsoft Office by infecting documents and spreadsheets. Since Word and Excel were also available for Mac OS, most could also spread to Macintosh computers. Although most of these viruses did not have the ability to send infected e-mail, those viruses which did took advantage of the Microsoft Outlook COM interface.^{[citation needed]}

Some old versions of Microsoft Word allow macros to replicate themselves with additional blank lines. If two macro viruses simultaneously infect a document, the combination of the two, if also self-replicating, can appear as a "mating" of the two and would likely be detected as a virus unique from the "parents."^[9]

A virus may also send a web address link as an instant message to all the contacts on an infected machine. If the recipient, thinking the link is from a friend (a trusted source) follows the link to the website, the virus hosted at the site may be able to infect this new computer and continue propagating.

Virusses that spread using cross-site scripting were first reported in 2002^[10], and were academically demonstrated in 2005.^[11] There have been multiple instances of the cross-site scripting viruses in the wild, exploiting websites such as MySpace and Yahoo.

Computer virus

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional references or sources for verification. Tagged since March 2009. It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. Tagged since March 2009.

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.^[1][2]

The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojans, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware, and other malicious and unwanted software, including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but has a hidden agenda. Worms and Trojans, like viruses, may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when they are executed. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious or go unnoticed.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Infection strategies
  • 2.1 Nonresident viruses
  • 2.2 Resident viruses
• 3 Vectors and hosts
• 4 Methods to avoid detection
  • 4.1 Avoiding bait files and other undesirable hosts
  • 4.2 Stealth
    • 4.2.1 Self-modification
    • 4.2.2 Encryption with a variable key
    • 4.2.3 Polymorphic code
    • 4.2.4 Metamorphic code
• 5 Vulnerability and countermeasures
  • 5.1 The vulnerability of operating systems to viruses
  • 5.2 The role of software development
  • 5.3 Anti-virus software and other preventive measures
  • 5.4 Recovery methods
    • 5.4.1 Virus removal
    • 5.4.2 Operating system reinstallation
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading
• 9 External links

Reproduction

Reproduction

Sumatran tiger can be bred at any time. The gestation period is about 103 days. Usually tigress gave birth to 2 or 3 kittens tigers at once, and at most 6 tails. The new cub's eyes open on the tenth day, although the cub at the zoo was recorded born with open eyes. Cub drank only its mother's milk during the first 8 weeks. After that they can try solid food, but they still suckle for 5 or 6 months. First cub to leave the nest at the age of 2 weeks, and learned to hunt at the age of 6 months. They can hunt alone at age 18 months, and at the age of 2 years cub can stand alone. Sumatran tiger can live for 15 years in the wild, and 20 years in prison.
[edit] References

1. ^ Cracraft J., Felsenstein J., Vaughn J., Helm-Bychowski K. (1998). "Sorting out tigers (Panthera tigris) mitochondrial sequences, nuclear inserts, Systematics, and conservation genetics". Animal Conservation 1: 139-150.

[edit] External links

* (En) Tijgeritorium: everything you want to know about tigers!
* (En) The Sumatran Tiger Trust
* (En) Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program
* (En) Palm Oil Threat to Sumatran Tiger and Orangutan
* (En) Sumatran Tiger: WhoZoo
* (En) Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
* (En) Endangered species: Sumatran tiger
* (En) Save The Tiger Fund - Sumatran Tiger
* (En) Tiger Facts - Sumatran Tiger
* (En) Sumatran Tiger
* (En) IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group
* (En) Site Sumatran tiger
* (En) increasingly rare Sumatran tiger

Habitat

Habitat

The Sumatran tiger is found only on the island of Sumatra. This big cat can live anywhere, from lowland forests to mountain forests, and lived in many places are not protected. Only about 400 fish live in nature reserves and national parks, and the rest scattered in other areas cut for agriculture, there are also approximately 250 tails longer kept in zoos around the world.
[edit] Diet

Sumatran tiger food depends on where he lived and how abundant prey. They have the sense of hearing and sight are very sharp, which makes it a very efficient hunter. Sumatran tigers are solitary animals, and they hunt at night, patiently stalking their prey before attacking from behind or the side. They eat anything that can be captured, generally boar and deer, and sometimes poultry or fish. Orangutans also can become prey, they rarely spend time on the ground, and therefore rarely captured tiger.

According to local residents Sumatran tigers are also fond of eating durian

Sumatran tigers are also able to swim and climb trees when hunting prey. The area Sumatran tiger poaching is not known exactly, but it is estimated that 4-5 adult Sumatran tiger tails require a roaming area covering 100 miles in low-lying area with a number of optimal game (not hunted by humans).

Sumatran tiger
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? Sumatran Tiger
Panthera tigris Sumatran subspecies.jpg
Conservation status
Critical
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. tigris
Subspecies: P. t. sumatrae
Trinomial name
Panthera tigris sumatrae
Pocock, 1929

Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is only found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Wild population is estimated between 400-500 tails, especially living in national parks in Sumatra. Recent genetic testing has revealed signs of a unique genetic, indicating that this subspecies may evolve into separate species, if managed sustainably. [1]

Destruction of habitat is the greatest threat to the current population. Logging continues even in national parks should be protected. Tiger tail recorded 66 killed between 1998 and 2000.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 The characteristics
* 2 Habitat
* 3 Diet
* 4 Reproduction
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Characteristics

The Sumatran tiger is the smallest tiger subspecies. Sumatran tiger has the darkest color among all the other tiger subspecies, the black pattern width and the distance is sometimes attached meeting. Male Sumatran tigers have an average length of 92 inches from head to tail, weighing 300 pounds. Females have an average length of 78 inches and weighs 200 pounds. Sumatran tiger stripe is thinner than other tiger subspecies. This subspecies also had more beard and mane than other subspecies, especially the male tiger. Its small size makes it easier to explore the jungle. There is a membrane between the fingers that make them able to swim fast. This tiger is known to corner their prey into the water, especially if the prey animal is a slow swimmer. Fur changed color to dark green when giving birth.