Copyright: Copyright © 1996 by Paul Mayer


Auto Exit Virus Checker When Done
This will auto-exit the virus checker when done checking. We recommend this for optimum speed.


Autostart Virus Checking
This will make the virus checker start immediately without the user having to tell it to check when you call it up. Recommended for the best speed.


Cancel Configuration
Clicking the Cancel button will cancel any changes that you made to the current configuration and close the Dialog.


Configuration

You should first prepare a temporary directory if you don't have one in the root directory of one of your computer's drives. This can be done with the Windows 95 Explorer.

An example to create a directory named TEMP in the root directory of your C: drive is:

1. Open the Windows 95 Explorer.

2. Click the drive drop down box and select the C: drive.

3. Click File and select New and Folder.

4. A new Folder will appear, type in a name such as TEMP and press enter.

5. You now have a new directory with the name of TEMP

For the configuration you should know several directory locations:

1. Where the default download directory is.

2. Where the temporary directory is.

3. Where the virus scanning tool is.

An example for the default download directory for The Microsoft Network is:

C:\Program Files\The Microsoft Network\Transferred Files

You just created the temporary directory and it is:

C:\TEMP

And the default location for the McAfee virus tools is:

C:\Windows\McAfee

Next run the Virus Checking Assistant program by clicking on the Virus Checking Assistant Icon in the Start menu of Windows 95. Click on the menu selection Setup. You will see a Dialog like this:

As you can see we have entered some default values for you if this is the first time you've run the program.

You can click the above edit fields and buttons with your mouse pointer to get a description of what they are and do.

After inserting the correct information into the edit fields, click OK to save your configuration.


Conventions Used In This Program

This program uses all normal Windows 95 conventions. You should be aware that if a button is grayed out, it is not available at that particular time during the use of the program. An example is the Process button below as there are no files selected, the function is not available. When you select files for processing, the button will become active.


Delete & Close Button
The Delete & Close Button will delete the files from the temporary directory when you are done and close this Dialog so you can go on to the next file or exit the program if you are done with all files.


Download Directory
Enter the default Download Directory in this edit field. We have entered the default for the Microsoft Network as an example for you.  You can click on the button and search for the scanner if you like.


Files to Check List
This is the list of files to virus check that are in your temporary directory.


Find Download Directory

By clicking the small button next to the Default Zip Download Directory entry field, you will have a Get Full Path Name Dialog which will allow you to search for the default download directory. Below is an example of the Dialog with the MSN default download directory selected. Clicking OK will paste the information into the entry field.


Find Temporary Directory

By clicking the small button next to the Temporary Work Directory entry field, you will have a Get Full Path Name Dialog which will allow you to search for the scan program. Below is an example of the Dialog with the temporary directory selected. Clicking OK will paste the information into the entry field.


Find Virus Scan Program

By clicking the small button next to the Virus Scanner Directory and Program entry field, you will have a file open Dialog which will allow you to search for the scan program. Below is an example of the Dialog with the McAfee directory open and the Scan95.exe program selected. Clicking OK will paste the information into the entry field.


Getting Files to Check

In the main screen of the program, click on the Get Files button. This will open an Add Files to List Dialog which is the same as a "File Open Dialog" in appearance and operation.

This Dialog is set to allow selecting multiple files and uses the standard Windows conventions for doing so. You can selectively select files by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the files you want or click the first file and the last file while holding down the Shift key as shown below. Click OK after making your selection.

After you click OK, you will return to the opening screen of the program and a message box will as if you want to virus check the directory that you just selected the files from.

This is useful when you have downloaded self-extracting archives as they are executable files and may hold a virus. If the only files you've downloaded are ZIP files, then you can skip the check by answering with No, else we suggest that you select Yes to check the directory.


Getting Started


McAfee Configuration

This will allow you to optimize the settings of the McAfee VirusScan95 program to run faster and more efficient with the Virus Checking Assistant. The Virus Checking Assistant will make a backup of the McAfee configuration file when it is started and use a temporary configuration file that you can set without changing the default settings that you have for your normal virus checking with the McAfee tools.

We will create a Default.bak file and a Default.vca file from the McAfee Default.vsc file in the McAfee directory and will use these files to keep from changing your default settings. We suggest that you select all options in this Dialog for the best performance.

Use your mouse pointer to find more information on each of the options above.


