Our collective complacency about viruses was finally shattered
thanks to the Pandora's Box opened by Microsoft when it created
true cross-platform versions of Word and Excel. Going cross-platform
made it possible for thousands of macro viruses previously
trapped in the Windows world to migrate into the Mac world...
with disastrous results.
The early virus checker
gets the Worm
Add to this mix a new,
malevolent virus generically known as "the Autostart Worm"
and you've got big trouble in River City. When first reports
about the worm surfaced in Hong Kong, most people brushed
it off as a hoax. It only took a week for the little dickens
to make it to the States, and then people weren't laughing
anymore. The first variants of this virus could infect your
computer via the QuickTime Settings control panel "Enable
CD-ROM autoplay" setting. Leaving it checked was like leaving
the front door wide open. A second variant soon appeared that
could tunnel its way into the Desktop Printing system. Both
will disrupt print jobs at first, then eventually corrupt
documents on the hard disk.
Recently, three more variants
have appeared that specialize in attaching themselves to removable
media, such as Zip and Jaz disks. This kind of media is the
life blood of hundreds of service bureaus around the city,
which is why the worm is spreading rapidly.
I have personally seen
the damage and misery this thing can inflict on someone. It
had infected several computers and dozens of disks -- all
in just a couple of days -- at a business owned by a friend
of mine. After suspecting that he might have the Autostart
Worm, he downloaded a shareware solution called "Eradicator."
Eradicator verified that he didhave
an infection and tried its best to eliminate it. Besides being
painfully slow, it also proved ineffective, as the worm kept
coming back time and time again. The result was days of lost
time and aggravation, as well as taking a financial hit. Please
believe me when I tell you this person is extremely knowledgeable
when it comes to the Macintosh. If it can happen to him, it
can happen to anyone.
The best defense is
a good offense
Currently, the best way
to protect yourself from these nasty critters is to use a
professional anti-virus program, as John Norstad suggested.
Because of mergers and buyouts, there are only two viable
commercial products to consider: Dr. Solomon's Virexand
Symantec's Norton AntiVirus for Macintosh. Each has
a colorful history.
Virex ( http://www.drsolomon.com)
has been around for almost as long as the Mac has. A couple
of years ago, McAfee -- a PC company specializing in virus
protection -- thought it would be a good idea to get into
the Mac virus market as well. They purchased Virex, and within
a few months were themselvespurchased
by the London-based Dr. Solomon's. Meanwhile, an even larger
PC company called Network Associates, with a really lame Mac
virus checker called Virus Scan, decided to pick up
the whole ball of wax when they bought out Dr. Solomon's to
become one of the PC world's biggest anti-virus players. Because
of these developments, the future of Virex -- currently at
version 5.8.1 -- is now questionable. So far, however, there
is no reason to believe they won't keep it going. That's
because anti-virus programs make money, no matter what platform
they're written for.
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