There is a lot of fuzzy thinking going on about computer viruses. For example, the sense of security that you get from using McAfee or Norton anti-virus utilities is a false one. Commercial anti-virus products can protect you from many, but not all viruses. When a new virus is first sent out by its maker, it is generally indistinguishable from a benign program. There are a few general virus-like behaviors that can be detected by anti-virus software and thus allow the timely detection of a new virus. But virus makers have caught on to that weakness and most new viruses do not exhibit any virus-like behavior until it is too late to stop them from doing their damage. Once a virus has been in circulation long enough to come to the attention of someone at McAfee or Norton, then they analyze it and determine a "fingerprint" for it. Then when you update your anti-virus database (you do this every week or so, right?) the fingerprint is added to the database. Only then does your anti-virus software have the capability of recognizing the new virus. But are you sure that all this will happen before the new virus hits your machine? Everyone wants someone else to take responsibility. Mike Kurta even suggested running some unknown software from Czechoslovakia. How do you know that the Czechoslovakian software is not itself a vehicle for a virus? What do you really know about the maker of that software? Anti-virus software is not something you can test. You can only evaluate it based on reputation. To the average user, a faulty anti-virus utility appears to behave identically to a excellent one. Both programs can say "No Viruses Detected" equally well. The chances are your anti-virus software will get its first serious test on the job when correct detection really matters. Richard Moody says: >I am a firm believer that ISP's can and should be the fore >front in stopping viruses, worms and other.... They may try, Richard, but they can't do the job perfectly. In fact they can't even do the job as well as McAfee and Norton. What it all comes down to is taking responsibility for your own protection. You must be the one to pass judgement on which program is allowed to run on your machine and which is not. You must become familiar with what kinds of files are potential carriers and which are safe. You must become knowledgeable about what it takes to open an attachment. Recently there was some discussion about Microsoft's e-mail programs opening attachments automatically. This has been fixed by Microsoft, so check their web-site for information about how to update your Outlook or Internet Explorer e-mail. As far as I know, Eudora does not have that problem. So run anti-virus software if you want. Use an ISP that filters for viruses if you want. But don't count on either of these measures to keep viruses from your computer. You might even decide that a weak safety line is worse than no safety line at all. -Robert Scott Ypsilanti, MI
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