Please disregard my previous post. I was interrupted and inadvertently
sent it before I realized that I hadn't finished the story. Read on...

I have AVG Antivirus Free version on my computer, set to scan all emails
and every type of file. The virus database is dated June 13, 2002.
I am using Netscape messenger 4.77 for email and my OS is Win98SE.

Ian sent me three emails with infected attachments. They arrived in my
mailbox without triggering any alerts. Furthermore, AVG did not detect
anything when it scanned the mail folder on my hard drive. Hmm...Should
I be worried? Maybe.

I was able to Shift-Click on two of the attachments and save them in a
folder without a response from AVG. However, when I tried to access the
folder in Explorer, AVG DID detect the Klez virus in these two files.
AVG also detected the Klez virus in the other attachments when I clicked
on them or when I shift-clicked on them.

So...although the viruses arrived undetected in my inbox, AVG prevented
any access to the infected files without a clear warning. That would
make me safe, wouldn't it? I don't think "the horse has bolted," as Ian
suggests.
However, I wonder about viruses that arrive via email but don't require
the recipient to open any attachments. I have heard that such viruses
exist. Do they?

There is always the possibility that these files may not actually be
infected. They may just contain something that looks like Klez to AVG. I
have no way of really knowing unless I open them and watch to see if
anything happens to my computer that I know is caused by Klez. I'll give
that a miss--don't want the hassle.

Personally, I still feel safe with AVG. I have found it easy to use,
configure and update. It is also unobtrusive and seems not to affect
performance and to work on all versions of Windows. Not so with McAfee
and Norton. AVG being free as well, clinches it for me. It has not let
me down yet, so I'll keep on using it.  ;>)

Cheers, Kevin

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