Solutions: Disable autorun if you suspect a virus on flash disc
By JOHN TORRO
Published June 5, 2006
Can inserting a flash disc that might contain a virus into my CPU and viewing that file or photo without moving or saving or sending that harmful file to my C drive cause that virus to infect my C drive? In other words, can viewing a file on an I drive cause any potential virus to infect a C drive?
Some flash drives will autorun when inserted. This could be a problem, so disable autorun by holding the shift key down while you insert the flash disc. The type of viruses that can be embedded into graphic files take advantage of making certain programs run malicious code through something called a buffer overrun. Internet Explorer has been susceptible to buffer overrun attacks, though recent security updates for Windows XP and Internet Explorer have addressed many of these issues. You should always have your PC up to date on all security updates, but in a case where you suspect that a graphic file may contain a virus, I would not use Internet Explorer to view it. Use something a little more benign, such as MSPaint. Before doing anything with the suspected files, scan them using your antivirus program. And if I had reason to think a file contained a virus, I wouldn't attempt to view it or keep it on my system.
Norton Antivirus works well with few problems
Do you know of anyone who has done a comprehensive test or study on antivirus and firewall software? I would be very interested to find out which is the best. I'm not interested in the best for the money, but the absolute best in regard to which does the best job in protecting your computer.
Many reviews from independent software evaluators are on the Internet, and almost each one has a different opinion. Search for "best antivirus" through your favorite search engine. My experience has been that Norton Antivirus has consistently done the job for my PCs with little or no problems. I can't say that about some other well-known brands. NAV 2006, which requires some more system resources than previous versions, has done an excellent job with viruses and spyware. The built-in Windows XP SP2 firewall is more than sufficient. It's good protection without getting in the way, and it's integrated with the operating system and free. The important thing with whatever product you choose is that it have robust auto-update definition features and that the product continues to be supported, updated and improved. What good is your antivirus software if it is not capable of detecting and stopping a virus that was created just a few hours ago?
Send hardware and software questions to personaltech@sptimes.com or Personal Tech, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Selected questions will be answered only in the column. John Torro is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer. He has been writing for Personal Tech since 1997.