Norton AV '06 Killed Windows

[Doug Kanter]

It won't block out going until Windows Vista. But as long as you keep
your system clean that won't be a problem.

That's the one thing many users are lousy at. This raises another question.
There's a setting in OE:

"Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book"

It's checked by default. Translation: "If I get a virus that spreads via
email, be sure it is sent to everyone I ever had contact with, even if it
was just once". I'd like the phone number and home address of the genius who
came up with this idea.

 

[Doug Kanter]

I agree on ALL points.

Does it allow you to shut off email scanning COMPLETELY? A friend just
installed it and claims she can't stop email scanning. It's causing timeouts
with her ISP or some such problem. I haven't sat in front of her machine to
witness it.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

No...

But you pose excellent questions -- and Corporate Dilemmas.

I don't want to have to deal with a gaggle of undercapitalized fly-by-night
companies, all out to make a quick buck -- so, I'm happy Microsoft will be
integrating more of these capabilities in the OS with VISTA.

Smoother Integration, Better Security, Less Hassle & Wasted Time.

DSH

 

[Mike Williams]

Does it allow you to shut off email scanning COMPLETELY? A friend just
installed it and claims she can't stop email scanning. It's causing timeouts
with her ISP or some such problem. I haven't sat in front of her machine to
witness it.

There's options for turning off inbound & outbound email scanning or
both. The Control Center (main UI) has a big button for Email Scanning
options that's hard to miss.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

So the people writing the Norton code are just not as competent?

DSH

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Bingo!

That was one of the FIRST settings I disabled in XP.

DSH

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

True.

DSH

There's options for turning off inbound & outbound email scanning or
both. The Control Center (main UI) has a big button for Email Scanning
options that's hard to miss.

 

[Mike Williams]

So the people writing the Norton code are just not as competent?

I have learnt that competent code-writers paired up with
management/marketing focussed elsewhere are generally wasted.

 

[Doug Kanter]

There's options for turning off inbound & outbound email scanning or
both. The Control Center (main UI) has a big button for Email Scanning
options that's hard to miss.

Thanks, Mike. I had a feeling I was witnessing the classic "I don't care
what the software's supposed to have - mine does NOT have that button"
syndrome. The user with the custom-made copy, ya know?

 

[Winux P]

: So, we recently downloaded Norton AV '05 and installed in on our comp. It
: tells us to restart to complete the install, then when we reboot, it tells
us
: windows encountered a problem and to restart with the last known good
: configuration or in safe mode. No matter what option I choose, it will
bring
: me to a blue "Windows cannot start" screen and I have to reboot. I can't
: start in safe mode, and I can't revert to previous configuration. Any
: suggestions?

For AnitVirus dump Symantec (Norton) and don't go into McAfee either,
they've also turned (turd) into a resource hog. Try out a make tour
comparision between,

F-Prot
http://www.f-prot.com/

Kaspersky
http://www.kaspersky.com/

NOD32
http://www.eset.com/home/home.htm

Can speak from personal experience on F-Prot & NOD 32 and can confirm all
good reviews. You won't even notice they installed and working and do their
tasks well. Kaspersky like the other two but, I've heard it all through the
grape vine.

- Winux P

 

[Doug Kanter]

No...

But you pose excellent questions -- and Corporate Dilemmas.

I don't want to have to deal with a gaggle of undercapitalized
fly-by-night companies, all out to make a quick buck -- so, I'm happy
Microsoft will be integrating more of these capabilities in the OS with
VISTA.

Smoother Integration, Better Security, Less Hassle & Wasted Time.

DSH

And this leads to another question! Where do the various anti-virus software
companies get their information about the latest attack? From CERT? Other? I
wonder if Microsoft will receive the same levels of cooperation as these
other companies.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Go Ahead...

Where is "Elsewhere"...

DSH

D. Spencer Hines wrote:

I have learnt that competent code-writers paired up with
management/marketing focussed elsewhere are generally wasted.

 

[Brian A.]

That's the one thing many users are lousy at. This raises another
question. There's a setting in OE:

"Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book"

It's checked by default. Translation: "If I get a virus that spreads via
email, be sure it is sent to everyone I ever had contact with, even if it
was just once". I'd like the phone number and home address of the genius
who came up with this idea.

