-Caveat Lector- -------- forwarded message -------- From: "Joseph C. Kennedy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 Subject: APPS: Anti Virus Programs Ben Pugsley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote > > Other than the fact that Nortons provides free updates for > 1 year, and McAfee provides free updates for life are there > good reasons to choose McAfee, or is there yet a better > (or best) way to go? Are all the players about equal on > detecting problems before they become a problem? The two programs are close enough to each other as to make no difference to the normal user. One may get a new definition on the web a few hours earlier than the other. Of course the servers are swamped and you cannot download without lots of restarts and failures. One might be a little better than the other for a particular virus at a particular time. The lifetime updates is useless as after a few months and within a year, the av engine no longer can find many new viruses. Most important, each program can have severe bugs which will affect you that can use up most of your resources and cause frequent GPF's. These affect only a few machines but those affected machines can have ongoing major problems. If you have one of those machines, switch. For example, I have been doing regular scans with norton and updating the definitions regularly. However, when I tried to change which files to scan, the program announced that it had failed and needed to be reinstalled and cannot be started. But a scheduled scan can used the failed components and appeared to scan. Neither program can detect viruses or mal-scripts that enter your machine through non-standard means. Specifically help files, especially html help files can include scripts, dropped programs and reformatters etc that a compressed and cannot be read by a virus program. Winhelp also has access to all api calls and is encrypted. So the button that you push can do anything besides showing you the picture that is advertised. The html help can be downloaded from the web as a compiled (and encrypted to the av program) and run automatically with no intervention on the part of the user. You do not have the ability to click yes/no as you do with a word file. The program runs and runs the "on open" script. The programs spread this way starts slower but can then propagate rapidly inside your firewall. ------ Joseph C. Kennedy mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- **************************************** The WIN98-L list is hosted on a Windows NT(TM) machine running L-Soft international's LISTSERV(R) software. To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you have questions about the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
