home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2
/
The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO
/
virus
/
viralert.zip
/
README.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-02-19
|
19KB
|
433 lines
VirAlert 1.02
Copyright 1992 by
Buchanan Consulting Services
All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to use this version of VirAlert without cost
until 30 April 1992. After that date you must register the product
to continue using it. If you have obtained this version after that
date you may use it for one week for evaluation before registration
is required.
Registered users receive the latest version of VirAlert. Registration
is $20 for a single user, $100 for a single site license for up to 100
users. Larger sites and company licenses are $1 per user.
Send Registrations to:
Buchanan Consulting Services
6120 E. 77
Tulsa, OK. 74136
This is a copy of the help that is available from the main menu of
VirAlert by pressing the H (Help) selection.
NOTE TO SYSOPS: This product is an upgrade of a product that was originally
released using the name ViruSafe. That name was already in use with
another product. To avoid confusion I have changed the name of this
product to VirAlert. If you have a copy of ViruSafe.ZIP version 1 or
version 1.01 on your board, please delete it and replace with this
version of VirAlert.
********************** ATTENTION BBS SYSOPS *****************************
* Sysops can receive registered versions of VirAlert free *
* of charge as long as they make the unregistered version available *
* for download. If you run a BBS, send me a request and the number for *
* your system. I will send you a disk with a registered copy of *
* VirAlert on it. A donation of a dollar or two to help with postage *
* would be appreciated but is not necessary. *
* *
* SYSOP BONUS! I know how expensive it is to maintain a BBS system. *
* In order to encourage distribution of VirAlert and to help with your *
* expenses I am offering a unique BBS registration plan. As a BBS *
* operator you are entitled to a free registered copy of VirAlert. In *
* addition you can request to participate in our BBS registration plan. *
* If you choose to do so, we will assign your board a unique serial *
* number that is listed in the REGISTER.DOC file. Any time we get a *
* paid registration from your board, we will donate $2.00 to you to *
* help with the expense of operating your system. *
*************************************************************************
WHAT IS VirAlert?
VirAlert is a new approach to computer virus protection. It protects
your system by recording multiple checksums and CRCs for designated files
on your disk. You can have VirAlert check the recorded CRCs
against the files to see if the files have been modified in any way.
The records maintained in the CRC data file have multiple
interlocking checksums and CRC checks to ensure the integrity of both
the CRC data file and the files being checked.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS PRODUCT?
Most other anti-virus products work by attempting to match code
fragments from known viruses against the files on your disk. There
are several good products on the market that do this. I recommend
that you invest in one of those products as well as this one.
The problem with the code fragment matching scheme is that the vendor
must KNOW about the virus in order to be able to find it. Vendors
are forced to ship out constant upgrades to keep up with new viruses.
The last update of one such product that I got had 200 more viruses
listed than the version from just a couple of months previous!
The number and virulence of viruses is now growing at a frightening
rate. Virus hackers are now combining and mutating existing viruses
at a rapid pace. Keeping up with this task is a neverending process.
VirAlert gets around the problem of recognizing virus fragments. It
records checksums and CRC checks on your files when you have them in
a known virus-free condition. Thereafter all you have to do is run
the comparison routine to see if your files have changed. With this
scheme you would theoretically never need an update to keep up with
new virus strains.
HOW TO RUN THE PRODUCT.
1. Copy the program file VirAlert.EXE onto your hard disk. You
can save yourself some typing if you add the directory VirAlert
is in to your PATH.
2. If you have any other virus checking programs, run them before
you begin adding records to the CRC file. You must have a virus
free system to begin with for VirAlert to work properly.
3. Assuming VirAlert.EXE is in your path, simply type in VirAlert
from a DOS prompt and press ENTER. VirAlert will then start up
and run a quick self test for virus infection. If it passes the
self check, it will go on to a logo screen and the main menu.
You can eliminate any possibility of second hand virus
infestation by sending the registration fee to Buchanan
Consulting Services. You will receive the latest version
of the product on a diskette. Please specify 5 1/4 360k,
5 1/4 1.2 meg., 3 1/2 720k, or 3 1/2 1.44 meg.
4. VirAlert works by recording checksums and CRCs on files you select.
Those crc records are kept in a data file. The default crc data
file is named CRC.DAT and resides in the root directory of the
drive that is your current drive. I use the defaults on my system
so I have a CRC.DAT file in the root directory of each of my drives.
If you want to record CRC information for several drives all in the
same CRC file, you can override the default CRC data file name by
entering it on the command line when you start VirAlert. As an
example if you wanted to put all your CRC information in file
C:\VirAlert\CRC.DAT then use the following command line:
VirAlert C:\VirAlert\CRC.DAT
Note that if you override the default, you will need to provide
the file name each time you start up VirAlert. The simplest way
to do that would be to put the VirAlert startup in a .BAT file.
