[comp.virus] Virus detection

theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu (George A. Theall) (12/10/90)

   I am looking for software that runs under xenix yet will detect
viruses in DOS software. This will be used on a bbs system operating
under xenix (no VP/ix available:-( to scan uploads to DOS file areas.
Pointers towards pd, shareware, or commercial solutions -- C source or
binaries -- would be welcome.

   Thanks in advance,

George

[Ed. George, please summarize any responses that you get to the list.
It may be useful to note that there are publicly distributable
versions of UNZIP and ARC (in C source) that run under UNIX.  Both are
available on SIMTEL20.]

- ---
theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu			Dept. of Economics
theall@ssctemp.sas.upenn.edu			Univ. of Pennsylvania
gtheall@penndrls.upenn.edu			Philadelphia, PA 19104

davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) (12/11/90)

theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu (George A. Theall) writes:

|    I am looking for software that runs under xenix yet will detect
| viruses in DOS software. This will be used on a bbs system operating
| under xenix (no VP/ix available:-( to scan uploads to DOS file areas.
| Pointers towards pd, shareware, or commercial solutions -- C source or
| binaries -- would be welcome.

  If you think about it, there is such a tiny market for this that a
commercial solution is unlikely, and would not move fast enough to be
useful.

  What you need is VP/ix, and the best virus detectors you can get.
The ones from McAfee and frisk are good starting points.

  I think I qualify as a leading expert in this field, with many
MB/month passing through just this kind of system and into c.b.i.p,
and a chance to see a lot of viral infections.

  You should also run on another machine, with native DOS, a fairly full
hard disk, and antiviral checking before and after. You can *not* be too
careful.
- --
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
    VMS is a text-only adventure game. If you win you can use unix.

theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu (George A. Theall) (12/20/90)

I recently asked the net for pointers to software running under xenix
that would detect virus in DOS software. A decision has yet to be made
about which solution to go with, but thanks to those who responded.
Here is a summary of the responses received:

- -  davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) suggests an approach
involving VP/ix and a good virus detector, such as those from McAfee
and frisk.

- -  MINSKEEP@PENNSAS.UPENN.EDU (Michael Inskeep) suggests contacting
McAfee Associates, 4423 Cheeney Street, Santa Clara, CA 95054 for
information. I suppose this would involve contracting with them to
port their software.

- - warren@worlds.com (Warren Burstein) writes about a set of anti-virus
programs called VACCINE produced by his company (WorldWide Software)
and says that it would not be difficult to come out with a Xenix or
Unix version of that part of the package which scans for viruses. He
also provides a list of the viruses which VACCINE will detect and says
free updates are available to customers from WorldWide Software's bbs
system. [BTW: If you're interested in a unix/xenix port of WorldWide
Software's product, Warren says you should contact him directly.]

George
- ---
theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu			Dept. of Economics
theall@ssctemp.sas.upenn.edu			Univ. of Pennsylvania
gtheall@penndrls.upenn.edu			Philadelphia, PA 19104