Re: Avast or Zone Alarm using proxy server?

From: ROBERT S AMP BA Drake (robtsdrake_at_verizon.net)
Date: 02/23/05 

Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 21:37:02 GMT

First - Why run viruses? Because you catch them as you do a cold.

Second - ZA did not kill them off, it simply alerted me that an unknown
program was trying to get out. I had to get the fix from Symantec to kill
them off.

Third - there are ways to vaildate your security

Fourth - I don't agree that you rarely that you get a virus, worm, spyware,
or other demon that has not been identified and put into the vendor
signature files. Do you remember the I Love You virus that nearly put down
the world? Virus protection is only as good as the signature file - if it
is not updated before the virus is in the wild, you have a problem. You are
never totally protected.

On this computer I look for trouble and do not practice safe hex. The the
computer is locked down as tight as I can get it and I work on getting it
tighter all the time.

I think you may be over simplifying the issues a little, hey but what do I
know.

"Gerald Vogt" <vogt@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:421a8da2$0$972$44c9b20d@news2.asahi-net.or.jp...
> ROBERT S AMP BA Drake wrote:
>> ZoneAlarm has asked permission to go out on two occasions for me that
>> were unknown programs. Symantec research identified them as viruses and
>> I was able to kill them off. They both came through the browser. That
>> alone gives ZA an advantage over MS FW - IMO
>
> First: you had the virus already. Why do you run viruses in the first
> place. A virus running on your computer can do whatever you can do on the
> computer. Including reconfiguring ZoneAlarm.
>
> Second: you do not know that ZoneAlarm "killed them off". You know maybe
> the some communication attempt was blocked. You do not know what other
> attempts have been made as well which ZoneAlarm did not detect. How do you
> know that this was not a probe message for you to catch so that you think
> "ZA protected me. I am safe".
>
> Third: This killing off only leads you to the conclusion that you are safe
> and protected for now. This is wrong. A compromised computer is a
> compromised computer. If you already had two viruses and will expect more
> to come soon. And I would not wonder that this may be due to some backdoor
> or similiar that goes undetected in ZoneAlarm.
>
> Fourth: I know the truth is hard to grasp and you won't like it, surry,
> but: It is most likely your fault of lacking precautions on your actions
> that you got that virus. Either you run it or installed it with some
> dubious software or you got it because you did not keep your system
> up-to-date. The occasions where an unknown/not-yet-patched security
> vulnerablity are not impossible but yet pretty rare.
>
> Gerald

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