Good Call Jeff, "joe" ================================ I think we can let this subject die before things do get personal. I feel most everyone's point has been made. Everyone has their own preferences. I feel each program has it's fault, that goes without saying. One program may perform better for one person, where another performs better for someone else. We need to let this subject die on this list, or move it over to the chat list. Jeff Dougherty Intrepid Video TV/VCR 263 S Front St Steelton PA 17113 fax...717-564-4952 www.intrepid-video.com www.tech-repair.net ================================ MyDoom Slows Web Performance As the fastest-moving e-mail worm MyDoom Slows Web Performance http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1466594,00.asp By�Matt Hicks January 27, 2004 <> As the fastest-moving e-mail worm continues to haunt inboxes, it is creating some hiccups in response times on the Internet. But the real danger could lie in MyDoom's "time bomb" set to trigger a denial of service attack next month against the SCO Group Inc.'s Web site, experts say. <> Response times from major Web sites' home pages have fallen by about 50 percent since MyDoom's outbreak began on Monday, according to companies that monitor Web performance. So far, the Internet backbone itself has been largely unaffected, running about 8 percent to 10 percent slower on Tuesday than on an average day, said Lloyd Taylor, vice president of technology at Web performance monitoring vendor Keynote Systems Inc. <> "The performance degradation we're seeing is due to congestion on corporate firewalls and filters, but the [Internet] backbone itself is running fine," Taylor said. <> Keynote, of San Mateo, Calif., noticed that response times from the 40 large Web sites it monitors slowed down once MyDoom began spreading on Monday. Home page downloads rose to about 4 seconds, compared to the typical response time of between 2 seconds and 3 seconds, Keynote said. <> Another Web performance monitoring vendor, AlertSite Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., noticed a similar trend. The company found that U.S. home page response times slowed about 52 percent on Monday compared to a week earlier. <> "These numbers do not indicate that large Web sites are having problems with their Web servers but that the road between customers and the Web sites likely are more congested," said Ken Godskind, AlertSite's vice president of marketing. <> More alarming than the minor delays are the possible interruptions yet to come, Taylor said. Because MyDoom currently is an e-mail worm that requires a user to open an attachment in order for it to propagate, its overall effect on Internet performance has been limited. <> But the worm's next planned attack�to harness the multitude of computers it has infected to trigger a DOS attack on SCO's Web site starting on Feb. 1�could hit the Internet's overall performance because of the massive amount of traffic it could generate, Taylor said. <> MyDoom's SCO attack plans. A denial-of-service attack in December knocked SCO's Web site off the Internet for a while. "Depending on how far it spreads and the time given to clean up things�we may see effects, especially to carriers that are close to delivering bandwidth to the SCO Web site," Taylor said. <> Mydoom Virus - Network Nightmare or Non-Event? MessageLabs offers and delivers 100% guaranteed protection against all known and unknown viruses, including Mydoom, Bagle and SoBig.F. No other vendor can make that claim. We offer zero-hour outbreak protection, stopping new viruses hours before traditional signatures are released.Need a MS Exchange Spam Filter?? <> Spam sucks. Your life shouldn't. iHateSpam SE was uniquely developed to be both user- and admin-friendly. Control spam according to the needs of your company and users. V5.5, 2000, Exchange 2003, and Gateway. Reader's Choice Winner 2003, Best Antispam Tool.Mailprotector - Total Email Server Protection Protect your enterprise email systems from spam, viruses, and SMTP based attacks BEFORE they reach your network. Mailprotector provides cost effective protection and redundant systems in an easy to use service. Let us prove it with our Free DemoThreatSentry: Neural IPS protects IIS web servers. Breakthrough neural application compares system requests against an evolving baseline to prevent known, undocumented and other misuse for Microsoft IIS. Free 30-day trial and install/eval session.Support Customers Remotely with Secure CRM Tool GoToAssist (formerly DesktopStreaming) is a secure e-support solution that enables you to deliver help desk support to your remote customers or employees via shared screen, mouse and keyboard control. Access their desktop in just seconds - even over dial-up!Get your product or service listed here. <> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1466594,00.asp <> MyDoom Lessons: Failures of Education, Antivirus Vendors How could a worm as pathetic as MyDoom have spread so far and so fast? Perhaps it's the moment to examine the key failures behind