RECENT VIRUSES, TROJANS, etc

D

drLaser

Guest
Hi,

Just a note that you should all have some anti-virus software if you are on a PC/Windows system, especially if you are using MSIE as your browser or other MS products as your e-mail software - due to the possibility to exploit the MIME settings in these products. (A MS patch is available.)

I get probably at leat 15 viruses every day (which are caught by my anti-virus software.)

The main points that I want to make are the following:

1. New viruses are developed every day. So keep your anti-virus software updated on an almost daily basis.

2. Today's viruses do not always propagate as attachment files to e-mails, and do not even need for you to manually open an attachment file for them to infect your system. They are embedded (and invisible) in the e-mail itself. Merely the downloading of an e-mail may infect your system.

3. Today's viruses also have the capability to pretend that they are coming from unrelated computer. That is, a virus can simply pick any e-mail address in the Inbox of the infected PC, and pretend to be sent from that address. They even can make up e-mail addresses by putting standard aliases like "postmaster" or "webmaster" before the "@..." part of an e-mail address.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (for me personally):

Please be assured that 1) "drLaser" systems are protected from viruses in real-time, 2) the hard disks are additionally scanned for viruses twice a day.

I end up getting viruses from "[email protected]" or "[email protected]" probably once a day, but that's because I am on many sailors' address books around the world.

Best regards,

Shevy Gunter
Editor, drLaser
http://www.drLaser.org
 
I am in the same situation as Shevy. I get several a day. I have to keep my anti-virus software ready and I don't use MS outlook, I am a big fan of Eudora.

Best,
 
I have Norton and I update it very frequently. I get the odd virus now and then that my computer stops.
 
Groupshield protecting the mailserver....block and strip everything you can at the firewall...mimimize your swisscheese. EPO Agent enforcing local policy and maint.

Soho products have antivirus option to enforce all clients before any access is allowed.

All of my clients get protected first....its the only responsible thing to do. Also it keeps your liability minimized. There's so much great product out there there's no reason not to. 8)
 
I second KWilson's suggestion, if you are running your own mailserver, stop the viruses from ever reaching your users. If you are a user on someone's mail system, do whatever you have to do to get them to install virus scanning on all inbound and outbound messages at the server level. I can tell you that since we set it up on our mail server at work a year ago, no user has been hit with a virus via email (it stops an average of 30 a day on a 500 user system)

That, in addition to running an AV program on your own computer, patching your operating system software and using common sense when it comes to downloading files should keep you out of trouble
 
I second the motion. My ISP uses a server-side virus and spam filter, but I have still had suspicious emails show up from people who have my address, but there is no way they would send me an email with that subject. In all cases I have zapped the questionable message before downloading it (an option I have) so my own system has yet to be tested.

Even with server-side protection your own software has the last best chance of averting disaster. We need to update our virus definitions regularly and not rely on engines that are out of date.

Bruce
 

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