UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Students Name

Tumusiime Daniel

REG No

SO6B13/801

Course

BSCIT

YEAR

III

Course Unit

Information Security

Lecturers Name:

Mr. Kitayimbwa John

Question:

What are the six attack vectors used by viruses to

attack computers?
Use Norton 360 as your case study.

A vector refers to the method of attack (the attacker's choice of weapon).

We can think of them as "attack gateways". Attach Vectors are routes or
methods used to get into computer systems, usually for nefarious purposes.
They take advantage of known weak spots to gain entry.
Norton 360 is described as an all in one anti virus protection and solution
that enables customers to feel safe and secure while conducting all their
everyday computing activities. It offers comprehensive protection for more
computers, your identity and your data with unparalleled performance,
effectiveness and usability.
Norton 360 is basically designed to cover most of the bases (gateways),
thats

to

say

antivirus,

firewalls,

antiphishing,

antispyware,

backup,

performance issues, and online transaction security and therefore doesn't

require the maintenance of separate security and utility products. The most
common vectors in line with the discussion include;
Web Browsing
If the infected system has write access to any Web pages, it makes all Web
content files (html, asp, and others) infectious, so that users who browse to
these pages become infected.
Solution, Norton 360 identifies and removes any unnecessary clutter
on your disk such as windows Temp files, Internet cache files in both Internet
Explorer and Firefox browser. It also provides Browser Protection secures your
web browser against drive by downloads from malicious web sites by
plugging common Vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer.
IP Scan and Attack

Compromised system scans random or local range of IP addresses and

targets any of several vulnerabilities known to hackers or left over from
previous exploits.
Solution, this is controlled by Port knocking or single Packet
Authorization, daemons may provide effective protection against zero-day
exploits, however these techniques are not suitable for environments with a
large number of user that users. It also provides firewalls which will notify the
user that an external entity is trying to access the client machine so that to
choose whether to allow or to block.
Deception/shares, using vulnerabilities in file systems and the way many
organizations configure them, it copies the viral component to all locations it
can reach, and it is also aimed at the user/operator as the vulnerable entry
point. It's not just malicious computer code that you need to watch out for.
Fraud, scams, hoaxes and to some extent spam, not to mention viruses,
worms and such, require the unwitting cooperation of the computer's
operator to succeed.
Solution, Norton 360 uses white listing technology effectively protects
against an known users. White listing will only allow known good applications
to access a system and so any new or unknown exploits are not allowed
access.
Virus, Strictly speaking, viruses are not an attack vector in my view. They're
malicious computer code. That makes them a payload. The main attack
vector for viruses was originally infected floppy disks, but now the vectors
include email attachments, downloaded files, worms and more. Each infected
machine infects certain common executable or script files on all computers
to which it can write with virus code that can cause infection.
Solution, Norton 360 provides a Scan" mode, where the program goes

through your computer "with a fine tooth comb" looking for malicious

computer codes and after getting any it gives options of affected files to
delete or to clean. Also Real time monitoring used to detect if anything bad is
running, or coming in from the Internet, flash disk, CD, DVD and other
devices inserted to the computer and if any Virus found it deletes
automatically or blocks.

Hackers are a formidable attack vector because, unlike ordinary malicious

code, people are flexible and they can improvise. Hackers use a variety of
hacking tools, heuristics, and "social engineering" to gain access to
computers and online accounts. They often install a Trojan-horse so they can
commandeer the computer for their own use.
Solution, To curb this problem Norton 360 comes with some sort of
firewall protection which will defend the computer from external attempts to
break into the system.
Foistware is software that adds hidden components to your system on the
sly. Spyware is the most common form of foistware. Foistware is quasi-legal
software bundled with some attractive software or other bait. The stealth
process is installed without your knowledge. Sneak software often hijacks
your browser and diverts you to some "revenue opportunity" that the foister
has set up.
Solution Norton also provides antispyware technology that will sort of
block the spyware attempts by either asking you to allow or block these
hidden installations.
Phishing is also another common vector for which computer security is
undermined.
Solution, For this

Norton 360 v2 extends antisphishing protection to

Firefox. However, you will need to reboot the computer to install the Norton

toolbar to Firefox. In addition, we found that the technical support section

always opens up Internet Explorer even when the default Web browser is
Firefox.
However Norton 360 can be hard to install on legacy machines; places
a gadget in Windows Vista without asking; requires personal information for
access to a technical support section that can be confusing; costly to use.
In Conclusion
Norton 360 is designed to cover all the bases--antivirus, firewall,
antiphishing, antispyware, backup, performance issues, and online
transaction security--and therefore doesn't require the maintenance of
separate security and utility products. This may sound good, if you want one
company handling all your PC needs. However, advanced users will notice a
lack of richly detailed setting options found in the standalone products from
competing vendors. The features Symantec includes are for general
audiences not necessarily versed in security.
References;

http://www.newnorton360.com

www.norton360.com

Lecture one Notes

www.google.com

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111941,00.asp
http://www. Vectors\Sphider.com