MyDoom's success: the failure of user education on prevention and the poor response from antivirus vendors. <> BREAKING NEWS 1.29.2004 Intel Preps Launch of Prescott Processor 1.29.2004 Injunction Remains in Register.com Whois Marketing Case 1.29.2004 Microsoft Offers $250K Reward for Virus 1.29.2004 FCC: Satellite Services Gaining on Cable 1.29.2004 Officials Investigate Hack at U. of Ga. 1.29.2004 JDS Uniphase Corp. Loss Declines 1.29.2004 Microsoft Scraps IE Changes in Eolas Patent Dispute View All > CAST YOUR VOTE How should the Federal government improve information security? http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1466594,00.asp ================================== Time for my 2 Cents worth here. I use NAV and update it daily. Also have Norton firewall too. I run SpyBot AND Ad-Aware both. They will generally catch what the other has missed. Just had a NAV problem here and had to completely reinstall NAV and the firewall. Got corrupted. While the professional comp guru was looking thru my machine he found 2 spyware files I never knew existed. None of the spyware progs caught them. They must have been on for a couple of years now. Sigh...... I did originally try Macafee- but had to uninstall it as it did not work with my machine. Same with Zone Alarm. I think both have been upgraded since though. I am running Windblows 98 SE. Wish I was better at this computer stuff, as I'd change to Lindows or Linux. ================================ What about Spybot ? I have it and so do Michael Bisk at Prelco and he also thinks it does a better job of spyware eradication. When I ran it first time - it found fragments of spyware that I had killed and advised me of some popular programs such as Real Media Player has it and part of the 'deal' if you want to use it. They use it to find out 'what's popular' ! ================================ Nope...you're right, anyone that thinks they have enough "Horse Sense" to avoid being infected, has a misconception of how virus are spread. And if anyone on TechAssist, or our other lists feels he is qualified to be able to separate content from the chaff, may just be in the wrong business, and send a resume to Norton or MacAfee. I don't push either program, both are good. I sometime question why ISP's try to sell you Virus Protection, such as mine (Sympatico). Since I believe running an Internet Service, it would be in their best interest to apply this on their Head end. But this may change in the near future. Biggest thing that bothers me, WHY are there people that want to purposely destroy or obstruct Internet communication and commerce. I'm sure it takes more understanding of programming, and knowledge of how computers work, to sit there and write malicious script. No one really has to give me an answer to the last question, since I am not that naive. But just pisses me off. ================================ I buy Norton System works Pro and am thankful for the complete maintenance software bookshelf... Including the AV. McAfee sxxks ================================ Norton may have had some good releases, but the newest version would have to be awfully bad to get that many negative reviews. One of the points I was making is that you can get good antivirus for free. There are too many people (on these lists and on forums) saying that AVG works really well to say that it's just because it's free. It's one of the best antivirus out there. I only mentioned Avast because of the extremely high ratings. If it's crap, people tend to say so. Go to download.com and look up some programs. The user ratings are listed on the results pages. Kinda like ebay, very easy to navigate. ================================ Spybot and others are great. I use it, and another one. But these are "NOT" Antivirus programs. These are mostly "innocent" programs that send out info to the Website you are visiting. The "innocent" is the keyword. Some Websites require it, and you will not access unless you have the cookies in your file to support it. This is hardly the forum to discuss computers, but Eugene, in today's scope of Internet reach, the phrase "horse sense" does not reach further then my understanding of my customers, that I can see face to face, my wife, who tests my "Horse Sense" on a daily basis. You and I are the same age, so I understand your trust in Horse Sense, but as Gary stated..most of us don't have horses anymore. What about Spybot ? I have it and so do Michael Bisk at Prelco and he also thinks it does a better job of spyware eradication. When I ran it first time - it found fragments of spyware that I had killed and advised me of some popular programs such as Real Media Player has it and part of the 'deal' if you want to use it. They use it to find out 'what's popular' ! ================================ Maybe that is part of the problem of today's any age ! Not having any Horse Sense ! That taken to an extreme in Grandpappy's days was a bunch of Cowboys that came in the Ranch Buckboard wagon would get drunk and have a fight and pass out. Sheriff would pile