Preview Button
The Preview Button will allow you to view files that have an association set up on your computer. Files such as TXT, DOC, HLP, etc., so you can take a peek into the programs documentation if you want. Select a file in the list of files and click this button to open the file for viewing. If there is no file type association you will receive an error message to that effect. See below for associating file types on your computer.


Processing Files

Once you have selected the files to virus check, they will be in the pick list of the opening screen of the program. The first file should be highlighted or "selected" as seen in this example:

To start the process of un-compressing and virus checking of your files, simply click the Process button.

The pick list will be replaced by a ZIP extraction progress display and show you the files being extracted from the ZIP archive:

If you happen to attempt to unzip a file that is not a ZIP file or a self-extracting ZIP archive, you will receive an error Dialog:

Clicking on this Dialog will bypass the non-zip or "bad" file and remove it from your pick list. The file may have been an EXE that is not a self-extracting file but was a stand-alone setup package. If this is the case, it is suggested that you install it by running the EXE and then performing a complete virus scan of your entire computer.


Register
Register Virus Checking Assistant

This is a shareware Program and you have a 30 day evaluation period to try before you buy it. The registration is only $10.00 and you will receive a copy without the shareware registration reminder screen by mail for this fee.

To register, mail this form along with a check for $10.00 to:

ZPAY Payroll Systems, Inc.

Dept: Virus Checking Assistant

2526 69th Ave So

St. Petersburg  FL  33712-5631

Please Print:

Name:___________________________________________

Company:_________________________________________

Street Address:_____________________________________

City, State & Zip_____________________________________

Area Code & Telephone:_______________________________


Register Virus Checking Assistant

This is a shareware Program and you have a 30 day evaluation period to try before you buy it. The registration is only $10.00 and you will receive a copy without the shareware registration reminder screen by mail for this fee.

To register, mail this form along with a check for $10.00 to:

ZPAY Payroll Systems, Inc.

Dept: Virus Checking Assistant

2526 69th Ave So

St. Petersburg  FL  33712-5631

Please Print:

Name:___________________________________________

Company:_________________________________________

Street Address:_____________________________________

City, State & Zip_____________________________________

Area Code & Telephone:_______________________________


Save Configuration
Clicking the OK button will save the configuration and any changed you've made.


Scan All Files
This will scan all files in a ZIP to insure that there are no "tricks" such as renaming an EXE that contains a virus.


Scan Compressed Files
This selection will scan any compressed ZIP files that may be packaged inside of the ZIP that you are checking. We suggest checking this selection.


Scanner Commands
Enter the Virus Scanner Command line option in this edit field. We've entered the standard McAfee command line options here for you. If you are using the McAfee Scan95 program, you can leave this as is.


Scanner Directory
The Virus Scanner Directory and Program edit entry is asking for the location of your virus scanner and the program name. You can click on the button and search for the scanner if you like. We've entered the default McAfee directory for you as an example.


Skip The Splash Screen
This will skip the McAfee splash screen. Again, this is recommended for optimum speed.


Sound Alert When Virus Detected
This selection will sound an audio alert when virus is detected. We suggest checking this selection.


Stop And Notify When A Virus Is Detected
This will tell the virus checker to stop and notify you when a virus is detected. We strongly recommend this selection.


Technical Support

Technical Support can be received by email to Paul Mayer at Shareware_MSN@msn.com or by mail. We prefer email as a mode for obvious reason for this type of application.


Temporary Directory
Enter the Temporary Directory location in this edit field. This would be the directory that you created above.  You can click on the button and search for the directory if you like.


The Virus Checking

After the file extraction is complete, the real working Dialog will open. This is where you will un-compress any LZE compressed files and perform the virus checking. Let's look at the screen showing the typical contents from an extracted ZIP file:

Notice that in the list box you see files with an underscore for the third character of the file extension. Those are LZE compressed files. If you see any file extensions like that, click on the Uncompress button.

The uncompress button will use the Windows 95 LZEXPAND.DLL to expand the files to a state where they can be virus checked. If you don't see any files with the underscore as the last character as above, you don't need to click on the expand button.

Click on the buttons above for an explanation on each of them. These hot spots will complete the needed information for scanning as well as other features.

Note: If you use the Preview and get a file association error, you can use the Windows 95 Explorer to try and open that file in the temporary directory with a program like NotePad or WordPad. However, some files are not of the type that you can view.

Note: When setting up the defaults in your Scan95 program you should select the option to scan all files to insure that you are completely safe.


