A wild list virus? A virus in
the wild sounds just as if it were a living, breathing entity lurking
somewhere. A virus has a lot of similarities with real life –
it has a code (DNA) that replicates itself (Reproduction.) And as
a virus it makes sick, and kills (reformat the drive.) Except that
it does not live, and does the damage on purpose. A real virus can
survive only if it feeds on others. A virus code can survive alone
on a computer.
The wild virus terminology is actually
a criterion to determine the efficacy of antivirus programs. The logic
is that a good antivirus software must be able to detect and disable
a virus that is actually spreading freely, and is not just a lab virus
stored on machine waiting to be detected. The agency that uses it is
the NCSA – national computer security association apart from other
certification agencies.
How do we record such viruses?
Of around 10,000 viruses known, the majority are confined (zoo
viruses) and do not pose a risk. It is when a virus begins to actively
attack networks and other users that it comes under focus for ‘being
in the wild’, and is seen as a threat.
Joe Wells began building a directory of
wild viruses using infection reports from at least two independent sources.
It is called The Wild List, and contains data such as name of virus,
name of reporting person, country, system, etc. A team of participants
work with antivirus related companies around the world and provide reports.
If you wish to report a virus incident, contact their reporter based
in your country. Get more information at www.wildlist.org.
Quality of antivirus softwares
An antivirus software must be able to detect
and disable viruses on the prowl, and not just those available to anitvirus
companies, as that is the real purpose of installing the software in
the first place: that it can handle a new threat with some degree of
effectiveness. Secure Computing has developed certification schemes
that use the wild virus lists to test antivirus softwares.
The upcoming ITSEC scheme in UK also plans
to use wild virus lists to test and certify antivirus softwares.