the Drunks into the back of the buckboard and point the Horses toward the Ranch and slap them on. The Horse would go to the Barn of the Ranch and the Cowboys would wake up and wonder what happened for them to be 'here' ! Sheriff did not want to feed them in the Jail. That's a small example of Horse Sense on the part of the Sheriff ! ================================ Nope..Use it myself. Good program. This program reads your files, and you don't have to be on line to use it. I think it's just common sense, we all know our computers are sending "OUT" all the time. Just have some idea why the computer wants to communicate with the outside, I use Zone Alarm, and anything new, it warns me. All kinds of programs around that make it easier, and safer to be out there. Sometimes we can be Super Sensitive, but for sure we know that Virus are the big issue these days. Just another terrorism attack, foreign or domestic. We will live with it, and like everything else, will overcome. ================================ That is a scary thought. Well, maybe we shouldn't be using Ad-aware either (extremely popular spyware remover). ================================ Good points. One of the reasons why it is free (same with AVG) is because they also sell antivirus software. They are obviously hoping that at least some people will buy their more advanced retail programs. There are plenty of free programs that have a terrible rating. I really do believe that most of the voters do not rate these programs that high just because they are free. I have read hundreds of user reviews. They really complain when something doesn't work as advertised. =============================== You said...Not allow attachments to be opened or saved that could be infected. This is OK if you get no attachments from anyone, but Outlook will strip a lot of attachments that are OK. You said...you should tell the email program to convert everything to plain text This is a really good idea and would be even better if others would learn to post in plain text...big problem for getting NESDA mail, since most people send in HTML. Getting two hundred emails a day, these take longer to decipher when converted to plain text. ================================ There is no point in doing daily updates if you only scan once a week. One of the benifits of leaving a computer turned on is the ability to update at midnight and scan at 1AM. A full, complete, all-files scan. If it take four hours who cares? I use grisoft AVG. I like it because it will do the email stuff, strips attachments, can scan accross a network. Scanning across a network is a plus. If you have a suspected infected (hey, I'm a poet) computer, even if it has an AV program installed that says there is nothing wrong, you can scan it from another machine. Also, although a little inconvienent, but in my opinion not too inconvenient, you should tell the email program to convert everything to plain text, and to Not allow attachments to be opened or saved that could be infected. If you do that then nobody can release a virus onto your system. If you really want to see that email in HTML then you can temporarily change your settings, look at it/save it whatever, and the Put It Back they way it was. Is your downtime really worth seeing pretty typeface in your emails? ================================ Problem is, people who do have protection are too confident. You still have to be leery as it does take time after an outbreak for these companies to update their definitions. Usually only a few hours, but that is long enough for this thing to spread... You still must be suspicious of every attachment.. If that emails has some garbage, or does not make any sense, right there is a red flag.. ================================ ����Just have got to remember that these programs are working in "History" and not a concept. So , when a Virus makes it's rounds ; it will get a number of folks until the Programmers of such gets wind of it and writes a 'trap' for it , then a recovery later on. It depends on the speed of everything as how many it gets. Did get that latest virus about 6-7 times and into the 'bin' it goes without a second though. Name ? Forget it , it has so many different names on the 'attachment'. ����Been lucky so far , I use hard-headed common sense ( or is it uncommon ? ) and never open any attachment that I don't know the Name , Rank , Serial Number , and his Momma. After all of the "Hoopla" about that 'stuff' I am amazed that anybody with a wee bit of experience and has the mentality of a Daft Idiot would even open it ! BTW , no anti-virus here ( knock-knock on wood ). Best: Eugene ================================ Anytime a Virus Program is "FREE", of course it will get more votes then something you have to pay for. When someone takes the time to write an Anti-Virus program, keep it current, and updated, and do it for free, you have to ask yourself, what are they really selling. It's too bad we have to have anti-virus programs to protect our computer, to protect from some guy that has nothing