folta@tove.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) (01/29/89)
This may be a silly question, but does anyone attempt to guarantee the virus-freeness of programs in the sumex-aim archives? That is, can anyone post something there (even overwrite) via FTP, or is there a moderator? I just downloaded Vaccine 1.01, but my fingers tremble every time I attempt to drag it over Vaccine 1.0 in my System Folder. (I obtained 1.0 from CompuServe, which does evidently moderate its uploads. I assume that they verify that the original authors actually upload their programs.) Wayne Folta (folta@tove.umd.edu 128.8.128.42)
lipa@polya.Stanford.EDU (William J. Lipa) (01/29/89)
In article <15685@mimsy.UUCP> folta@tove.umd.edu.UUCP (Wayne Folta) writes: > >This may be a silly question, but does anyone attempt to guarantee the >virus-freeness of programs in the sumex-aim archives? That is, can anyone >post something there (even overwrite) via FTP, or is there a moderator? I think this is an important topic for discussion, not a silly question. The sumex-aim archives are moderated, so barring major security holes in Unix (which we all know is an impossibility) the only way to get files there is by mailing them to the moderator. However, the moderators of Info-Mac (of which I am one) do NOT check each uploaded file for viruses. Being a moderator takes a staggering amount of time, and this time would probably double if we had to check the uploads ourselves. There are two steps we take to provide a reasonable level of virus security. One is that we are extremely responsive to messages telling us that there are viruses in our files. The second is that we make sure to provide uninfected copies of anti-viral software. For example, you can be sure that the Virus Rx we have on our archive is virus-free. Therefore, to be absolutely sure that the programs you get from sumex-aim are safe, you should download Virus Rx and check each program you get with it. Of course, if you find any problems let us know at info-mac-request@sumex-aim. Perhaps easier would be to run GateKeeper at all times. That's what I do! Bill Lipa Info-Mac