OT-Virus Control

[Jodi Frye]

Carl, i've made some of my own but the one above isn't one of them. It's basically creating a bunch of layers ( think of a movie clip ) and then saving as a 'gif' animation ( check 'loop' so that it plays over and over again). The tough part is using the least amout of layers as possible as to keep the kb's low for quick loading. Try one...they are fun to make ! There is a preview button in the save for web screen so you can check it out from time to time before commiting to a save ( just cancel the screen to go back to edit screen )

[Dick Smith]

After having read all of these posts, I'll jump in with my 2 cents worth!

While I have no doubt, Peter, that it is possible to run your computer
safely without AV programs, I believe most people are better off it they
have one.

I run through a router so I'm not to concerned about outside attacks, but
viruses and worms have gotten through and my software has picked up each
one.

I don't know what Norton or McAfee are charging thes days, but with the
number of free AV programs around, like AVG that has already been
mentioned, it is a clear alternative to the higher priced proggies.

Having said that, I personally use My E-Trust software from Computer
Associates. It has, again for me, been the most painless and easiest to
use. Check it out at my-etrust.com if you are interested.

Nothing gets a discussion going like the subject of Anti-Virus programs,
eh?

Dick



--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: [url]http://www.opera.com/m2/[/url]

[Jodi Frye]

What gets me, those of you who aren't using anti-virus software...how would you know whether you have a virus or not ? Some of these creep in and 'slowly' mess up your programs. Not all come in through e-mail. Some climb in the back door. You may not even notice at first or you may blame it on your server or the programs acting up. Eventually these creepy crawlers will have complete control over your system. Why chance it ??? As Dick mentioned, there are free ones although i am more than happy to pay Norton to protect me. I've been around enough people whocaught something because they didn't update their subscriptions to their anti-viruses......ya they actually HAD one but thought they didn't need to update or that it just wasn't important. There are idiots who sit behind their systems on a daily basis creating new and improved viruses just to send off accross the net in hopes of messing someone up....LOSERS....anyways, think about it. ...that was my loving caring 4 cents ;)

[Peter Duniho]

"Jodi Frye" <lwsfrye@mybizz.net> wrote in message
news:2ccd4e86.21@webx.la2eafNXanI...

> What gets me, those of you who aren't using anti-virus software...
> how would you know whether you have a virus or not ?

I don't know about you, but I don't ask my doctor to check me for STD's on a
regular basis. Yet, I know that I don't have any.

You are right...some people would not know enough about their computer to
know whether the things that they do might cause them to contract a virus.
However, some people do. I can't speak for everyone not using anti-virus
software, but I can speak for myself. And I say that I am technically
proficient enough to know for a fact that my computers are virus-free.

As for "why chance it", I already explained that. I have used anti-virus
software on and off ever since there was such a thing. And in my own
experience, anti-virus software has caused more headaches than it has
prevented. It has NEVER detected a virus on any computer I used, but it HAS
caused data corruption and serious performance problems.

It really just depends on one's ability to manage one's own risk, versus any
potential drawbacks the anti-virus software may cause. In my own case, I am
better off without anti-virus software than with.

Pete

[Patti Anderson]

I think of antivirus software more like car insurance. Even if I am a very safe driver, know my car intimately, have regular tune ups and have never been in an accident, I still pay for the car insurance...because wisdom tells me that not everyone is as safe a driver as I am.

That's my reasoning anyway. :-)

Patti

[Ray]

That, I think, summarizes this all :) Nicely put, Patti!

Ray

[Chuck Snyder]

My antivirus software (Norton Internet Security/NAV) was busy about a year
ago fending off various attacks and viruses, until my ISP (RoadRunner)
installed additional defenses; now it sits quietly most of the time...but
did detect some worms a few weeks ago. I'll keep it...

Chuck

[Jodi Frye]

Ok Pete, I know you are bound and determined but i think the virus software you used years ago just plain sucked....to put it lightly ( don't take that personal ) I never have any conflicts with my virus software and like Chuck, my Norton usually catches and spits out something about once every 2 weeks. Sometimes it's in e-mail attachments and other times it's backdoor trojans. Without anti-virus software I'd probably be losing some data as we speak.

[L Miranda]

I think it depends on a lot of things--not only how technically proficient you are, but also how you use your computer.

For the reasons Peter and others have mentioned, I gave up using anti-virus software years ago. It's probably better now, as Jodi says, but it still occasionally causes conflicts and slows down the computer. And that happens everyday, compared to a virus which causes conflicts and slows down the computer only once in a while. :-)

But it's more than that. I'm the kind of paranoid (why are you looking at me like that?!) person who almost never opens attachments unless I'm expecting them. I also know the different ways that viruses can be auto-launched (I don't use Outlook; I know that an attachment that shows up as "info.txt" can really be a Microsoft scripting macro under the covers, etc.). I read geeky online sites several times daily (cnet.com, macsurfer.com, etc.), so I know when I need to run Microsoft's Windows Update or Apple's Software Update for security patches. I don't use floppies on public computers, such as at a library.

Most people don't do or know these things (I'm a software developer/architect), and most people shouldn't *have* to know these things. So for them, Antivirus software helps. And as others pointed out, it's not just anti-virus software--you should be *RELIGIOUSLY* downloading patches from Windows Update, if you run that operating system.

I've only gotten a virus once in my life, and that was from a floppy that <ahem> my wife brought home from a college computer. Of course, there was the time I was helping a fellow graduate student try to fix her boss' Mac and we ended up spreading a virus all over his hard drive. Boy was he ticked!

What can I say, everyone's different. Vive le difference! (Sorry, Raymond, I don't really know French!)

[Ray]

Good enough ! Différence is a feminine word (for those interested, French has gender for
everything, from political parties to deep sea fishes, including the Planets and computer parts!).
So it's "Vive la différence".

But, as I said before, nobody ever commented on my numerous English mispelled word, so why would I
do it for those trying French? :-) All here (except on one occasion) have made the efforts of
understanding me, 5 stars for everyone! And the beers / coffees / teas are on me for the night :)

Ray

[Jodi Frye]

Ray, set me up with a glass of red wine,,,ah , forget it, i don't drink anymore. That is what i had a problem with learning that french language...feminine and masculine version of words !!! What is that and who thought of it ??? un, une > un beaux > une belle ....frig...how the heck are you suppose to know if an object is masculine or feminine...forget it...i don't want to know...It was tough being an English girl in a French school....but the boys were very cute ;)

[Leen Koper]

Virusses etc. are the reason why I had to buy an extra computer to work in Photoshop as I cannot take the risk of losing my images. I'm running Norton on my pc at home and the one in the studio will never be connected to the internet

Hey, right at the moment I'm typing this, Norton detected an infected email....

Ray, I suppose you are mailing in French as well. Recently I noticed in France they officially have to use the word "couriel" instead of "email". Do you, living in Canada, use the same word or is this typically French of the "enfants de la patrie" in France?

Leen

[Ray]

Jodi, there's no way to learn. Memorizing it, that's all there is to learning word's gender in
French.

Ray

[Ray]

Leen,

Quebec is rather very "advanced" when it comes to the language. We used "courriel" for about 4
years now, officially. I have to say, "officially" because if you talk to 99% of the population,
they still use the word "e-mail", as I've wrote it now. I can't talk for the rest of Canada because
the other French communities are not really linked together (distance is great and people are few in
number).

Ray