Re: Nail.exe in Windows -- Virus problem, I think

["Patricia M. Godfrey" PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx]

Jay McNally wrote:
> > Several days ago my virus program announced the file "nail.exe" had a
> > virus
> > and asked if I wanted to delete the file. Never having heard of
> > "nail.exe,"
> > I told the program to delete the file.
> And Flash responded:≪Nail.exe is spyware; not a virus per se.
> Deleting the file does not rid you of its effects,≫


There are different sorts of malware out there, all stuff you don't want
on your PC. Antivirus isn't enough nowadays; you also need a firewall
(if you have broadband, you may well have a hardware one in your router;
but you may need a software one too), antispyware and antiadware.
Fortunately, three of the best programs in those areas are freeware:
Zonealarm, Spybot Search and Destroy, and LavaSoft's AdAware. You also
need to take some simple precautions. Here's my own regimen, FWIW:
1. I _never_ use Internet Exploiter or Outtaluck; every cracker in
Cyberdom targets them.
2. I don't let any site, even a trusted one, make me download a plugin.
(I recently declined to let the Vatican site do so!). Even if that site
will put it to innocuous use, it's then on your system and some other
site can use it for nefarious purposes. (It's easier for me to say this,
becuase I don't have broadband, so I don't want a whole lot of bells and
whistles slowing down my Net access. But then people with broadband are
more at risk.)
3. The two weeks I tried out DSL, I shut the "modem" off when I wasn't
using it. That may be a counsel of perfection to some, but you might
well think about it--especially if you leave your system up and unattended.
4. Needless to say, I don't open attachements whose origins are dubious.
And use a plain-text e-mail reader; i.e., one that doesn't display HTML.

Patricia M. Godfrey