Re: Avast or Zone Alarm using proxy server?

From: Gerald Vogt (vogt_at_spamcop.net)
Date: 02/24/05 

Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 09:11:33 +0900

ROBERT S AMP BA Drake wrote:
> First - Why run viruses? Because you catch them as you do a cold.

Strange. Strange. Maybe I am of particular good health...

> 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.

Again: you killed something. You don't know if it was "everything"...

> Third - there are ways to vaildate your security

Elaborate please. How do you validate "your security" of a compromised
system?

> 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.

I don't. How often do you install new software? Every day?

> Do you remember the I Love You virus that nearly put down
> the world?

Yes, I do remember. Classic example for my point: you receive a VBS
script as attachment to your e-mail. Nobody forces me to open an
attachment to an e-mail I never asked for from an unknown source with a
weird contents and strange attachment. The user has to open the attachment.

> 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.

No. You are not. But you do not understand what a virus scanner does. A
virus scanner is not the mean to free you from the decision whether or
not to open a particular attachment. It may or may not intervene. But
the basic decision is yours. If you just open attachments and think, the
virus scanner will prevent it if is a virus, it is still all your own
fault. So, if I don't have a virus scanner I still don't have a problem
that you claim I would have. It is still the users you has to open the
attachment.

The only malware that you are totally unprotected against is malware
that exploits a security vulnerablity which has not been fixed, yet.
(O.K., Internet Explorer always falls into this category because it has
unfixed vulnerablities for years now) If you keep your system updated
with current security updates pretty much most of the known
exploit-viruses & worms won't work. Most of the last epedemics where due
to unpatched computers which haven't been updated for months or years.
These could have been easily prevented (O.K., I see the impacts of
certain updates for businesses which let's them hesitate to run the
updates...). The other epedemics where those attachment etc. worms which
were due to the user.

> 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.

Well, if you look for trouble you certainly get it. If you even know
that you are doing that, then it is IMHO irresponsible behaviour because
some of that "trouble" will most likely affect other people as well.

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

To me it seems you are simplifying the issue if you don't even care
about what you do...

Gerald

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