Point taken...I actually meant to mention "common sense" as well, which sort of
dictates nowdays that you actually scrutinise the e-mails as well before opening
attachments.
Yes, Virus checkers are only as good as long as they are up to date. Fortunately
Nortan, Symantec etc are usually only 24 hours behind with fixes in the case of new
threats from out of the blue.
A major part of risk reduction is being aware of new threats which means being on key
mailing lists, such as Microsoft security alerts if you happen to be a user of their
systems. CERT is also another mandatory stop.
Personally, the benefits of using an integrated tool such as Outlook to manage
information overload outweigh the problems in my case. Most of them can be avoided, as
you point out, by being aware of the fixes and installing them.
I think the key is being aware. Proactive is better than reactive, which means good
tools and procedures to go with them.
---- original message ----
Sent: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 08:30:25 -0600
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc:
Subject: Re: [JAVA3D] Virus problems
--------------------------
Paul, I disagree.
Keeping your anti-virus software up to date will NOT protect you from
the worst virus problems. The viruses that have wreaked havoc across
the world have done so because they spread faster than the anti-virus
software could be updated.
Common sense is your BEST defense against viruses. Do NOT click on
attachments just because they are intriguing.
There are other steps you can take that will greatly reduce your risk
(such as not installing (or removing) "Windows Scripting Host").
Outlook is a slick e-mail client, but it is a HOG and is full of
Microsoft non-compatibility annoyances (like this e-mail where I tried
to reply to you but it didn't automatically quote you). If you are
going to use Outlook then at least install the patches that try to
address some of the virus weaknesses that make Outlook a prime target of
viruses.
- John Wright
Starfire Research
Paul Cohen Wrote:
"Just make sure your virus scanner is up to date (and I mean up to date
as these days you need to keep on top of it) and you should not have a
problem. Norton picked up all the current virus attachments from this
list and I use outlook, which is an incredibly useful PIM tool apart
from just email.
The problem is not the email clients, it's your virus scanner:-)
Something we have to live with in todays environment.
It's annoying to get them, but with good tools you can minimise the risk
and still have attachments."
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