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Thread ID: 21790	2002-07-04 02:04:00	Viruses and AV progs.	mark c (247)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
59688	2002-07-04 02:04:00	Silly Question #1. AV progs. work by having a database of virus defintions or signatures, they 'recognise' the characteristic coding of a vrus that is known and they stop it running. Right? Well, wouldn't it be better to have more like a firewall that when a virus, an executable, tries to start up it is checked, properties displayed, and the user can reject it. Other progs that start up or run in the background can be certified by the user and anything that isn't gets the "check it out first' screen? Seems pretty simple, so I can only guess that I've missed something.	mark c (247)
59689	2002-07-04 02:17:00	I vaguely remember an early virus program did just this. It interrupted just about everything you did with warnings that "x was about to change y. Are you sure?" Irritating and not productive. The big problem isn't the program, it's the user. It is far too easy to automatically click "Yes!" without thinking.	Heather P (163)
59690	2002-07-04 02:20:00	i think there is a few programs that do that. give the known good files a signature and then alerts you if that signature gets changed.	tweak'e (174)
59691	2002-07-04 04:20:00	A firewall can block trojans and worms that are being sent from the remote machine, but it can't act as an antivirus. Mind you trojans, worms and viruses are not the same.	boom23 (176)
59692	2002-07-06 03:12:00	Hmm...thanks. I can see that with applets and javascript and (maybe wrong here) Active X on web pages this could be impractical. But couldn't an email prog. run like this? Anthing trying to run from within the prog could be checked. OK good point about users Heater P but people are forever opening attachments (with enticing headings) from people they don't know so 'idiot-proofing' is never an option. And maybe if email progs did have this protection then the virus writers would just go elsewhere, like infected jpeg.s I just read about in July PCWorld.	mark c (247)
59693	2002-07-06 05:29:00	Hey Mark, That's why I like the later versions of Nortons . It detaches infected attachments and squirrels them away in the quarantine file . Users have to have a fairly strong masochistic streak to first find them, then click on them, then ignore the warnings when they try to open them . It also checks the web site for new updates every time you log on . Nortons also checks outgoing emails . Not only from my computer but also from the network . (I'll be sitting here minding my own business when the check screen pops up as one of the family communicate with the outside world through the proxy) . It is a vast improvement over the old programs .	Heather P (163)
59694	2002-07-08 03:39:00	Thanks Heather P and sorry not back sooner but only get intermittent access to the net. My grumble is that the wasy AVs currently work is that - "No-one gets any protection until many have got the infection."......and I was wondering if there wasn't some other approach. Just seems like a war sometimes on the internet. Gotta fire up all your defenses before the first step and never be sure you're not going to get whacked, and then there's worms and trojans. I realise it's partly historical, security was not an issue on the net before it went public.	mark c (247)
59695	2002-07-08 07:33:00	Doctors have similar problems with the flu virus. A vacination for strain A doesn't work for strain B. Best advice is: Keep your anti-virus program up-to-date Keep you OS software up-to-date (if Microsoft OS sign up for "critical update notification" and use it) Install a firewall Learn the behaviour of viruses. Last year, whilst using Norton v 4 I recognised and intercepted viruses before the program did. The only time I saw the warning screen was when the kids were using the computer.	Heather P (163)
59696	2002-07-09 00:44:00	Thanks for all that. Have just read about something that does kind of what I was thinking about. It's called Palladium by MS........not sure I really like the sound of it. never actually been hit by a virus. Keep AV up to date and very suspicious about everything!	mark c (247)
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