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Quick Start Guide: F-PROT Professional for DOS - Windows 3.1

  • System Requirements
  • Overview
  • Installation
    1. Creating a Shortcut
    2. Rescue Disk
    3. Removing F-PROT

System Requirements


F-PROT Professional for DOS requires an IBM PC or compatible with one hard drive, DOS 2.0 or later, at least 512K of RAM and approximately 1MB of hard disk storage.

F-PROT Professional for Windows is compatible with versions of Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11. A minimum of 4MB of hard disk storage is also necessary.

You may use F-PROT Professional on a workstation connected to a Windows NT, Novell, 3Com or Banyan Vines network.

Overview


The F-PROT Professional for DOS & Windows system uses state-of-the-art technology to scan for 9,000+ known viruses and their variants.

The first job of anti-virus software is detection. When a virus (or other malware) is detected, disinfection becomes necessary.

Command Software Systems recommends a comprehensive, multiple-level approach to virus detection.

The F-PROT Professional scanner is a comprehensive, first-level defense. It provides secure or heuristic scans and disinfection of work-station hard drive(s), floppy disk drives and server drives.

DVP (Dynamic Virus Protection) provides an additional level of defense through real-time protection. In the Windows environment, programs and the boot sectors of floppy disks are automatically scanned as they are accessed. Files and disks accessed within a DOS window are also protected.

VIRSTOP is a TSR (Terminate-and-Stay-Resident) program for the DOS environment that also provides real-time protection. It scans programs as they are accessed and examines the boot sector each time you access a floppy disk.

FIXDISK is an important utility included with Command Software's F-PROT Professional. FIXDISK.EXE is used for the disinfection of Master Boot Records (MBR) and boot sectors. It is a simple command line utility designed to safely remove unknown boot sector viruses while providing a virus data file for analysis.

F-PROT Professional provides the ability to create User-Defined Virus Strings for both the DOS and Windows environments. This option is useful when a new virus warning is posted and you have not yet had time to obtain a virus signature update.

After creating a Search String, it is necessary to select the User Defined Search Strings option located in the Options/Targets to Scan dialog box in Windows and the Scan/Target menu in DOS.

Many viruses are easily detected by their effects on the files they infect. Integrity checking is a valuable tool for defeating viruses. If an executable file changes in any way, the change can be detected by comparison with a previously-saved checksum. CHECK is a program that allows you to build a checksum database of your executables. Two proprietary algorithms are used to ensure the integrity of your files.

CS-TSR is a TSR that uses our proprietary algorithms to compare each program you attempt to execute with the database created by CHECK. Any mismatch is brought to your attention prior to actual execution.

For testing purposes, there is a self-extracting file provided on the distribution diskettes called SE_EICAR.EXE. If you run this file, you will find a test file called EICAR.COM (from European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research) which allows you to verify that your anti-virus protection is properly installed. For example, EICAR.COM allows you to test whether real-time protection is active and the scanner is working properly. EICAR.COM lets you safely test custom messages you create and also provides a way to demonstrate what happens when a virus is detected.

To test the F-PROT scanner, you can either copy EICAR.COM to your hard drive and scan or you can leave it on a diskette and then scan that diskette. To test the real-time protection of either DVP or Virstop simply run or copy EICAR.COM.

When run, the following message should display:
"EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!"

Installation


This product comes with a DOS INSTALL program and a Windows SETUP program. You do NOT have to use both. Either one will install all of the necessary files that allow F-PROT to protect your system.

Windows Installation

In order to install from Windows, simply select FILE and RUN from the menu bar at the top of Program Manager, then type A:SETUP and press [ENTER].

For quick installation, simply accept the defaults. You can go back and change these options after F-PROT Professional is installed.

Please note: Do not attempt to run a DOS shell under Windows to install.

DOS Installation

Type A:INSTALL and press [ENTER] to start the installation process from DOS. If you have Windows, the next time you start it, the F-PROT SETUP routine will finish the installation.

The installation program does the following:

  • Creates a directory and copies the F-PROT files to it.
  • Configures the real-time scanning options.
  • Offers to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS in order to provide a daily scan of the hard drive and real-time scanning.