OT -- Virus protection

[henry_ting2]

My laptop which I carry with me to all the remote places is prone for

the latest virus epidemics. I think a quick and easy fix is to install

a virus/worm software for now until I can really clean it up when I

have the time. What do you guys recommend ? Norton, Semantics ? Thanks

for any suggestions.

[peter_evans4]

<p>"Norton" is Symantics. Don't use any of this stuff: rely on your brain

not to click on fishy-looking attachments that are presented to you in

unconvincing ways. (Other measures can be helpful: use some

alternative to Outlook Express/Slug, and make sure that it shows the

entire filename of any attachment -- so that "REPORT.TXT.pif" appears as

such, and not as "REPORT.TXT".) Get your head straight by a long,

leisurely perusal of <a href="http://www.vmyths.com/">Computer Virus

Myths</a>.</p>

[jon_sargeant]

Norton AntiVirus from Symantec is a good choice. I've been using it and recommending it for years. However, for those who don't want to pay for software, a good alternative is AVG AntiVirus, free for home use, at www.grisoft.com. Personally, I have *never* had a virus on my computer, not because I use NAV, but because I use alot of caution. However, several companies I work for have avoided small disasters because of NAV.

[spider_.]

Macintosh.

[peter_evans4]

Symantec, Symantec, that was it. Sorry about the typo above. Norton is

Symantec, but whatever name it goes under, this and similar software is

only as reliable as the most recently updated database that you

bothered to download. If your machine is connected to the net

permanently or semipermanently, all the downloading/updating could be

simple; if not, you're better off relying on your brain. And of course if

you're using some alternative to 'Doze, in practice you're not

endangered by all this tomfoolery.

[jeff_rivera5]

Linux.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Norton is a mixed bag. Here we sell stuff on Ebay; and have to deal with hundreds of unknown customers each month. The Norton anti Virus catches about 1 virus each week; from Ebay buyers emails and attachments. The downside is that "amateur" Norton Anti virus 200X seems to mess up the "Ebay computer" at times. We also have Autocad on this box; it got totally hosed after a "Norton Live Update" last August. We couldnt start/launch several of our Autodesk software products after the "Norton Live Update". We did alot of web searches; and finally found the Norton-Autodesk problem. We had to replace and rename one dinky dll file; deep in the bowels of windows; to get our Autodesk products to work again. This was after calling Autodesk and Norton; which each pointed fingers at each other. We had uninstalled Autocad and reinstalled it twice; before stumbling on the "fix". Anti Virus stuff many times can screw up ones computer; worse than a virus. It seems always to be resetting our email settings. Without the anti virus; the dealing with a zillion unknown customers can be risky.

[kelly_flanigan1]

We once got a virus due to a customers floppy disk; it got into our old 5800 dollar IBM 286; and hosed up the entire works; we lost the entire database. An employee/bookkeeper had a hard time reading the floppy; and decided to "try it" on the accounting computer. They typed dir; and then the name of the exe file; and proto our database got hosed. The sad thing; is they tried it on several other computers; and infected the others too.

[charles barcellona www.bl]

What Peter said.

 

What Jeff said.

 

But barring that, we've been using McAfee's software for our network where I work, its been "ok". Ok meaning its only as good as constantly updating the database to catch new trojans/virii/worms as they appear.

 

For instance, the recent (and ongoing) mydoom worm was getting from two to four updates perday from McAfee, and from AVG (which I use).

[peter_n1664876959]

<i>Do</i> use anti-virus software, and don't rely on your brain. Norton or McAfee, they're vey similar. I use McAfee and I stay virus free.<br><br>

 

It is very important to update to the latest DAT virus definition files regularly. Usually once per week, but in rough times like these, 3-4 times per week.

[Sanford]

I think it's ironic that I have more of a chance of catching a virus just looking at porn on the internet than I do chasing the real thing.

[wind.dk]

If using a Microsoft e-mail client, switch off the instant viewing pane or what it's called (it's a damned nuisance anyway). Then don't open e-mails with attachments coming from people you don't know without checking them first - or even from people you do know, if it looks a little suspicious, they're not that hard to spot.

 

In fact modern e-mail carried viruses are so easy to spot it requires such a bare minimum of common sense that apparently humans are the only species that can't manage it.

 

Most of the e-mail viruses can be sorted out with a filter taking all of 30 seconds to create in Outlook Express.

 

You can still get anti-virus software, but do not rely on it - someone has to discover a virus before the antivirus software can be corrected to protect against it, and then the update needs to be distributed. In the meantime your only protection is common sense.

 

Or just switch to a non-Microsoft mail client - the only really good mail client ever to come from Microsoft is the Macintosh version of Outlook Express, which is just as safe as if it hadn't been made by Microsoft at all. So there's no real need to use an exposed piece of software.

 

For non-email carried viruses, a firewall, NAT, or just a plain router will offer most of the protection you need. If you have just one computer, a personal firewall of some kind is probably best for you.

