In my last column I touched on virus protection and email attachments.  I said that although it isn’t likely to get a virus by simply
reading an email, it can happen with a virus like the “Love Bug” which affected the Microsoft Outlook Reader Package (Mail
reader software).  To prevent such viruses from affecting your computer, you can install an anti-virus package, such as Norton
AntiVirus.

About Norton AntiVirus

Manufactured by Symantec, Norton AntiVirus (NAV) protects your hard drive from 47,780 viruses, according to Symantec’s
home page.  The July, 1999 issue of Windows Magazine touts Norton AntiVirus 5.0 as the Software Product of the Year.
NAV works in the background and automatically updates itself when you’re on the Internet.  It’s fast and it scans files
downloaded from the web and attachments received through email.

What about other anti-virus programs?

· Windows Magazine sounds disappointed, “Panda Software's competing offering, 24h-365d Antivirus Insurance, has a long
way to go before we can consider it a deserving alternative.”

· PC Magazine likes McAfee VirusScan, “McAfee VirusScan is a highly capable product with a breadth of features not found in
most anti-virus programs. Only some miscues on macro tests and a poorly implemented push feature hold it back.”

· About eSafe Protect for Windows 95, PC Magazine writes, “Virus definition updates in eSafe could also use some work.
Unlike other products, eSafe provided no warning that our virus definition file was out of date after we set the system clock
ahead six months. But you can schedule automatic updates.  An ambitious product, eSafe Protect for Windows 95 tries to do a
lot. But it still needs to get the basics of anti-virus protection right.”

· Winmag.com critiqued InoculateIT Personal Edition 5.1.0, “Executable viruses were caught when they were saved to the hard
drive as files, but ZIP files weren't. Script viruses that can email themselves weren't caught even when they were running.
Though InoculateIT caught more viruses than the other free product in this review, spending a few dollars for more complete
protection is probably worth it.”  This site also reviews: PC-cillin 2000, F-Secure Antivirus 5.03, eSafe Protect Desktop 2.2.
 

Fixes & Patches

You also want to stay current with fixes and patches.  In the June 5, 2000 issue of Internet Week Magazine, Microsoft Outlook
is said to have released a patch in response to the I Love You virus.  Patches are computer lingo for cures and are synonymous
with fixes.

The Internet Week story says that customers complained that the initial patch released forced e-mail administrators to block all
attachments, so the patch was scrapped.  However, the new patch may cause compatibility problems with software designed to
interact with Outlook, including Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word.

Some customers state that the focus should be more on boosting anti-virus protection than modifying Outlook.  However, some
say that despite the advantage of IT administrators using their own discretion to fight against viruses, certain organizations don’t
trust users to make the right security choices.  Others like the redundancy, saying having more weapons to defend against
viruses is good.

The article concludes that users must stay current with anti-virus software and Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 users need to
download the update (see Helpful Web Sites listed below).
Helpful Web Sites

· http://www.scscorp.net/company/fpf.htm -patches and fixes by manufacturer
· http://support.merant.com/websupport/patches/patches.asp -product documentation, updates, fixes and patches
· http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/download.html -anti-virus research center
· http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/utilities99/deskav07.html -PC Magazine reviews anti-virus software
· http://www.winmag.com/reviews/software -under utility: anti-virus software reviews

By the way, those of you not using Microsoft Outlook are probably using mail reader software such as AOL, Netscape Mail
Reader, Lotus Notes or Eudora.  Look for the next column to compare Netscape Mail, Outlook and Eudora.

(November)

 She can be reached by email at jana@barberio.com