IS there a chink in Nortons armor? YES

[diurnal]

Ok i had a game downloaded, where it was downloaded is a secret(just guess). Ok i ran Norton antivirus and scanned the compressed file which was in a zip file. What did it come up with? Nothing

SO i ran the install exe file(after extracting it to a folder) and bam norton finds a virus. So i scanned it again and bam no virus. So i ran the exe file again , and bam there was a virus. So norton in fact does not scanned compressed files and if it does it doesnt do a good job at it. So computer shopper was right.

I do think norton is the best , hands down, but it does not scan compressed files well. As the test has indicated. I was not looking for a virus to prove any one wrong, but i had the game for a while and never installed it. SO i then installed it and conseqently stumbled on the problem. Maybe in the future Norton will correct this.
And another point, yes norton did actually sniff it out, but say i was giving the game to my friend and told him that the game was clean. ANd due to my ignorance i trashed his computer in doing so. So a warning to all, install the program first be4 you give it to another person or make sure they have norton on there computer as well.
Thanks for your time

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Sledgehammer will save the day!

[hiredgoonz]

Just supports my theory on antivirus software...it is, at best, a hit or miss proposition...

Just for fun I installed Norton (got a copy free with my new mobo) and left it on for 2 whole days before it irritated me enough to shut it off...

Scanning my outgoing email?!? What in the world is that crap? If I wanted to send someone a virus, I don't need Norton getting in the way...jeez, the nerve of some programs...

DISCLAIMER: I have NEVER sent anyone a virus intentionally or otherwise. I was merely attempting to make light of what I consider to be a ridiculous feature of NAV. Don't need the FBI knocking on my door...

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When all else fails, read the instructions.

[iisbob]

..So norton in fact does not scanned compressed files and if it does it doesnt do a good job at it. So computer shopper was right.
..

Well, i've showed you my logs before, so i'm not argueing with you about it-does norton scan compressed ( zip ) files? YES Does norton detect and remove virii in these files if they exist? YES do i have proof? YES Have i demostrated that proof?YES

I've worked with both Mcafee and Norton( symantec ) since the mid '80's-and i've seen all the bugs in these products you can imagine, i've also seen just how effective they both can be used properly.

At no time like the present has ther been such a threat to the average homeuser, not just big businesses as more and more regular users are getting PC's that are as powerful, if not more so, than the ones in a business enviroment that used to be the only targets hackers and other code crackheads deemed worthy-no more. Now the average home user is in just as much danger.

If you don't trust the product-THEN DON'T USE IT, if you have found a legitamate bug in a program code, then report it to the proper software vendors so they can verify or fix it. Don't just make baseless accusations-or follow everything you read in the media world as gospel. Not even what i'm writing.

Again i'm not trying to argue with you dirunal just pointing out that people should not panic over that article or this posting that they are not being protected by their anti-virus software.





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iisbob

Life of a tech-support specialist-
"..Tech Support: "Use the right button to click on the shortcut--"
Customer: "I don't have a right button."
Tech Support: "You should have a right button."
Customer: "I'm sure. I have 'ctrl', 'alt', 'backspace'..."

[This message has been edited by iisbob (edited 01-05-2002).]

[mjc]

I'm with iisbob on this one, that the two major ones do an adequate job and they do work as desigined (mostly but I think many of the problems with them, and this goes for all software...not all combinations of hardware and software can be tested before a product is released so any install can be considered a beta test) but a little food for thought both of you...

Is it likely that any AV app will be able to be 100% effective with every file type and compression format?

I personally don't think so, and I also think that exercising a little prudence as to where you download from goes almost as far as an AV program in protecting you from a viral infection, along with what we all hear, almost everyday, about email attachments and so on.

Is one particular version of the said applications better at doing the scans than another version?

Probably.

There will always be a minority of troublemakers and malcontents who want to prey on someone else, those who are seeking fame or notority and just plain old teenage pranksters that will come up with something to challenge even the best security and anti-virus programs. So I think that you pick your favorite one (or what works best on your system...) and use it.

Pick them apart for something really wrong...like both of them wanting to scan everything all the time and not really wanting to be configured to do what I the user really want them to do..... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[diurnal]

well i would show you proof, but i dont know how to put pictures up, but hopefully youll take my word for it. If you want to see proof i will happily put it up for you.
MJC i see what your saying that all virus protections cannnot catch every thing. THats probably next to impossible, but im not sure cause i dont know any code, and never had written a virus.
But if it did not have this virus( the one i caught in the game) in its viruses definations, then the norton would not have detected in the first place. So it did not fail in having the virus defintion, so why did it fail when i scanned the zip file?

I dont know.
But iisbob, if you want proof ill send you the cd and youll see for your self.
Yes i see it scanning the zip file, your right. So if it caught it when i loaded , why didnt catch when i scanned it?

[/QUOTE]
. Don't just make baseless accusations-or follow everything you read in the media world as gospel
[QUOTE]
How am i making baseless accusations , when i see it with my own eyes. And like i said , i was not just out looking for it, i was through with it. I chalked it up as misinformation, like you said. But when it happens and i see it i feel i should tell people, and if i step on you so be it.


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Sledgehammer will save the day!

[kfh]

Hi All,
Excuse my ignorance if a zipped file contains a virus. And is unzipped is it to late, or will the virus not infect until the exe file is opened.
kfh.

[iisbob]

diurnal i wasn't trying to mean to you, i thought i made that clear-and if you say this happend to you, i believe you-like mjc said, no program is %100 effective, what type of compression ( zip ) program were you using? could be that was the problem, it's own code interfered with Norton's algorithim, i use WinZip and since it's such a well known product norton made sure it worked well with it.

Kfh the virus will not ifect your system as long as you don't " execute " the program, which means don't doubleclick on the.exe file or right click open it to start the program. If you don't execute the code then it's just lines of language, if you're interested in seeing it's code then open it in notepad, you can rename the extension to .bad or somesuch to keep it from accidentally being run.





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iisbob

Life of a tech-support specialist-
"..Tech Support: "Use the right button to click on the shortcut--"
Customer: "I don't have a right button."
Tech Support: "You should have a right button."
Customer: "I'm sure. I have 'ctrl', 'alt', 'backspace'..."

[Jericho]

I trust my Norton Anti-Virus, and the whole System Works 2000 package has made things a breeze for me overall. But I did once have a quirk in Norton AV which might (probably not) be of interest. I bought a new game from Best Buy (it was NO ONE LIVES FOREVER, Game of the Year Edition, a great game) and when I when to install it, NAV told me that the disk had a Trojan virus on it! I thought I had stumbled upon some great conspiracy, and that the evil Sierra game developers were going to infect a million computers worldwide. But when I tried to install the game again, Norton detected no such virus and I proceeded as normal. Maybe this kind of thing happens from time to time, but it was a first for me. Again, overall, I trust Norton and it has saved me from a half dozen viruses in the past. Nothing has slipped through, which is the important thing. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif