The Cobb/NCSA Guide to PC & LAN Security

Appendix K: Microsoft AV and Other Problems

This appendix contains, by kind permission of the author, a detailed critique of Microsoft's Anti-Virus software, distributed with MS-DOS 6 and used in some early versions of Microsoft Windows. Written by the late Yisrael Radai, a pioneering anti-virus and security researcher, this document is still important today for the light it sheds on Microsoft's forays into the field of security software. We have made the full text available here.

If you are familiar with the layered approach to security that is advocated throughout the book, you will not be surprised to learn that I don't think it is a good idea to use a Microsoft product to protect a Microsoft product. For the record, I currently I use AVG from Grisoft, a company with which I have no connection, as my main anti-virus product. I use a non-Microsoft firewall such as ZoneAlarm or Sygate. And I don't surf the web with Internet Explorer (I mainly use Firefox).

The Story So Far

• No typos or errors reported so far.
• Links and supplemental info being prepared.
• Check back in 10 days for more links and info.

• Chapter 1. Security Matters: Assessing the problems, threats, and issues
• Chapter 2. Security Solutions: Basic concepts and techniques
• Chapter 3. Security Planning: Risk analysis and security policy
• Chapter 4. Secure Hardware: Defending and insuring equipment
• Chapter 5. Secure Power: Spikes, Sparks, and Electrical Threats
• Chapter 6. Secure Sites: Defending sites and systems
• Chapter 7. Secure Access: Controls, passwords, and encryption
• Chapter 8. Secure Data: Backup, backup, backup
• Chapter 9. Secure Code: Defeating viruses, worms and other malicious code
• Chapter 10. Secure Software: Piracy, bugs, and other "soft" threats
• Chapter 11. Secure Networks I: Generic network defense
• Chapter 12. Secure Networks II: Protecting name brand networks
• Chapter 13. Secure Communications: WANs, remote access, and the Internet
• Chapter 14. Secure People: Hacking and ethical issues
• Chapter 15. Security in the Future: How to become and remain secure
• Appendix A: Threat List
• Appendix B: A Brief Guide to Batch Files
• Appendix C: Computer Security Policy
• Appendix D: Notes on EMR
• Appendix E: Export Restrictions on Encryption
• Appendix F: Further Resources
• Appendix G: Glossary
• Appendix H: How Public Key Encryption Works
• Appendix I: Introduction to LANs
• Appendix J: Securing Safe Software
• Appendix K: Appraising Microsoft AV