Using the virus work disk. Whenever a PC comes in for service, use one of your antivirus work disk. Professionals always create antivirus diskettes in batches because the diskettes are disposable. That is, if a virus is detected and cleaned, the diskette that detected the infection should be destroyed, and you should boot the system with a new work disk to locate any other instances of the same virus, or any different viruses. This may seem radical, but it is cheap insurance against cross-contamination of the diskette. Once a system is booted with a work disk and checks clean, you can put that work disk away, and boot the system again with a diagnostic or boot disk as required. it is also advisable to check the PC for viruses again once the repair is complete.
Problem with antivirus tools. The protocol outlined above should help to protect you (and your customer) from virus attacks. Still there are two situations where trouble can occur:
- Virus checkers get obsolete fast. Viruses are prolifierating with the aid of powerful new programming languages and vast avenues of distribution such as the Internet. You will need to update your virus work disks regularly with the very latest antivirus software. Too often, technicians buy an antivirus package and continue to use it for years. The software certainly remain adept at detecting the viruses it was designed for, but it does not take into account the many new strains that crop up regularly. As a result, older virus checkers may allow newer viruses to pass undectected.
- Technicians get cheap with their floppy disks. If a work disk detects and eliminates a virus, It should be considered contaminated, and you should throw it away. Start again with a fresh work diskette. Continue checking and eradicting viruses until the system checks clean. The 40 cents or so that the diskette costs is not worth the risk of contracting the virus.
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