Re: antivirus software

From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospamcableone.net)
Date: 07/15/04 

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 19:51:38 -0600

Greetings --

  I should have thought that it was obvious. Given today's
widely-publicized and well-known hostile Internet environment, only a
fool or a masochist would go on-line without _both_ a firewall and
antivirus protection. People really shouldn't need to be told to use
a firewall or an antivirus application, no more than they should need
to be told not to stick their hands into an open flame.

    How many posts have we seen by people who got hit by Blaster,
Welchia, or Sasser the very first time they connected to the Internet?
There are 3 preventative measures they could have used: a firewall, a
good antivirus application, and all patches installed. Given the fact
that almost no-one thinks to turn on a firewall first, they're left at
the mercy of their antivirus software (which may well detect and block
virus-like behavior even if it doesn't have the very latest
definitions), or the very patches that they're trying to download and
therefore have not yet installed. Since I have _never_ seen an
antivirus application cause a problem during the downloading and
installation of hotfixes (or service packs, for that matter), and
since I've provided client support on networks where such patches (and
even applications, on occasion) are pushed out via SMS or ZenWorks to
hundreds of machines on a regular basis, I can't see any point in
removing a layer of protection just because something might
theoretically go wrong.

Bruce Chambers 

-- 
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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
"Jupiter Jones [MVP]" <jones_jupiter@hotnomail.com> wrote in message
news:%239l0zgcaEHA.3508@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Your lack of explanation as to why you say no stands high and alone.
> Why?
>
> -- 
> Jupiter Jones  [MVP]
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/
>
>

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