True translation:
If someone I know/trust sends me an email and I reply to them, their addy
will automatically be added to book if it is not already in it. If I don't
reply they won't be automatically be added to the book.
If someone I don't know/trust sends me an email, I don't hesitate or even
think twice about deleting the message. If it happens to be someone I know
and don't realize it because I wasn't informed about their addy, too bad,
delete. If they had the resources to get my addy to eamil me, then they
have the resources to contact me in other ways.
If I get a virus that spreads via any shape or form, shame on me for not
keeping vigilant and/or having the proper elements up to date. A BIG
Slammin shame on my ISP for letting it get through their network servers.

Any virus that spreads via email is either propogated with their own mass
mailing engine or the unknowing user, whether or not they are in the
address book.


--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Doug Kanter]

True translation:
If someone I know/trust sends me an email and I reply to them, their addy
will automatically be added to book if it is not already in it. If I
don't reply they won't be automatically be added to the book.
If someone I don't know/trust sends me an email, I don't hesitate or even
think twice about deleting the message. If it happens to be someone I
know and don't realize it because I wasn't informed about their addy, too
bad, delete. If they had the resources to get my addy to eamil me, then
they have the resources to contact me in other ways.
If I get a virus that spreads via any shape or form, shame on me for not
keeping vigilant and/or having the proper elements up to date. A BIG
Slammin shame on my ISP for letting it get through their network servers.

"know/trust" is irrelevant if YOU were the first to get the virus. And, this
*does* happen (although rarely) if the virus is rampant before AV publishers
get ahead of it. So, you can get it first, and spread it to others.

Any virus that spreads via email is either propogated with their own mass
mailing engine or the unknowing user, whether or not they are in the
address book.

So, when AV publishers say that a virus re-sends itself to everyone in the
infected computer's address book, this is......a fairy tale?

 

[PA Bear]

There's options for turning off inbound & outbound email scanning or
both. The Control Center (main UI) has a big button for Email Scanning
options that's hard to miss.

If you disable AVG's Email Scanner, Security Center won't like it!

 

[Doug Kanter]

If you disable AVG's Email Scanner, Security Center won't like it!

Uh oh. What happens? Does SC start playing the Mission Impossible theme
song, followed by smoke coming out of the computer???

 

[Mike Williams]

Uh oh. What happens? Does SC start playing the Mission Impossible theme
song, followed by smoke coming out of the computer???

I disabled it a little while ago as a test, and haven't heard a peep out
of Windows Securitall your base belong to us

 

[Doug Kanter]

I disabled it a little while ago as a test, and haven't heard a peep out
of Windows Securitall your base belong to us

 

[PA Bear]

Uh oh. What happens? Does SC start playing the Mission Impossible theme
song, followed by smoke coming out of the computer???

No, Twilight Zone theme.

SC will tell you that the AV's not working properly and the AVG icon will be
grayed-out in Notification Area (AKA systray) until you re-enable Email
Scanning.

Only workaround I know of is to uninstall AVG then reinstall it using Custom
Install, opting out of installing the Email Scanner.

YMMV.

 

[Brian A.]

"know/trust" is irrelevant if YOU were the first to get the virus. And,
this *does* happen (although rarely) if the virus is rampant before AV
publishers get ahead of it. So, you can get it first, and spread it to
others.

It's only irrelevant if the user always deploys Safe Hex and opens an
email from a known/trusted, which then in turn runs the newly propogating
Trojans code. In this case the user would not be the first to be
compromised by a new virus running rampant.
It would also only be irrelevant if the new rampant virus compromised
machines via the internet, no matter the security guidelines set by any
admin or user.

My mention of the matter on hand was/is: Simply by replying to an email
that you recieved and having their addy automatically added to your address
book does not compromise the machine, all it does is add the sender to the
book. It doesn't run/execute any Trojans code, simply opening an email
can/does run code for some Trojans while others have a link or executable
attachment that must be clicked/opened in order for the code to execute.

So, when AV publishers say that a virus re-sends itself to everyone in
the infected computer's address book, this is......a fairy tale?

No it is not a fairy tail. Many viruse have their own mass mailing
engine which procure the compromised machines addys from the book, which in
turn is then sent to every addy procured. If the virus does not have it's
own engine, then the unknowing user can propogate the virus via email,
internet or disk without ever using an addy from the book.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375