* Seth Arnold <sarnold@private> [2002-10-24 10:41]:
> The easiest solution is to put the hard drive in another computers with
> a virus scanner. Since a virus can install itself into the boot process
> of the computer, installing a virus scanner now has only a marginal
> chance of success. So do the virus scanning on another machine.
Wouldn't it be even easier to use one of the many virus scanners that
work from a boot disk? Boot with a read only floppy, made from a known
clean machine, and scan from a read only floppy.
> The next easiest solution is to simply reformat and reinstall. Depending
> on how many documents your mother has created and how many applications
> she runs, this may be easier than cleaning up after the virus. (This has
> the especial advantage that you can use this opportunity to install an
> operating system with access controls -- so your mother's email client
> can't modify system files. Take your pick: NT 4, Win 2k, WinXP, any of
> the Linux distributions, any of the BSD distributions -- only you and
> your mother can decide what operating system is right for her. But pick
> one where her email client can't trash the system.)
Many of the viruses today can be cleaned quite easily. Maybe not too
quickly, but it's usually fairly easy for a clueful user.
> The next solution is to take this current tack and try to find out the
> virus itself using the various information databases the antivirus
> vendors supply, and do the work manually.
Yup, manually....
> Whatever you do, you may wish to consider making a {christmas, hanakah,
> ramadan, kwanza, all pagans' day} gift out of an antivirus software, if
> whatever operating system you reinstall with has some available. :)
Yeah, I prefer Norton, only because I'm most familiar with it, and used
to support it's less powerful engine in Norton Utilities. I haven't like
Symantecs antics in the last couple of years though. Seems the CEO that
took over doesn't care about the people. Only about the corporate
entitiies he can sell to.
> Oh yeah, and ask windows questions in windows mail lists. :) I've left
> them in the CC: as a way of saying that I've already asked you to be
> careful in the future, so no one else feels obligated to do the same. :)
Good idea. :)
--
--
Russ Johnson
Dimension 7/Stargate Online
http://www.dimstar.net
Random thought #16 (Collect all 17)
"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them." - Adlai Stevenson
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