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ANTIVIRUS + FIREWALL ARE NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE
Four
years ago we (last century!), we advise you to add a firewall to your Antivirus
package to protect your system against hackers' malicious acts. We stated then
that "Virus
Scanning Is Not Enough".
Nowadays no one dares surfing the Internet
with a broadband without a Firewall plus a Antivirus packages working together
as sentinels. The one who does that is heading for troubles half way. As soon
as connected, he is (not he may be) infected by deadly viruses, worms and
Trojan horses that will render his system useless. He will have to reformat the
hard disk to get rid of the beasts.
However, now even a combination of
Firewall + Antivirus is no more a guarantee to avoid invasion of worms, viruses
and Trojan horses. New kinds of these beasts are now running rampant on the Net
that could bypass Firewall.
Indeed, hackers gained expertise in writing
sophisticated attacking beasts that create havoc around the world. As you may
know, new viruses are detected on the average of three every 18 seconds. Fortunately,
some of these are not too harmful. However, one in the hoard may be the one waiting
for you.
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ANTIVIRUS HAS A "STATIC" WAY OF FIGHTING VIRUSES
Antivirus
need updated "signature" to be able to fend away a new attacking virus.
If your Antivirus package lacks the right virus signature the moment a new virus
appears, you are in danger if online at that time. All classic Antivirus software
has a static way of fighting viruses. The "signature" of a new virus
is "cooked" by the software programmers only after said virus starts
spreading and infecting systems somewhere in the world. Then, a sample of
the new virus is taken, from which a "signature" is computed, and added to the
list of signatures that the anti-virus can detect. When scanning a file, the anti-virus
will check it against every signature in its list.
Thus, keeping Antivirus
signature files up-to-date is a necessary and continuous process for "static"
Antivirus software. "Static" because, signature-based anti-virus products
can only stop viruses or worms that have known signatures. Unknown signatures
require a patch (a development of a new signature), which is often not available
for a number of days. Your signature file was up to date at the time of the new
attack and you are nevertheless in danger to be infected. That is for the Antivirus.
The Firewall also has an Achilles' heel that is the "attacking
gate" for the new kinds of worms, viruses, Trojan horses, Activex applets.
Etc. running rampant now on the Net.
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FIREWALLS NEED TO GRANT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET
Indeed,
Firewalls (Gatekeepers) do block the ports (the entrance gate to your computer)
against frontal attacks. However, they also grant exit permissions to installed
programs to access the Net: your browser, the mail system and several other executable
programs. And that is where the problem stands. Some of the new attacking Trojan
horse could associate with the browser, mails, downloaded files (zip files for
instances); could be embedded in images files and wav files to enter your computer.
Afterwards, these Trojan horses could be granted exist permission by the Firewall
to enter the World Wild Web - stealing vital information (credit cards numbers,
passwords and important files).
To summarize, you are in danger if you
have only Antivirus + Firewall packages installed. The Antivirus has an
"Attacking window" - resulting from the lack of the right virus
signature when a new deadly virus is let loose by hackers. The Firewall has a
"Naivety's Door" - through which Trojan horses could escape with
vital information and files.
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YOU NEED CLASSIC STATIC ANTIVIRUS + FIREWALL + AN "ACTIVE" HOMEGUARD
An
active HomeGuard that takes care of an intruder which lures its way into your
computer. The Active HomeGuard is like a policeman who checks the ID card of someone
inside a city, while the Firewall is a Gatekeeper. If the person's credentials
are good, the HomeGuard let him go his way. In the contrary, if the person has
a record at the police station, he may be a suspect for a crime under investigation.
Therefore, the person is taken into custody for further investigation.
ActiveX,
Spyware Objects (capable of redirecting your browser from your chosen browser'
default homepage), worms, Trojan horses, exe and zip files being suspects are
taken care of as soon as they stealthily entered your computer. The "active"
HomeGuard quarantines those beasts in a sandbox. In that virtual jail their
activities are monitored to see if they are undertaking unauthorized actions that
could be harmful to your computer. If their behavior is correct and not harmful
they are released and free to perform their duties on your computer.
Thus,
when you install an "active" HomeGuard", any attacking new virus
is quarantined in the sandbox and neutralized. In the meantime your traditional
Antivirus package will have the time to get the new virus' signature - if it is
programmed to perform automatic updates. If your Antivirus does not perform automatic
update, then you do it manually.
One way or another you are no more submitted
to your AntiVirus package's "Attacking Window" weakness and the attacking
virus or Activex object cannot lure the firewall (the Gatekeeper) to granting
exist permit to the Internet. You are safe. Further, when you click for instance
on a downloaded exe file, a SurfinGuard's pop up asks if you want to Block,
Monitor or Allow the file to be executed. Everything is transparent.
You are in control as you perfectly know which file you have personally download.
There
are many "active HomeGuards" available that features Proactive Defense
Against Malicious Code and protect all Microsoft popular applications together
with a series of other common applications and instant messaging systems (ICQ).
The most efficient Active HomeGuard freeware are SpywareBlaster
and SurfinGuard.
SpywareBlaster does have an advantage as it does not need to work in the
background to be active and further it does not interfere with applications that
make legitimate use of ActiveX such as GuruNet
or most RSS readers.
Visit link above listed and choose between SurfinGuard
Pro and SpywareBlaster. They both from integrate smoothly with other security
tools such as Grisoft
Antivirus and ZoneAlarm |
