I have McAfee and it updates automatically without fail, yet I have had three viruses in the last three weeks. Yes, McAfee intercepted two of the three (the third was a b*tch to get rid of) and probably slipped through McAfee because it was very new.
This probably happened because I opened attachments–and I have no choice but open them, for business reasons.
Is there anything else–beyond McAfee–that I can do to prevent viruses from infecting my PC? (Given that I must open attachments. BTW, McAfee scans them first, supposedly.)
Two of the times McAfee discovered that I had viruses, I was at the SDMB! I sometimes download SDMB threads so that I can read them at my leisure. Can I get a virus from SDMB?
If I click on a SDMB link and download something from a Doper’s site, am I protected if I download it as a “text file”? IOW, does saving it that way strip off the virus?
Last, could McAfee itself be infecting my PC? When the automatic download message comes on, the PC then asks if I want to “run scripts.” I say yes (not knowing what that means). I then get a “scripts error” message. Is this basically a sign that I just screwed myself?
In addition to McAfee, be smart when clicking on an attachment. Virus attachments always come with a generic message that never mentions what the file is. (“I thought you might like to see this.”) A legitimate attachment usually has text that is specific to you (“Here are the budget numbers for February.”). In addition, businesses usually only send attachments in Word, Excel, or (sometimes) Access (or their non-Microsoft equivalents). If it’s in another format, or if you have doubts, reply to the sender asking what it is they sent you.
Not likely. The timing was probably a coincidence.
Downloading is rarely the problem. You get infected because of what you do after downloading. If the file is executable (a program – though the fact that it’s a program may not be obvious by the file type), it will infect you when you run it. (Word files can be home for macro viruses, but these have pretty much died out these days).
No. It’s probably a good general idea not to run scripts, though.
I have never had any antivirus software in my computer and I have never had a virus. The best antivirus is between your ears. I am always amazed at how gullible people are and how they’ll click on anything. While you should not open suspicious messages from unknown people that does not mean messages from people you know and who can be well intentioned can not be infected. Oh, the stories I could share. Just check them for viruses anyway and you will be safe.
I have set my security very tight in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express and I am also running ZoneAlarm.
I can recognise every single program running and would detect anything out of order
I have never had a virus.
I knock on wood
The only virus software I use is a freeby called ScriptDefender from www.analogx.com. It throws up a popup whenever a 'malicious" script is attempting to run and gives you the option to execute or abort. Haven’t had a virus in a couple of years.
You might try Norton (or something like it) that lets you do email scanning. I believe it’ll scan messages and attachments as they arrive and warn you. You might also try telling the person who sent you the virus that they have a virus.