| REVIEWS
Cruising
Cyberspace
Web
Site Pick Of The Month
By Pam Wegmann
One of the greatest
fears of any computer user is that their system will fall prey to a virus.
Viruses are those nasty little programs developed and spread by sick minds
that cause loss of data or corruption of files. They can wreak havoc
for the individual, but for a business, they can literally cause damage
in many hard dollars and cents, not to mention lost productivity. Since
they can spread from one computer to another via floppy disks, or sneak
in with files downloaded by employees from the Internet, every company
needs to be aware and be prepared to deal with them. You can find
information on viruses at
http://www.drsolomon.com
This is the site
of Network Associates Inc., the makers of Dr. Solomon's AntiVirus software
products. In order to promote their products, however, they have provided
quite a bit of educational data on the subject of computer viruses.
Their site is visually
clean and easy to navigate, with subject links clearly labeled and just
enough graphics to add visual interest and aid in comprehension. Naturally,
they have home page links to product information, but three links in particular
are informative.
The Don't Panic link
provides some basic diagnostic help. If you think you have a virus, you
can head here for an initial take on whether or not a virus might be the
cause of your system problems. Two lists are provided. One is a list
of five indicators that probably signal a false alarm. (The company is
quick to point out that antivirus software can give false alarms, so one
should not panic immediately.) The second is a list of seven indicators
that the problem might have been caused by a real virus.
A collection of press
releases put out by the company announcing the discovery of new viruses
or of viruses that have turned out to be a hoax can be found at the Virus
Alerts link. For example, there's a copy of a release from late September
of 1998 that describes a new virus capable of infecting Excel spreadsheet
data.
The Virus Central
link is the most voluminous. Here, a click of the mouse will provide
a good deal of in-depth information on the subject and opportunities to
get more free information in the future.
Click on Technical
Papers for documents ranging from one page fact sheets to full reports
regarding viruses and their prevention and cures. It also includes
a guide to selecting the best software for your type of computer usage.
The Macro Viruses
page provides an alphabet where you can click on a letter to learn about
the most dangerous bugs which can modify, damage or destroy files or documents.
That will take you to a table which is not particularly user friendly,
but which will tell you if a particular virus inserts or replaces text,
or, deletes entire files.
The Virus Encyclopedia
Update was a disappointment as the link was moved and/or renamed, but without
specific directions as to how to find it.
The Virus Patrol
lets you sign up for a free service designed to protect users of newsgroups
from infections. It scans usenet newsgroups 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year and will alert you to not open certain files that are infected.
The Glossary link
is a good place to become familiar with technical terms. It provides
definitions of a lot of terms commonly used in the computer virus industry,
but additionally, provides many general computer related terms that would
be of interest even if you weren't specifically after virus information.
Lastly, Network Associates
Inc. will be happy to put you on their mailing list for their hard copy
publication, Virus Report. The newsletter is published quarterly. You can
register online to receive it.
As we start this
new year, may your 1999 be virus free!
January, 1999
Knowledge is Power!
Happy cruising! :-)
Questions/Comments
can be sent to pam@info-matters.com
or faxed to 504.738.0016. You can also reach Ms. Wegmann at 504.738.0070.
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