From the AEGIS e-Journal, Volume 5 Number 6, June 2002
Symantec Security Response – Virus Definitions Download Page Symantec Norton AntiVirus http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html While there are a lot of security issues with computers, for most of us the main one is the threat of viruses. It is critical that anti-virus protection be installed, and that virus definitions be kept current. Many companies have put in mechanisms that will update virus definitions on a regular basis. As an example, current versions of Norton Anti-Virus have a live update feature that will download the most-current version of virus definitions – and sometimes program upgrades, generally on Wednesday afternoon. While this is probably adequate for most of us, Symantec actually releases virus definitions daily! These updates are to be found at http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html . If you ÆGIS, June 2002 11 happen to use NAV, we strongly urge you to bookmark this page, check it daily (or have someone check it daily for you, and that you download the updated virus definitions as they occur. The files are around three megabytes, which takes relatively little time to download, and the increase in security seems well worth the minimal effort. It may well be that other vendors also update their definitions daily. Check with your vendor to see how they handle this issue. MailWasher Nick Bolton and eCOSM 2001 http://www.mailwasher.net/ Junk e-mail is an annoyance, a waster of resources, and a danger because of the potential exposure to unknown viruses and worms. Spam filters, which capture e-mail as it downloads and sends spam unseen to a special folder reduces the annoyance, but not the consumption or resources or the potential danger. MailWasher is a free (you can make a small donation if you choose, and we understand that soon there also be a commercial version) e-mail preprocessor that allows you to look at mail on your POP3 server without downloading it, which can save a lot of download time, and avoids the risk associated with downloads. You can delete messages directly from the server. You can bounce messages (MailWasher will send a fake “address not found” message to the spammer, reducing the likelihood of getting repeat spam, then delete it from the server without downloading). It can identify spam (it can look at spam databases, plus has its own logic for identifying spam) and some viruses, and mark them for deletion (you can un-mark these if you choose). MailWasher will also allow you to set up filters to mark messages, based on criteria you choose, for deletion or bouncing, either displaying the item or not, as you choose, and to identify e-mail addresses as friends or to blacklist them for automatic marking for deletion or bouncing. We recommend deleting but not bouncing. Although bouncing may reduce the amount of spam you get, it also increases the amount of traffic. Since there is so much junk e-mail (we get between 9,000 and 10,000 pieces a month), it seems kinder to merely delete it on the server, and not burden the system with another 10,000 pieces of junk. This is an excellent program, and well worth downloading and using as an email pre-processor before downloading your e-mail. When the commercial version appears we will recommend that, too. ÆGIS, June 2002 12 7. Free-Subscription/Unsubscription/Copyright Information •• ÆGIS e-journal is supported and maintained by voluntary efforts. This publication is owned, published, and copyright © 2002 by The LUBRINCO Group Ltd, Inc. and Financial Examinations and Evaluations, Inc. It is edited jointly by Richard Isaacs (RBIsaacs@lubrinco.com) and L. Burke Files (LBFiles@lubrinco.com). The LUBRINCO Group provides services in three high-threat areas, too specialized to be dealt-with in-house, that can adversely affect domestic and international bottom lines. • Protection of trade secrets and intellectual assets. o Anti-economic espionage. o OPSEC: The identification and protection of information that would give your competitors and adversaries an advantage. • International financial investigations and due diligence consulting. o Location and recovery of missing and hidden assets. o Establishing business relationships and strategic partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe, the offshore financial centers, Beijing and Shanghai, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. o Anti-money laundering and financial fraud requirements under the International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2002 and the EU Revised Money Laundering Directive of 2002. • Protection of management, staff, and families. o In the high-threat environments of Latin America, Africa, the Mid- East, and Southeast Asia. o When traveling and living overseas. o When transporting items of substantial value. LUBRINCO identifies and quantifies threats and vulnerabilities, and their associated risk, then manages the vulnerabilities so you can transfer or live with the residual risk. We prevent disastrous financial loss to your company, and physical harm to you, your family, and your staff. For information on The LUBRINCO Group and its services, or for the archive of all past issues of ÆGIS e-journal in PDF format, please go to http://www.lubrinco.com/. ÆGIS, June 2002 13 To sign up for a complimentary subscription to ÆGIS e-journal or the ÆGIS e- journal PDF notification list, go to http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs?customerid=7768 or send an email to ejournal@lubrinco.com. To subscribe to our AvantGo channel, go to http://avantgo.com/channels/_add_channel.pl?cha_id=1773 To be removed from the subscription list, follow the instructions on the mailing you received, or send an e-mail to ejournal@lubrinco.com. If you know of anyone else who should be receiving ÆGIS e-journal, please send their e-mail address to ejournal@lubrinco.com. If there is a topic that you would like to know more about, send it to ejournal@lubrinco.com and the editors will consider it as the topic for an article in an upcoming issue. If you would like to submit an article for publication in ÆGIS e-journal, send it as an attachment to an e-mail to ejournal@lubrinco.com. Submission of an article certifies that (a) all information in the article is in the public record, or (b) that you are authorized to release any personal or corporate proprietary information contained in the article, and (c) that none of the article has previously been copyrighted. The submission of materials for publication in ÆGIS e-journal constitutes a license to The LUBRINCO Group Ltd, Inc., and/or Financial Examinations and Evaluations, Inc, their assigns, associates, or affiliates, to abridge and/or edit said submission, and to copyright and publish/republish any submitted materials in whatever written and/or electronic form they may choose. If you would like to go beyond normal fair-use in reproducing articles from this issue of ÆGIS e-journal, you may do so freely as long as appropriate source, copyright, accreditation, and link to the LUBRINCO website is included. This should be in the form
Article Title, from the June 2002 ÆGIS e-journal (© 2002 LUBRINCO & FEE), to be found at http://www.lubrinco.com/. ÆGIS e-journal is a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, operating styles, theories, and related topics for corporate managers who make decisions about threats typically outside the expertise available in-house, yet which have the potential to affect their company’s domestic and international bottom lines. Nothing appearing in ÆGIS e-journal should be ÆGIS, June 2002 14 construed as legal advice. The information provided is “general information,” not “specific advice.” The solution to any problem is highly dependent upon the precise facts involved. Thus, before making any reliance upon anything said here, you should consult with an appropriately skilled professional. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher, and may be presented to encourage a dialogue among subscribers. The publisher and any re-publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss incurred as a result of the application of any information published in ÆGIS e-journal. Please be safe, and be smart.