ITWeb (Johannesburg)
Paul Vecchiatto
23 March 2005
Cape Town — Computer viruses designed to execute in the Microsoft environment often lurk in Unix-based systems where they lie dormant until a Microsoft device, such as a laptop, activates them, says Sophos product manager Clive Wainstein.
Speaking to ITWeb following a presentation to Netxactics clients in Cape Town, Wainstein said there is a common misperception that viruses and worms, which have become a plague of the IT world, do not affect Unix systems.
"Viruses designed for a Microsoft environment lie dormant in a Unix system because they do not have the necessary protocols to begin to execute. However, once another PC, laptop or handheld device is connected, the virus is activated."
Wainstein says this problem affects all Unix-type systems, including Linux and Apple operating systems.
The common mistake made by many end-users, he says, is that they think a simple gateway product, which scans e-mails and other data for viruses, is enough to protect a Unix-based server.
"What happen once the virus is already on the server? It replicates as soon as a Microsoft PC is connected and the problem starts all over again. Then the administrators cannot work out where the virus is coming from."
Wainstein says 20 to 60 viruses are written per month for Unix-based systems, although most do not cause the problems seen on Microsoft machines.
"The thing about a virus written for Microsoft machines is that the person who developed it is almost guaranteed his or her five minutes of fame; while in the Unix environment it is the technical people who understand it," he says.
Sophos, the UK-based anti-virus group, has developed anti-virus software for 25 Unix-type platforms, which it says will help minimise the problem in that environment.
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