Worm Alert - How to avoid computer worms and viruses

[Jim Wynne]

In the past few days I've had three instances of notification from my ISP that their virus protection software has stripped attachments to e-mail messages that contained the W32.Sober.X@mm! worm. This is not a new threat, but one of those that occasionally gets resurrected and proliferated. You can read the details about it here
A few words to the wise:

• This type of worm is a threat because of unprotected computers. It replicates itself by installing on the computers of individuals who have no virus protection software, or do have it and don't keep it up to date, and then sending itself via e-mail to people in the infected user's address book.
• The warning we often hear about only opening e-mails (or attachments) from people we know is not good advice, because some worms will arrive apparently from people we know and trust, but without their knowledge. The best advice is to not open any attachment you're not expecting until you've verified that it's legitimate, or at least scan the attachment for viruses after updating your virus software.
• If you don't have virus protection software and you're not using a firewall, you're creating a hazard for other people, not just yourself. If you're using Windows XP with service pack 2, you can turn on the built-in firewall. You can learn about it here: Understanding Windows Firewall. If you would like another alternative, the free (and very effective) Zone Alarm Firewall is available, and I recommend it.
• There is also free and effective virus control software. I've been using the free version of Grisoft AVG for several years.

Once you have protections in place, make sure you update them regularly. Keep Windows patched by visiting the Windows Update site (you must use Internet Explorer), and update your antivirus and firewall software on a regular basis.

[JerryStem]

In Reply to Parent Post by JSW05

In the past few days I've had three instances of notification from my ISP that their virus protection software has stripped attachments to e-mail messages that contained the W32.Sober.X@mm! worm.
...[*]There is also free and effective virus control software. I've been using the free version of Grisoft AVG for several years.

Kind of funny, I use AVG at home (laptop and desktop, plus wife's laptop). We use Norton's latest here at work.

AVG has automatically deleted all the worms I've gotten in the last ~two weeks, leaving just a notice that it was removed. Norton has left it quite intact for the neophytes to open and run here at work!

Skeptics can laugh all they want about "free antivirus" programs being useless, my experience is quite the opposite.

Jerry
(Bonus- AVG is much less of a resource hog than Norton as well. I also use Zonealarm's free firewall...)

[little__cee]

Norton Internet Security came bundled with my new Dell PC. This is my first time using XP so I'm learning all kinds of new things at once.

One curious thing - the Norton firewall will only allow me to check email (Outlook Express) or search the internet (IE) if I set the firewall to "low" setting - default is medium but if I select medium I can do absolutely nothing. Change Norton firewall to low and I can do everything as normal.

Any ideas? I don't have my Windows firewall configured at all - can I use both (Windows and Norton's) together?

[Jim Wynne]

In Reply to Parent Post by little__cee

Norton Internet Security came bundled with my new Dell PC. This is my first time using XP so I'm learning all kinds of new things at once.

One curious thing - the Norton firewall will only allow me to check email (Outlook Express) or search the internet (IE) if I set the firewall to "low" setting - default is medium but if I select medium I can do absolutely nothing. Change Norton firewall to low and I can do everything as normal.

Any ideas? I don't have my Windows firewall configured at all - can I use both (Windows and Norton's) together?

It's not a good idea to use two software firewalls at the same time. There will be conflicts. It's OK to have hardware and software firewalls running at once, though. I don't know anything about NIS and its firewall. I do know that the Norton products are, as a rule, troublesome and resource hogs, as JerryStem pointed out.

[Marc]

There are two main entry points.

1. File / Printer sharing turned on without a STRONG password.
2. Opening an infected e-mail (an e-mail with a 'package' in an attachment).

Firewalls / Virus programs are nice, but the two basics above are the two main ways your computer can become infected.

I recommend Tiny Personal Firewall (aka TPF). The computer I have here that I run CheechWiz.com on, which is also the house video/audio server, has been on for several years now 24/7/365 without a problem. Both Norton and ZoneAlarm (I tried both a few years back) are, in my opinion, resource hogs and not very effective. I'm neutral on McAfee.

Also see this thread:
Computer Firewall or Virus Protection - What are you using?

A history thread:
19 August 2003 - New Microsoft E-Mail Virus - W32/Sobig.F-mm