better to do then vandalize the system, but that's life. My advice...pay for a product that is designed to do what it states, so when it does not work, as prescribed, then you have the right to ask, "Why Not?". Dollar for Dollar, Norton AV has given me what I expect, MacAfee is also good. Anything else, I have no confidence in, and especially if it's "Free". ================================ I used the AVG free for a while, but now I use the pay version. It has more functionality. Wayne Vanaman ================================== I don't know why everyone is so big on Norton. Here is the user approval rating (at download.com) for Norton Antivirus 2004: 28% (from 234 votes). If it's this bad they should give everyone a refund. Avast Anitivirus has an 89% approval rating (over 400 votes) and it's free. I prefer to use Panda Titanium. Bil Green ================================== Good Jeff. It should also be mentioned that Norton protection costs less than $30.00 per year. It does piss me off that we have loose cannons out there who have no regard for the other person. Heck. Mark Wentowski ================================== Sounds like you do more than most. Like I said, I had gotten several of these in between my Norton updates, but they were obviously suspicious...Usually the message body makes no sense. If you're not sure, just don't open it.. Getting a vir*s really puts a damper on email lists, their users and in general the web itself.. All the while happening in the process of our websites and email lists changing servers. New people will not be subscribed unless they contact me personally. This vir*s has been trying to subscribe to the list and I had to turn that function off until this thing subsides... 10-20 admin rejects per day.. ================================== I know firsthand how much money can be lost when a business gets a virus in the system. I use Norton and get automatic daily updates. On Friday nights Norton does a complete virus scan of all the drives. Am I doing enough? If a computer does get infected but Norton says they are clean how can we find out about it? ================================== I have one thing to say, if I find out who on this list got infected, you will be permanently banned from this list! There is no friggin excuse to get infected.Vir*ses have been around for a long time and every professional on this list should be able to detect a suspicious email. Just because your anti-vir*s did not detect the attachment, DOES NOT mean it is safe. This one came out before I had the updates in my Norton, but it grew suspicion, so I updated my definitions... The only way some of you will learn, is if one of these things wipe your hard drive... Use common sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has created much havoc on this list with 10-20 rejected posts regarding this infection.. there is no excuse...everyone on here should be smart enough to protect themselves.. ================================== I think it comes down to three scenarios... 1. If you don't have an AV program you suddenly see a noticeable degradation in the performance of your computer... 2. you don't think your computer is infected...'till someone else with an AV program tells you that you have passed something to them... 3. you spring for an AV program...and lo and behold.......you are infected...(even though you didn't think you were) I am told that "spyware" can raise havoc with your system as well...I use spyware nuker on my computer...don't really understand what it is...I just know I don't want it on my computer :) � I use one of those freeware AV programs....seems to work as good as the rest. Large corporations probably pay thousands of dollars for their sofisticated AV software... yet, still get havoc raised with their systems. It's a difficult problem for everyone to deal with... ================================== I used to pride myself "not having a virus program", and not being infected , it was great. Why bother! The problem was some times the phone is ringing , customers coming in and being in a hurry one day opened a infected file. Not thinking straight I hit it again because it did not open, I then looked at the size of the file seeing it was only a few K new it was a virus. This is where the problems begin. I downloaded programs to get rid of the virus ,it worked and cleaned up my computer. This is what I thought any way ,but my computer started doing weird things. It would shut off by itself, freeze up etc.and only got worse. I had to reformat and reload all programs. I then put on a free virus program am now using Norton 2003 "it was free", and has found many virus's in the past no problem. I still look at attachment email and delete them even if from friends, if they are small only a few K or I am unsure of they get deleted especially the joke email. Just wanted to share what can happen, of course there are those that don't make mistakes this does not apply!!. ================================== Begging yer pardon ! I VOTE TO GET RID OF GARY McCARTNEY as I never