[HANASHIR:10482] Re: Virus in the Digest

[Laura and Ron Ferguson <allenderL...>]

 >Can a virus come to us in digested form?  (no pun intended)

Most "email" virus's are actually attachments (extra files) tacked on to an 
email message.  Email in digest form usually doesn't contain anything 
except text.  I'm not sure about hanashir, but most groups I'm on don't 
transmit attachments with digests. If you don't receive, open or preview an 
infected attachment, your computer can't propagate or get infected with the 
virus.

Either way, if you haven't already, it's a good idea to buy the latest 
antivirus software and keep your virus definitions up to 
date.  Periodically scan your computer for viruses -- run the scan over 
night once a week.  If you have old anti-virus software, make sure it is 
the kind that scans your email.   I think most anti-virus software from 
1999 and later will do this, but if your software is more than a year old, 
take a careful look at what version it is and make sure (by checking the 
companies website) that it checks email for viruses.

http://www.symantec.com/ (Norton Antivirus)
http://www.mcafee.com/ (McAfee Antivirus)

My experience is that Norton Antivirus is more thorough and proactive than 
McAfee.   Several people (including myself) have used older free versions 
of mcafee until a virus caused a problem and then switched to 
Norton.  Norton Antivirus has caught and prevented every incursion since -- 
except the one I intercepted yesterday.  By today, that virus was caught 
too.  IMHO, I would recommend symantec's product if you are buying new 
antivirus software.

Laura Ferguson


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