Re: Shared folders virus protection -Reply -- MIDRANGE-L

Correct, on the money!!  Our novell network has Cheyenne Inoculan
running on it.  It is scheduled to do periodic scan jobs on the entire PC
Network.  In addition it also  monitors and cures all incoming and outgoing
files to and from the PC  network storage 'on the fly'.  Each PC on the
network is also setup to monitor and cure incoming and outgoing files
from it as well as scheduling jobs on local drives,the PC  will not, I have
learned do scheduled jobs on mapped drives.
The virus signatures and engines change at least monthly and sometimes
when there are virus alerts it is more often, in June we had them 6/10,
6/14, and 6/24.  Each PC and the network should  have the new virus
signatures applied immediately.   If the net admins cannot get it applied to
all the 500 PC's in a timely manner they can take a breather knowing the
Network server is monitoring and curing incoming, outgoing or both. 
Meaning they only have to update the server to keep the network files
from being corrupted.
PC's can keep shared folders clean 'on the fly' but there are a few
variables.  Do all PC's accessing shared folders have the most current
signatures loaded? As I found some were set incorrectly and were
reporting the problem to the user instead curing the problem, an option
that I question the purpose.  Everyone who has a PC emulation session
or even a connection has potential access to shared folders they may
not knowit or use it but it is there and they are apotential source of
contamination.
Maybe the virus cannot get to database files on the AS400 but with the
advent of ODBC connectivity with MSAccess and EXCEL along with
JAVA living in shared folders and accessing AS400 files and xferring
info back and forth, I am not totally sure and definetly not ready to explain
all of that to our NOT AS400 savvy corp boss.  He..., he would not let me
xfer an html doc created by a JAVA applet to an NT web server
because the doc was created from files on the AS400 and he feared
security breaches.  If he only knew the real holes.
Back to stream... I am going to try to get the Network boys to hit shared
folders with a scheduled job, weekly maybe.  I'll keep you posted.
Sorry about the Monday AM  vent.

Thanks
Archie Cameron
Polaris Industries Inc


>>> "Dennis Lovelady" <dennis@lovelady.com> 07/11/99 09:09pm >>>
Hi, Paul:

From: PaulMmn <PaulMmn@ix.netcom.com>
Sent: July 11, 1999 6:42 PM


> You -can- run a 'standard' virus scanner against a shared folder using
a
PC
> connected to the folder or to the IFS.

I think the point is being missed.  The best time to scan for a virus, is
as it is potentially being placed onto the system.  *MOST* networking
systems have that capability.  This relieves the pressure of running virus
scanners at each client (I would still recommend that, though).  In some
environments (where files are being served up to people, say, on the
internet... maybe even files that are RECEIVED from unknown parties on
the
internet), scanning at the client level is totally out of the control of
those who administer the server; yet the administrators would not want
to
be responsible for distributing the naughty code.

There *should* be a way to scan for viri as files are placed into the
shared file system, which is what I think the originator was looking for.
And what I'm reading between the lines is that the AS/400 has no such
offer; it's up to the end user.  Even Novel - heck, even Microsoft allows
for this!  And the AS/400 doesn't?  I sometimes wonder if the powers
that
be really think of the AS/400 as a server, or if they're just using the
name.
--
Dennis Lovelady                    Fayetteville, GA
mail: dennis@lovelady.com          dennis.e.lovelady@ac.com
URL:  http://lovelady.piedmont.net
ICQ:  5734860
--
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."
        - Oscar Wilde


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