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Viruses and Hoaxes |
| Below is a short list of links that have up-to-date information on the many viruses out there. Also available at these sites are lists and explanations of the latest hoaxes. Please check these lists first, before you forward a common hoax to your friends and mailing lists. |
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Testing your virus software
In order to test the installation of virus scanning software, the vendors have created the EICAR.COM test virus. This is not a virus, but merely a plain string, saved as a MSDOS .COM command file or program. If properly installed and configured, your virus scanning software should detect this "test" virus. After testing your installation, you will have to delete the file itself. You may have to read the manual and instructions that came with your virus scanning software. To run the test, open and save the EICAR.COM as a plain text file called EICAR.COM, without the .TXT exenstion. A good place to save it is in your temporary directory, usually C:\TEMP. As soon as the file is written, your real-time scanning software should detect the pretend virus. If you do not have real-time protection turned on, you will have to start a complete virus scan manually. Check your software manual for more inforamtion. Here are several examples of the alert/waring screens that your virus scanning software will present to you once it detects the "test" virus. |
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| CAI Inoculate IT |
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| McAfee Virus Scan NT |
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