You might want to make several different CRC files for different
purposes such as recording CRCs for different network drives or
for recording the CRCs of all the files for a given project or
release of a product.
If you get an error opening the CRC.DAT file, check the following
things:
1) If you are on a network drive make sure you have write
permission on the directory CRC.DAT is located.
2) If you are on a local drive make sure the drive and
directory for CRC.DAT exist.
5. Decide which files you want to check. COM and EXE files are the
most common virus targets. You will probably want to use one of
the Add Multiple Files selections to add all COM and EXE files to the
CRC file. This selection will expand wild card specifications and
cycle through any subdirectories of the given directory.
Examples using Add Multiple Files selection:
C:\*.EXE will add all EXE files in all directories of drive C.
C:\*.COM will add all COM files in all directories of drive C.
C:\*.* will add ALL files in all directories of drive C.
C:\BIN\*.BAT will add all BAT files in directory C:\BIN and
all subdirectories of C:\BIN.
Please note the complete DRIVE:\DIRECTRY\FILENAME.EXT usage. You must
have each part for the wild card expansion to work correctly.
As an example: If you want ALL the files in directory C:\BIN you
must specify it as: C:\BIN\*.*
You CANNOT specify it as C:\BIN or C:\BIN\* or C:\BIN\*.
You can use the * and ? as wild card characters. * matches any
number of characters while ? matches any one character. More
examples:
C:\BIN\RESUME?.DOC
C:\BIN\*.DOC
C:\BIN\RE*.DO*
C:\BIN\RE*.DO?
C:\?23.EXE
6. You can add ANY file that you want checked including data files.
Don't bother adding data files that change often. You'll just
get a lot of worthless changed notifications.
THE MENU
You can make your selection from the main menu by either pressing the
first letter of the desired selection or using the arrow keys to move
the hilite to the desired selected followed by pressing Enter. You
can interrupt selections that work on multiple files by pressing the
Esc key. That will take you back to the main menu.
VirAlert Menu
A - Add a single file to the crc file.
M - Add Multiple files & recurse subdirectories.
N - Add multiple files from a single directory.
F - File Check. Do a CRC check on a single file.
T - Test Files. Run a CRC check on all files.
Q - Quick Check. Run quick CRC check on all files.
L - Login to a different CRC file.
D - Delete a file record from the crc file.
S - Search for a file name in the crc file.
C - Compute and Display a CRC for a file.
H - Help about VirAlert.
V - View file list from CRC file.
X - Exit
Selections:
A - Add a single file to the crc file.
This selection lets you record a CRC for a single file. No
wild card specification is allowed. You will be prompted for
a file name. IMPORTANT: Type in a COMPLETE file specification
INCLUDING the drive letter and directory.
Example: Use C:\\BIN\\TEST.EXE
Do NOT Use \\BIN\\TEST.EXE
If a CRC record for the file already exists, it will be updated.
M - Add Multiple files & recurse subdirectories.
This selection was added to allow mass additions to the CRC data
file. You will be prompted for a path name. YOU MUST GIVE A
COMPLETE DRIVE:\\DIRECTORY\\MASK.EXT SPECIFICATION. This selection
will recurse through all subdirectories below the directory you
specify.
You can interrupt this operation at any time by pressing the Esc
key. That will take you back to the main menu.
If a CRC record already exists for a file, it will be updated.
N - Add multiple files from a single directory.
Same as selection M except it does not recurse through subdirectories.
You can interrupt this operation at any time by pressing the Esc
key. That will take you back to the main menu.
If a CRC record already exists for a file, it will be updated.
F - File Check. Do a CRC check on a single file.
This option does a complete CRC check on a single file based on
the CRC values for the file that are stored in the CRC data file.
The file must previously have been added to the CRC data file
with selection A, M, or N.
T - Test Files. Run a CRC check on all files.
The selection performs a complete CRC check on all the files
stored in the CRC data file. Each file checked is listed on the
screen. If a file fails the CRC check, VirAlert rings the bell
once and pauses for you to hit a key.
You can interrupt the test by pressing the Esc key. A summary
screen is displayed at the end that gives the number of files
checked and how many passed and didn't pass.
Q - Quick Check. Run quick CRC check on all files.
This option is about 6 times faster than the T option. It checks
file date and size, and does a quick CRC calculation from selected
portions of each file instead of using the whole file. The portions
checked are at the front of the file that is most likely to be hooked
in to by a virus.
You can interrupt this operation at any time by pressing the Esc
key. That will take you back to the main menu.
L - Login to a different CRC file.
Lets you switch CRC data files without have to exit VirAlert.
D - Delete a file record from the crc file.
Delete single file records from the CRC file. You will be
prompted for a file name.
S - Search for a file name in the crc file.
Use this selection if you want to find out if a CRC record already
exists for a given file. You will be prompted for a file name.
C - Compute and Display a CRC for a file.
