There are many disadvantages to the usage of the SELECT * in a SQL Server query. This video explains how users can avoid using SELECT * but instead list the column names.
[youtube snlWWxNTb60]
Video source: http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2012/06/06/sql-server-tricks-to-replace-select-with-column-names-sql-in-sixty-seconds-017-video/