Hello Anthony, On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 16:48:35 +0200 GMT (04/04/2005, 21:48 +0700 GMT), Anthony G. Atkielski wrote:
>> They are better than nothing. AGA> Yes, but safe computing practices are better than A/V products, and they AGA> are free and do not interfere with the functioning of the OS. You missed the point. >> Firewalls have nothing to do with AV software. AGA> They have a lot to do with safe computing, though. In theory, if you AGA> can trust your OS to service open ports properly, you may not need a AGA> firewall. In practice, many operating systems can't be trusted that AGA> far, especially in the case of general-purpose ports like those used by AGA> Windows for remote RPC or NetBIOS. I am not talking about ports. I am talking about attached files that may or may not be infected. >> Correct, but impractical. AGA> It's very practical. I've been doing it for years. You are not in business or academy. In those fields, attached files with macros are common. >> I receive Excel files with executable code in the office. These are >> legit, and I need to open them. How would I know whether one is >> infected with a virus? - Only by scanning it. AGA> Of course, if it's a virus your scanner doesn't recognize, you'll be AGA> infected, anyway. Right. There is no 100% protection, if you need to open those files. But some protection is better than none. This is where the quality of AV software (freeware or pay-for-ware) comes into the equation. >> Please educate me how to tell an infected file from a clean one >> without a virus scanner. AGA> You don't run files unless they are from a trusted source. Files from a AGA> trusted source are clean by definition; This is utter nonsense. I receive files from people who sent me files before. How do I know they haven't been infected in the meantime? AGA> files from untrusted sources are never run, so it doesn't matter AGA> if they are clean or not. I see. To the extent that I scan the attachments if I really need to see them. Which does happen. What's a "trusted source" anyway? I get business proposals from people who attach company profiles. I don't know these people. Should I reject all proposals from people who I don't know yet? Unlikely. Be reasonable. -- Cheers, Thomas. What to not say to the nice policeman: I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there is no other car around--that's how far ahead of me they are. Message reply created with The Bat! 3.0.2.10 under Windows XP 5.1 Build 2600Service Pack 2 ________________________________________________ Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
