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-
- Installation of F-PROT
-
- My primary goal when I was designing the F-PROT package was to make the
- protection almost invisible to the user. I did not want to cause alarm by
- constantly displaying warning messages, saying that "Something might be wrong".
- At the same time, I wanted to make the package powerful and provide as much
- security as possible.
-
- I also wanted to provide full protection against all viruses, both those
- known today and also the viruses that may appear in the future.
-
- Another problem is that different users have different requirements. Some
- want as much security as possible, even if it may mean a little inconvenience
- at times. Other users do not even want to know of the existence of the
- protection, unless a virus strikes.
-
- F-PROT had to be divided into several separate programs, to make this
- possible. A full description on how to use each program can be found in
- USAGE.TXT, but here are the steps needed to install the package.
-
- One word of warning - although F-PROT is easy to use, it is a bit
- complicated to install. Be careful and know what you are doing. The
- installation instructions assume that you have a good knowledge of DOS
- commands and know how to use a text editor. A version that will provide
- "auto-install" is currently under development.
-
- Step 1) Create a directory with the name F-PROT on the drive or diskette
- you boot from. Copy at least the following files there:
-
- F-DRIVER.SYS
- F-OSCHK.EXE
- F-FCHK.EXE
- SIGN.TXT
- F-XLOCK.EXE
-
- Step 2) Add the following line to the CONFIG.SYS file:
-
- DEVICE=F-PROT\F-DRIVER.SYS
-
- This will protect you from the viruses described in FILVIR.TXT
- and BOOTVIR.TXT and it should also provide protection from any new
- boot sector viruses. Best of all, it only uses around 2300 bytes
- of memory.
-
- Turn the computer off. Wait. Turn it back on. You should see the
- message:
-
- F-DRIVER version 1.14 installed
-
- If F-DRIVER detects an infection, you will have to reboot from a
- "clean" diskette and disinfect before you can continue.
-
- If you are using a Novell network, you need to copy the file
- F-NET.EXE to the F-PROT directory and add the command
-
- F-PROT\F-NET
-
- to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, after the network software is run.
- Otherwise F-DRIVER.SYS will only protect you from viruses on your
- own computer, not virus-infected programs on the network server.
-
- Step 3) Now you are protected from all the viruses listed in FILVIR.TXT
- and BOOTVIR.TXT. You can double-check that, by giving the command:
-
- F-SYSCHK
-
- This program will scan the memory for any resident viruses.
- Running F-SYSCHK should not be necessary, unless you skip step 2.
-
- Step 4) Run the F-FCHK program to look for infected programs.
-
- Example: F-FCHK C:\
-
- The above command will search every program on the C: drive for
- infection by known viruses. If you have a large hard disk, you
- need to give one command for each drive (C:, D:, etc.)
-
- Step 5) Run the F-OSCHK program, with no parameters. It will display
- five numbers, which are encrypted checksums of the operating
- system files, the boot sector and the partition boot record. Add
- the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file,
-
- F-PROT\F-OSCHK vvvvv wwwww xxxxx yyyyy zzzzz
-
- where vvvvv, wwwww etc. are the five numbers produced
- before. This will provide added security for the operating
- system.
-
- Step 6) Use the F-XLOCK program to add the self-testing module to your
- .EXE and .COM files. You do not need to modify every program,
- but you should use F-XLOCK on your most used programs.
- For example, if many of your executable files are stored in
- the \BIN subdirectory on drive C:, you simply give the command:
-
- F-XLOCK C:\BIN\*.*
-
- This will modify the .EXE and .COM files in that directory, so
- they will check that they have not been infected, every time they
- are run. It will not prevent them from becoming infected, but you
- will be alerted the first time an infected program is run. This
- should provide protection against new program viruses. F-DRIVER
- should protect you against all "old" viruses.
-
- One word of warning - in some cases you are not allowed to make
- any changes to programs you buy, so read the license first.
-
- Also, some recent programs perform their own self-checking, so
- they will assume that the self-testing module is a virus infection,
- forcing you to remove it by using F-UNÆLOCK
-
- Step 7) Make COMMAND.COM and every .EXE and .COM file read-only, unless
- the program needs to be able to modify itself. This can be done
- by giving the commands
-
- ATTRIB +R *.EXE
- ATTRIB +R *.COM
-
- in every directory that contains executable files. This provides
- almost no protection against most viruses, but is nevertheless
- advisable, so you don't delete the files by mistake.
-
- If you install the F-LOCK program, as described below, it will
- intercept any attempt to make a read-only executable file
- writable again.
-
- The six steps described above will provide very good protection against
- all viruses.
-
- However, those programs are not effective against Trojans, that may try
- to format your hard disk or do something equally nasty. They will only
- protect you from viruses.
-
- If you also want protection from Trojans, you should perform the next step.
- It may, however, cause a bit of inconvenience at times, since any "suspicious"
- activity will produce a pop-up window.
-
- Step 8) Copy the programs F-LOCK.EXE and F-POPUP.EXE to the F-PROT directory.
- Add the following commands to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, preferably at
- the beginning:
-
- F-PROT\F-LOCK
- F-PROT\F-POPUP
-
- The programs will be installed in memory, where they occupy around
- 4K. They will monitor all activity in the computer and produce a
- warning message when something suspicious is going on, allowing
- you to stop the program in question before it does any harm.
-
- You should not perform step 8 if you are running MS-Windows.
-
- Finally, one program can be used to provide an additional level of security.
- It can, however, only rarely be used. You should only use it on computers
- where there is no software development, and new programs are only rarely
- installed. See USAGE.TXT for additional information.
-
- Step 9) Lock every .EXE and .COM file used on the computer, using the F-XLOCK
- program as described before (Step 6). Copy the F-XCHK.EXE program to
- the F-PROT directory, and add the following command to AUTOEXEC.BAT
-
- F-PROT\F-XCHK
-
- Now it will not be possible to run any programs not locked by
- using F-XLOCK. In addition, all programs are checked for modifications,
- before they are run. This will prevent the activation of any
- program viruses on your computer.
-
- The installation is now finished. You should use F-FCHK on all programs
- you receive, before installing them on your computer, just to be sure
- they do not contain any known viruses. You should also use F-DISINF to
- scan all diskettes you receive.
-