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Are you protected? |
On one hand, we, like the rest of you, would like to strangle- very slowly- the authors of these malicious pieces of code. They are intrusive, annoying, security risks, devastating to data, and with some rare viruses they can be destructive to the computer itself.
On the other hand, for us techs, they can be quite profitable. Not that we want you to get infected, but so many computer owners simply do not take the simplest of actions to protect themselves.
For many, having no virus protection might actually be safer than having inadequate, or out of date virus protection. That seems odd, doesn't it? Well, if you think about it, if you know you have no virus protection at all, you might take a bit more precaution in your computing activities. But, if you know you have virus protection, but haven't even thought of updating it in 4 years, than you will not be as cautious as perhaps you should be.
We need to understand what the anti-virus software does. First, it monitors certain system files and hard drive files for changes. A good anti-virus program will alert you to these changes, and give you the option to allow the changes or deny them. Naturally, if you are deliberately making these changes, you would allow them. but, if you are just tooling along, browsing the web or checking your email and you suddenly get an alert windows warning you of changes to your BIOS or to Windows, well that might be considered unexpected and you probably want to deny that.
Next, the anti-virus program should have a very extensive database commonly called "definitions". This database should include specific information on every virus ever known to man. This is *VERY* critical to the intended function on the anti-virus software. If the program does not recognize the virus as a virus, then it will likely ignore whatever the virus is doing, unless it tries to erase the hard drive or something.
What virus protection should you use? The absolutely only one I use, praise, recommend, or sell is Norton Antivirus by Symantec. I have worked on hundreds of systems, and probably seen almost every virus protection program there ever was. The *ONLY* one I have found that works each and every time has been Norton. I have documented many cases where customers were running other virus protection programs, including the really big one that comes bundled with almost every brand name computer (Hint: it begins with "M"), and I have seen viruses running rampant on those "updated" systems- with the then-current virus definitions. In fact, I once found an virus running amok on a system with a brand new updated commercial version of the "M" program, with the then-current definitions- and that particular virus had already been known to Symantec (and in the current Norton definitions) for 3 or 4 months! So, this virus was well known for 3 to 4 months and the "M" program had not yet added it to its definitions! I have seen the same sort of problems with other well known programs as well. Many programs update their definitions monthly or perhaps weekly.
Norton, by contrast, updates their definitions 2 or 3 times per week- or more if needed! I have seen new updates every day during some of the 'busier' virus periods. As of 28 August 2002, Norton Antivirus has 61,973 viruses in their definitions database.
So, as far as we here at A+ Computer Service, Inc are concerned, give us Norton or give us nothing!
Yours for Service,
A+ Computer Service, Inc
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