Virus protection on the server?

[jurgen]

Hi anybody with know how,

Is there such a thing as virus protection that is server based, rather then on my home machine. If the server can recognize a virus, and warn me not to download the infected message, that would be great. I have an older Pentium 2 with limited resources, so Norton slows my machine to a crawl.So I am running AVG presently, and it is adequat, but lets the occasional virus slip in. The it does not tell me hat to do about it. So I go , find the infected file AVG detected and delete it, but I am not sure if that is always a good thing to do. Any thoughts or help out there?

[Croc Hunter]

Server based virus protection is expensive stuff as you are running a pII, I doubt you use it as a server. So I guess you want an online virus checker right ?. Allot will check your system for virii but won't fix/remove. Usually you need to allow open access to your files to do so so I recomend a reliable source like. http://www.trendmicro.com

If your Norton subscription is current. Why not update it weekly and run a full system scan while you sleep ?. Rather than running in the background slowing your machine. Sounds like all you really need is a little more RAM to get the most out of your programs.

[Rick_E]

I believe that some of the web-based email services such as Yahoo mail and Hotmail scan their messages on the server. That would help if you retrieve the messages in the web browser, but not if you have Outlook Express set up to retrieve them.

Outlook Express has several sometimes overlooked security settings that greatly increase security.

* Set the Outlook Express email security setting to "Restricted". On the Tools menu... Options... Security... choose the Restricted Sites Zone. And place a check in the "Warn Me" box.

* On the View menu... Layout... remove the check from "Show preview pane". This allows you to click and delete messages before they display.

* On the Read tab, place a check in the box to "Read all messages in plain text". This prevents all active content from happening.

* Most important, never open attachments you are not expecting... even from people you know, even if they say it's the best cartoon ever.

Best-kept safety secret in Outlook Express: If you want to view the source code for a message to see if it's legitimate without opening the message, right-click on the message and choose Properties... Details... Message Source...

[rdy]

Originally posted by jurgen

I have an older Pentium 2 with limited resources, so Norton slows my machine to a crawl

I am also running a PII 266 w/128 meg ram....I have no problem running NAV.
As Rick_E suggests, set NAV for auto update and virus scan while away from the machine - (it has to be turned on of course)
Run very lean by tweaking selective startup.

i.e. Everything that I don't want running in the background is OFF, inc all the default MS messenger stuff, fast find, etc ....
All I have running in Sys Tray is NAV - a Popup stopper - and ZA.

Another thing - Download and run Adaware 6, and Spy Bot. If you surf a lot you will have spyware present on your machine - It all SLOWS YOU DOWN.

Stay away from Peer 2 Peers, and clean out *tmp files / history daily.

But you must have enough RAM of course......;)

[jurgen]

Thank you all for your insights.
I did all the suggested settings in OE, except the read tab, because my OE 6 does not seem to have that option...
Norton remains uninstalled, not enough RAM is my issue, I have the older kind of RAM modules, which are very expensive to add to. Perhaps somebody out there has a recycle source for the more powerful RAMmodules used back in 98 for NEC computers?
Also living off the grid on solar panels does not allow for letting the machine run NAV when I am not using it.
So AVG , new OE settings, and perhaps previewing on powweb web based email has to do the trick .
By the way, does setting OE to "restricted" mean, that there is a chance that I might miss potentially good emails, ie: customer inquiries for my cedar strip kayaks at www.cedar-strip.com

Thanks again out there in cyber space....

[Builder]

Another anti-virus option is H+BEDV's AntiVir (www.freeav.com). It's free for non-commercial use, has a small footprint, is non-invasive (unlike NAV and McAfee) and will run in the background using very few system resources. I ran it on a 486DX4 75 Mhz 500Mb hard drive machine with 24 Mb of RAM with no problem.

Off-topic :D :
Took a look at your web site. Speaking as a carpenter/builder who enjoys good wood, and as a kayaker I must say (as I drool), "Oh my...." Makes my plastic Aquaterra Chinook look like junk :p

Good luck,
Kevin

[rdy]

Originally posted by jurgen
Thank you all for your insights.
I did all the suggested settings in OE, except the read tab, because my OE 6 does not seem to have that option...
Norton remains uninstalled, not enough RAM is my issue, I have the older kind of RAM modules, which are very expensive to add to. By the way, does setting OE to "restricted" mean, that there is a chance that I might miss potentially good emails, ie: customer inquiries for my cedar strip kayaks at www.cedar-strip.com

Jurgen. You will not miss any emails with 'restricted' OE setting.
I love your beautiful Kayaks and your location. I am also ex-pat Euro living in the NW.

Good luck and kind regards
rdy

[Lucky_Lane]

Here is one that has helped me out when Norton and AVG have not caught a virus,and this is free:)

http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/