Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.apps:3907 comp.sys.mac.misc:8297 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!jln From: jln@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (John Norstad) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps,comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Floppy virus scanner like SAM's? Message-ID: <3326@casbah.acns.nwu.edu> Date: 8 Feb 91 20:15:13 GMT References: Sender: news@casbah.acns.nwu.edu Distribution: comp Organization: Northwestern University Lines: 34 In article hardin@dino.cad.mcc.com (John Hardin) writes: > I'm looking for an init that will scan (optionally) newly inserted > floppies for virus much like SAM's (Symantec's Antivirus package). I > could just buy SAM, but it's about $70 and *all* I want out of the > package is the floppy scanner (is it the *only* thing in the package? > :-) and I'm *cheap*! Does anyone know of a similar init that isn't so > pricey? Lot's of people think this a necessary feature for virus protection, but it isn't. I find automatic scans of newly inserted floppies incredibly intrusive and slow. They drive me nuts. I guess this makes novices feel all warm and safe, but it isn't necessary. The main purpose of an anti-viral INIT is to detect and block all known viruses, notify you if any are detected, and completely prevent the viruses from spreading or causing any harm. My Disinfectant INIT does just that, without doing any full scans of disks as they are inserted. Instead, it catches each virus at it's initial point of attack. It's tiny (< 6K), fast, completely unobtrusive, and it doesn't interfere with any installers, system software, or other programs. It does one thing and one thing only - it catches viruses. Disinfectant is free, available from all good electronic sources for free and shareware Mac software. John Norstad Academic Computing and Network Services Northwestern University jln@casbah.acns.nwu.edu