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Pastimes : VIRUS ALERT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jbeaul who wrote (37)	1/6/1999 2:29:00 AM
From: K Grimes	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 47

Please respond to this particular topic only if you are an EXPERT, or have a question on this topic. >>"The likelihood of a virus is next to nil but I wouldn't bet my office network on it. My home computer contains my personal book keeping and investment positions. But I still run without any anti-virus software and keep these "critical" files backed up to my tape drive as I update them". :You are running no antiviral software, yet make dumbfounded claims regarding viral code and which files can and cannot infect?? >>"As a computer technician, I am often called to cleanse an "infected" computer. In ten years of doing this, I've encountered only three that actually had a virus present. " :And just which company are you a "technician" for?? I want to know so I can avoid your shop. >>"Out of ignorance, most folks proclaim a virus attacked their computer when it does something they don't understand." :Uh...umm.....perhaps yourself included?? >>" Also, in regards to the higher number of macro virus' as compared to all others is the result of their latency and relatively innocuous (sp?) effect. They tend to lay quiet and do little troublesome things that overtime cause the system to slow down or wastes drive space. As a result the infected continue to create more documents and electronically distribute them without even knowing of their viral content." :So let me get this straight....you are telling a man who writes some of the world's best antiviral software that he MAY be right?? But go on to give us some additional insight on the subject? Oh...please. Someone pull his plug, and take away his technician's bag and screwdrivers. Fridrik Skulason, you are a god in the antiviral world. Salute!

To: jbeaul who wrote (37)	1/25/1999 8:17:00 AM
From: Fridrik Skulason	Respond to of 47

> I think you two are saying the same thing but from different vantage points. Yes, it's impossible to cause infection via an e-mail message ... Sorry, but it is not so. As I have said before, there are certain loopholes, that can result in a virus activating if the user attempts to read an e-mail message. Those situations are extremely rare, and require a particular combination of mail readers and types of messages. The reason I am not more specific is simply that very few people know about the exact conditions, which hopefully will keep the chance of this happening deliberately down. The most common methods of infections by e-mail nowadays of course involve users opening infected attachments (sually Word/Excel documents), but at least that requires a deliberate action by the user...he can see that there is a Word document attached to the e-mail and instead of opening it, it can be saved, scanned and only opened if it is virus-free. The point is that in the scenarios I am talking about, Word/Excel will be launched automatically as soon as you attempt to read the e-mail message, thus activating the virus. > The likelihood of a virus is next to nil ....still run without any anti-virus software Good luck.