had an anti-virus program and have not gotten infected and used Horse Sense as the best line of Defense. I think he implies that there are a lot of folks that don't have horse sense ! Wonder if he is lacking in same ? Easy to implement ? Yes , if YOU send me the money to do so. Best:Eugene ================================== Doug, why not make it manditory for the techs to have antivirus or they can't be on the list. You could make them send you a print-screen showing their antivirus program on their computer screen or they could send you a store receipt showing their purchase of the software. Just an idea. It probably wouldn't be as easy as that to impliment. Gary McCartney ================================== What gripes my a** is that AVG and HouseCall are FREE!!!!!!!!!!!! When something is offered for free, there is absolutely no excuse for not having it. None but apathy and/or laziness, that is. I have posted and posted and posted to techassist over the years, as Clint used to do also, all to no avail. There are just some out there that won't do it. Here is the link if any of you want to use it or pass it on: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php Doug Keller ================================== It should also be mentioned that Norton protection costs less than $30.00 per year. It does piss me off that we have loose cannons out there who have no regard for the other person. Heck. Mark ================================== Nope, you're right. Programs a written after the virus has been detected. At the same time AV programs are also written for variants of the virus. Case in point, many of my Supplier Websites are now under Denial of Service, or they have turned them off for the weekend. ================================== Maybe I am wrong on this...but doesn't someone have to "get" the virus first before ANY anti-virus program (free or other) can write a fix? I suppose it would be easier if the A-holes that write those viri would announce they are coming out before they are released. Also, I am told some virus's can be caught without even opening an attachment...don't know if that is true or not. Just my 2 cents :) ================================== Must be a Canadian thing Gary, I feel the same, I don't trust anyone to search thru my files, especially not knowing who it is. ================================== it probably has the approval rating because it IS free. I use Norton 2003 and I have absolutely no problem with it. It automatically downloads the new updates and it caught this new virus that just came out the day before. Maybe some people don't have their Norton configured right or something if they have complaints about it. My theory is I'll use Norton because they are a big outfit and therefore I would think that they would have more research and development in catching viruses than the little company. Maybe the little company might contract to use the Norton engine, who knows? I personally wouldn't trust a "free" virus scanning service to catch all the viruses, nor would I trust them scanning my hard drive for fear that they would be "snooping" my files. They have to do something for money, and maybe snooping files is their income? Just my opinion- I could be totally wrong. ================================== I don't know why everyone is so big on Norton. Here is the user approval rating (at download.com) for Norton Antivirus 2004: 28% (from 234 votes). If it's this bad they should give everyone a refund. Avast Anitivirus has an 89% approval rating (over 400 votes) and it's free. I prefer to use Panda Titanium. ================================== Hehe, here is a perfect example of someone who thinks they are above the rest of us, including the list owner Jeff who has made it plain and simple to everyone- USE ANTIVIRUS. Eugene may think he will never be hit because he carefully checks each email, but one day there will be a sophisticated virus that WILL trick him and infest his system and likely a number of other's as well. Also Doug who helps manage another email list has the same sentiments that everyone should use antivirus, even if it is one of the free ones on the net. So you can't use the money thing as an excuse. I keep my Norton up to date and I am also careful when opening emails, plus I do not use Microsoft email software which the majority of the viruses are programmed to attack. Still, I at least admit that it could still be possible for a virus to get past all my checkpoints. Oh, and Eugene, yes I was implying that a lot of people don't have "horse sense". After all, most of us are not horses. Gary McCartney ================================== Looks like you're one of the ones we are concerned about. Do we need to take up a collection. ================================== What you are willing to do to experiment with your own files, is entirely up to you. Anti-virus software is like a "condom", not only protects you, but also the people you associate with. Think about it. ==================================
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