Virus scanning directly from the Windows shortcut menu is now featured in F-PROT Professional for Windows 95 and F-PROT Professional NT. Now, performing a right-mouse click on a file-name, directory, or drive in Explorer, the desktop or in any Windows program group, opens a short-cut menu that contains an "F-PROT Virus Scan" option. Choosing that option begins an immediate scan of the selected object. If a directory is selected, all of its sub-directories will be scanned as well.

The uick scanning feature allows users to perform fast and efficient virus scans without needing to launch the full F-PROT Professional virus interface. Quick-scanning also allows users to scan, immediately, only those files, directories, or drives that they feel may have a virus or suspicious file.

Helmuth Freericks, Vice President of Command Software�s Research & Development, said they�ve determined that F-PROT Professional has no known problems regarding YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE.

He also assured that no data-dependencies are designed into future upgrades of Command Software products.

As a result, CCS warrants that Command�s F-PROT Professional, if licensed prior to, during, or after the calendar year 2000 , will include (at no additional cost to the user) design and performance characteristics that prevent the Year 2000 from resulting in abnormally ending and/or invalid/and/or incorrect result for licensees.

The software design, ensuring Year 2000 compatibility, includes data century recognition; calculations that accommodate Year 2000; and date-data interface values reflecting the century.

The warranty is limited to replacement software in a media format; [provided that the product(s) have not reached an end-of-life cycle by the Year 2000.

If a Novell network had files that became infected with a virus, it would be logical for an administrator to log-off all workstations connected to the server; then, use a clean workstation to disinfect that server. Once the administrator is finished, he could log the other workstations back on the server after each workstation is confirmed virus-free. However, what would you do if LOGIN.EXE itself became infected with a file virus? Any attempt to log-in and clean the server would prove futile, since the login process involves executing LOGIN.EXE (which contains the virus). Once a virus is executed, it enters memory. Once in memory, the virus cannot be cleaned.

THE ANSWER:

1. Log-off all workstations connected to the server.
2. At one of the workstations, cold boot to a write-protected system diskette.
3. Run F-PROT/HARD/DISINF from your F-PROT Professional installation disk. Disinfect any viruses found on the workstation. This step will insure that this workstation is clean.
4. Using the same workstation in Step 3, log into the network as usual; then, copy the infected LOGIN.EXE (in the public directory) to a floppy disk.
5. Cold boot the workstation to a write-protected, floppy diskette again. This will remove the virus which activated when LOGIN.EXE was executed off the server from memory. Repeat Step 3.
6. From the workstation�s hard drive, run F-PROT A:/DISINF to disinfect the infected LOGIN.EXE that is now on floppy.
7. Modify STARTNET.BAT (located on the workstation�s hard drive) to reference LOGIN.EXE from the A drive (instead of your network drive � usually drive F).
8. Run STARTNET off the hard drive in order to log back into you network and establish drive maps. Make sure you log-in.
9. From the workstation, execute F-PROT/NET/DISINF to disinfect all server drives.
10. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to verify that all other workstations are clean and log those workstations back to the server.

Step 4 - 9 will not be necessary if an organization is using Command�s F-PROT Professional for Netware. This NLM (Netware Loadable Module) provides real-time protection for Novell Netware server systems.