[carl smith]

I used to be a Norton fan myself but it runs much more slowly than McAfee. Reviews seem to confirm this, so I have McAfee Virus Scan Pro 8 on my two computers now. Great protection and it is definitely much faster and more transparent in operation. Sending emails doesn't take nearly as long as it did with Norton when Norton scanned attachments.

[will_perlis]

"Sending emails doesn't take nearly as long as it did with Norton when Norton scanned attachments."

 

I turned that option off. If I've scanned the computer and I scan everything coming in and I'm not writing viruses, then I shouldn't be emailing them out. If the AV software doesn't recognize something bad on its way in it's not likely to recognize it on the way out either.

 

I do a routine update early every morning on both computers while the caffiene is kick-starting the neurons. That usually takes under a minute. Then I check the web for news, including that of the latest virus outbreak. Then I look at the email, killing the few left that the filters haven't deleted. So far, so good. It's not a lot of effort, IMX.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Dont try both McAfee and Norton at once; or have them on the same computer. A friend did this and his "developed" some weirdness. He had McAfee; and added Norton just before his McAfee subscription expired. This was several years back.

[carl smith]

Will, there is a difference between what you do and what I do then.

 

On both my machines, one being XP Pro and the other 2K, I needn't do anything. I've got firewalls, both my router and BlackICE to monitor all the ligher stuff. Then there's Adaware and Spybot for those once in a blue moon scans I decide to run.

 

But my antivirus doesn't slow anything down, nor does it get in the way. I don't have to ask it to update as it's pretty much constantly monitored. I couldn't hope for a better system, I don't have to touch my computer for a week but it's kept up to date and everything is scanned.

 

As far as outgoing scans go, there's a lot of traffic through these machines and it's worth it to wait the extra time (at most a second with McAfee) to ensure nothing leaves that can compromise anyone else.

[dlegaspi]

i use AVG. and i have a firewall.

[will_perlis]

"I don't have to ask it to update as it's pretty much constantly monitored. "

 

Carl,

 

I've got a girl-friend and a teen using the other computer and they can manage to scramble XP Pro to the point where auto-anything is problematical. What they do is a mystery 'cause the response to any questioning is always along the line of "I wasn't doing anything unusual, it just went all blue and started showing funny letters and numbers..."

 

Mine works perfectly, as does the theirs when I use it. Logs show nothing unusual, the power supply is okay, ad nauseam. ;)

[carl smith]

I helped a friends family set up different accounts just for that purpose. Only the son and the dad knew anything about computers, so they had full access. Mom and daughters were not allowed to change anything.

 

By restricting their access in their accounts the number of errors and the amount of crap that piled up was much, much lower. If you've got XP and haven't tried that, maybe it's worth a shot. Just make sure you have enough ram, fast user switching eats it up because it leaves each persons applications running.

[davidv1]

Panda antivirus (pandasoftware.com) seems pretty good. It updates itself every day at least once. So far it's caught all of the junk I've received.

[Karim Ghantous]

I never use anti-virus software but if you're not sure about what you're doing, take the recommendations given here. I've never had a virus. Except once, this really, really huge one. I think it as called 'Windows' or something... ;-)

 

Common sense is the best AV solution.

 

A personal firewall is something worth having, though. And my next computer will be a Macintosh which is inherently more secure. But to each his own.

[peter_evans4]

<p><em>Panda antivirus (pandasoftware.com) seems pretty good. It

updates itself every day at least once.</em</p><p>OK. Now let's look

again at the predicament: a laptop for taking around to "all the remote

places", and presumably also for downloading mail in at least some of

these places, very likely via dodgy and expensive modem

connections.</p><p>I may be unusual here, but I would not want to wait

till Panda (or any of its rivals) had downloaded the latest virus profile

and installed it before reading my mail.</p><p>To the best of your

ability, set up the computer in a sensible way, then show it to a more

knowledgable and disinterested friend (not a retailer) for a second

opinion if this seems a

good idea, and thereafter rely on your brain, whose sensitivities will no

doubt

be stimulated by knowing that there's no [unreliable] safety net. This

has worked for me and the missus (who understands even less than I do)

for yonks, while our friends' more or less "protected" have suffered one

problem after another.</p>

[adrian_morgan]

www.avast.com - free home use virus protection. Automatic updates and is brilliant.

 

I just installed it for my father as he is a bit slack in updating his anti virus software.

[carl smith]

</i> Common sense is the best way to get yourself hit with a virus. I know a lot of people who try to use that approach and they get burned. In fact it's gotten to where the RIT network won't allow you on unless you have antivirus they provide if I understand it correctly.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Alot of my friends going to Universities mention manditory restrictions on the bandwidth of uploading/sharing when using P2P; ie Kazaa type programs. Also many "give away" free Virus programs; to each student; to help rid the system of crap.