This option displays 2 CRC values for a file. You can use this
selection to verify that a single file has not changed. We have
our customers run this and read us back the crc values. That way
we can determine if our programs have been corrupted or modified.
You will be prompted for a file name. The file name does not
have to be in the CRC data file.
H - Help about VirAlert
This screen.
V - View file list from CRC file
Show a list of all the entries in the CRC data file.
X - Exit
Exit back to DOS.
OTHER USES FOR VirAlert
VirAlert can be used as a utility for other reasons than checking for
viruses. We use it in our business for some of the following
purposes:
1. During software development you can take a snapshot of the modules
that you are developing. Later you can check to see exactly which
modules have changed since the last time you updated the CRC file.
2. When we send a software product out over a modem we run VirAlert
to make sure all the required files arrived and were not garbled
in transmission.
3. As a LAN administrator you can obtain lists of any files on your
network that have been updated or modified.
WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE
This first commercial release of VirAlert is basically a somewhat
dressed up version of a utility that I wrote for my own use. I
have added better menus and the help screens to the version I have
been using.
Version 2 of VirAlert for DOS is planned for release in April 1992. It
will contain a much improved menu system, more help screens and command
line options. Command line options will be added to allow unattended
operation and operation from a batch file.
A Windows version is planned for May 1992. It will include the
improvements slated for version 2. Note that you can run VirAlert in
a DOS window in 386 enhanced mode. This is actually the way I run
it. I start a DOS window, start the program scanning, then switch to
another window to do other work.
Other enhancements in the works for later release:
1. An improved fast check option that includes more CRCs and checks
the back end of a file as well as the front.
2. Include a virus fragment scan option. I am not going to try
and keep up with the other vendors in this area. There are
several good products on the market and I urge you to use at
least one of them in conjunction with VirAlert. What I can
do is include scanning for several of the most widespread
viruses. Look for this improvement late summer of 1992.
3. More CRC checks. Right now 4 independent checks are done to
check the integrity of your files and the integrity of the
CRC data file. I am adding more sophisticated and redundant
algorithms.
ON THE REGISTRATION FEE
I have given permission to use version 1 of the product until the end
of April 1992. If you first obtained your copy of VirAlert after
April 30, 1992 you have permission to use it for 1 week from the date
you first obtained it. After that if you like the product and would
like to continue using it, please send me the registration fee of $20.
You will receive the latest version available at that time which will be
at least version 2. The $20 fee covers a single user.
To make it easy for you, I have included a document in this zip file
called REGISTER.DOC. You can print this out and send it along with
your registration fee. If you don't have a printer you can just write
me a letter with the request. Please be sure and include your name,
address, type of license requested, and type of diskette you need. Also
please include the serial number listed at the top of REGISTER.DOC. I
use this serial number to track the bulletin board this software first
came from. I send a donation of $2.00 to the BBS operator for each
registration I get from that board. Support your local BBS by registering
VirAlert with us.
ON SITE LICENSES
I would like to make this as simple and convenient as possible. So I
am going to offer the following choices:
1. A single site license for up to 100 users for $100. A single
site is defined as users within a single building or buildings
that are within a 500 foot radius of each other.
2. Large sites or corporate licenses are available for one dollar
per user. If your company has 225 users, that would be $225.
For a site license you will receive permission to use the product
indefinitely. You will also receive all upgrades of the product and
both the DOS and Windows (when it becomes available) versions for a
period of one year. Additional years of upgrades will be offered to
site licenses for a deeply reduced rate.
WARRANTY
I have to include a standard disclaimer of not being responsible
for any damages of any kind that may result from the use of this
product. There is no warranty of any kind written or implied
for this product. Use at your own risk.
*********** COMING SOON FROM BUCHANAN CONSULTING SERVICES *********
VirAlert for Windows! Expected delivery in May 1992.
SafeStart! Program launcher that includes the quick scan option
from VirAlert. Ideal for use in menuing systems. As an example
assuming the SafeStart program is called SS.EXE and you want to
run TEST.EXE - enter the following: SS TEST
SafeStart will locate TEST.EXE in your crc data file and check out
TEST.EXE before starting it. If there is any problem, you will be
notified and given a chance to abort the launch. Expected delivery
of DOS version in June 1992.
*******************************************************************
Change History:
19FEB1992 V1.02 Changed name from ViruSafe to VirAlert. There was
already a product on the market with the name
Virusafe. To avoid confusion the name has been
changed. NOTE TO SYSOPS: If you have a copy of
ViruSafe.ZIP version 1 or 1.01 on your system, please
delete it and replace it with this one.
Added CRC file login feature. You don't have to exit
to DOS and start up VirAlert again to switch to a
different CRC file.
12FEB1992 V1.01 Added REGISTER.DOC file to the zip. Started the BBS
registration program. Added BBS serial numbers to
the product to track distribution.
05FEB1992 V1 Initial release of ViruSafe (Name later changed to
VirAlert.)
*************************** END OF HELP ***********************************