Tips or Tricks

VirusScan95 Tip

There are several tips or tricks to make the virus checking even faster if you are using the McAfee virus scanning tools. (Note: This information is for your information only as we do have a custom McAfee setup routine in our configuration tools for the Virus Checking Assistant. By chaning these settings, you can change the way the McAfee scanner works in your normal day to day operations.)

If you check the readme file from the McAfee tools, you will see there are several options that can be changed. Open the default.vsc file found in the Mcafee files directory in an editor such as notepad.exe.

Note the area titled ScanOptions which will look something like this:

[ScanOptions]

szProgramExtensions=386 BIN COM DLL DRV FON EXE OVL SYS VXD DO?

szDefaultProgramExtensions=386 BIN COM DLL DRV FON EXE OVL SYS VXD DO?

szScanItem=C:\

bIncludeSubFolders=1

bScanAllFiles=1

bScanCompressed=1

uScanAction=2

bAutoStart=1

bAutoExit=1

bSkipMemoryScan=0

bSkipBootScan=0

bSkipSplash=1

bPreserveAccessDate=1

szTaskName=

szMoveToFolder=

UIType=0

bAlwaysExit=0

nPriority=0

We have highlighted several items that we've flagged in our use to make the scanning faster and more automated.

bScanAll Files is set to 1 to force scanning all files that we unZip.

bAutoStart is set to 1 to have the scanner start as soon as it opens.

bAutoExit is set to 1 to close the scanner when it completes the scan.

bSkipSplash is set to 1 to bypass the startup splash screen.

We have actually made setting these as easy as pie for you in the configuration of the Virus Checking Assistant. Click this sentence to see.

Installing the programs you've checked?

After the virus check step, you can select the setup.exe or install.exe file and use the Preview button to execute the setup or install program. Then after installation simply click the Delete and exit button to clean up the temporary directory.


Uncompress Button
The Uncompress Button will expand all of the LZE compressed files in a setup package. These are files that have an underscore as the last character of the file name.


Using the Virus Checking Assistant


Virus Check Button
The Virus Check Button will launch your virus checker to scan the files in the temporary directory. After the virus scan is done and you've seen the screen to insure there are no viruses, click on the close button to close the virus scanner.


Welcome

Welcome to the Virus Checking Assistant!

This program was created to assist the forum managers of the Shareware Forum on the Microsoft Network in virus checking the user file submissions to the forum. Several factors were involved, speed to make the process as efficient as possible and a way of automating the process to just use a single application in the process.

We use the McAfee virus scanning tool Scan95 and this application was wrote to interface with that product. It can be configured to use other virus checkers if they support command line switches to run them automatically as with the McAfee tools.

The McAfee virus tools are available in the Shareware Forum's Shareware Tools Library. as well as from McAfee's various download sites on various on-line services around the world.

As our standard file format for files in the Shareware Forum is in compressed ZIP files, this application will extract the files from a ZIP library into a temporary working directory for virus checking. If there are any LZE compressed files inside of the archive as used by many applications using the Microsoft SETUP system, you can expand those files before virus checking.

Note: A virus checker cannot check the LZE compressed files unless they are uncompressed and restored to their original state.

After the application has uncompressed the ZIP and any LZE files, it will allow you to launch the virus checker and then delete the files from the temporary directory and move on to the next file you've selected for virus checking.

The program looks for ZIP and EXE files that you've downloaded in a "download" directory. The reason for EXE files is that many files are stored in self extracting ZIP files with a file extension of EXE.

Why would you want to use this program? Because of the potential of catching a virus is much greater on the Internet than it has been ever in the on-line world. Most organized on-line services such as The Microsoft Network check the files before making them available to the members for downloading. The Internet on the other hand is unregulated and unpoliced and a very potential source for easily catching a virus if you don't check every file you download.

This program will make that checking easier and quicker for you.

This is a shareware Program and you have a 30 day evaluation period to try before you buy. The registration is only $10.00 and you will receive a copy without the shareware registration reminder screen by mail for this fee.

To register, send a check for $10.00 to:

ZPAY Payroll Systems, Inc.

Dept: Virus Checking Assistant

2526 69th Ave So

St. Petersburg  FL  33712-5631

Send a letter requesting a Virus Checking Assistant registration and supply us with your name, address and phone number. Or click this button to print a registration form:

Click Contents to start using the Virus Checking Assistant!