strange behavior

[pkgold]

Hi, I had excellent help on this list to fix a recent problem by going
to the "Normal" file , deleting it, then quitting and restarting word.
All this is on a fairly new computer with word 2004. Now I seem to get
other strange things happening (New documents with a large Happy
Birthday Shankar heading--how wierd!) and other such things, and what I
find is that if I go and delete the normal file it fixes it. what can
I do to stop the problem from recurring? thanks, pkgold

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

I think you've picked up a virus: It's probably in the Happy Birthday
Shankar heading.

Delete that file, and Normal, and empty your trash, then reboot, and you
should be OK.

I would recommend you install and run an up-to-date anti-virus product,
unfortunately there are some issues with the Mac contenders.

Norton Internet Security is known for causing problems: I uninstalled it.
McAfee Virex apparently works OK, but I have heard complaints of performance
problems. Sophos Small Business Edition is too expensive unless you really
are running a small business

I would be inclines to download the free trial for one of them, and let it
look to see if you actually have a virus on your system.

Hi, I had excellent help on this list to fix a recent problem by going
to the "Normal" file , deleting it, then quitting and restarting word.
All this is on a fairly new computer with word 2004. Now I seem to get
other strange things happening (New documents with a large Happy
Birthday Shankar heading--how wierd!) and other such things, and what I
find is that if I go and delete the normal file it fixes it. what can
I do to stop the problem from recurring? thanks, pkgold

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[Beth Rosengard]

And I'm running VirusBarrier X which was very highly rated by MacWorld.

Beth

 

[pkgold]

Hi Beth, I have looked into buying this product--virus barrier
X--looks like it sells for about $50. I can't seem to find any
download trials. Is that about what you paid? Thanks, Phyllis

 

[pkgold]

Hi John, thanks for your help with this. I do think it is a virus
because the problem keeps returning. I looked for free trials of
anything that would detect the problem but could only find free trials
for PC products and not for Mac. Do you know if free trials actually
exist for mac products? Thanks, Phyllis

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Phyllis,

Sorry, I don't remember what I paid. If there's a trial download, it should
say on their website.

Beth

 

[Clive Huggan]

I've used McAfee Virex (on subscription) for ages and haven't had any
problem with it (nor with nasties, but that isn't surprising; some people
argue convincingly that they aren't necessary and when something comes out
there will be enough time to protect; but I'm no expert).

Clive Huggan
============

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello-

A 30-day trial version of VbX can be downloaded from;

http://www.tucows.com/get/316334_119637

It will _not_, however, repair any infections it might detect.

Good Luck |:>)

 

[pkgold]

Hi John, where did you find the free trial? thanks, Phyllis

 

[Jeff Wiseman]

John, with all due respect, you couldn't PAY me to put Virex back
on my Mac. There was a tremendous amount of grief by lots of
folks in the Apple forums because of that application as well as
some trashed hard drives. Apple used to give it out free with
their .Mac membership but when all the flak hit the forums, they
(as usual) started censoring it all, that's why you don't see
much on it now, they deleted all the threads on it. I know
because I read several of them hours after they were posted and
in some cases minutes before they were deleted. However, as a
result of the flak, Apple seems to have eventually got the idea
pulled the product from the .Mac collection. In fact, at one
point they put the older Virex back up on the .Mac software site
along with the newer buggy one.

As I remember correctly, there was one version that didn't work
too bad (it was 2 or 3 releases prior to Apple pulling the plug
on it). It was a "manual" type operation where you had to tell it
to go check everything. Folks seemed to like it some and there
didn't seem to be too many problems. However, as soon as they
added in the "automatic" stuff that continued to check things in
the background people started reporting everything from PC like
antiviruscheck slowdowns to trashed disks and screwed up OS's.

Just now checked my old notes on this. Version 7.2.1 seemed to
have been the last "stable" one although it was one of the
"manual" operated ones. All of the 7.5.x versions are viewed as
dangerous by many.

Intego Virus Barrier X is a Mac focused product. ClamAV
www.clamav.net is a freeware open source app. I'm not familiar
with either but I've heard reasonably good reviews from others on
these (meaning of all the reports I've heard, none were "bad")

- Jeff

 

[pkgold]

Hi Jeff , Thanks for the warning on Virex. Someone else mentioned
Intego. Interesting when I asked about it at the Apple store they
didn't recommend it. I checked out clamav.net and that is for
detecting viruses coming in through email. Does it work for downloads
as well do you know? And I am guessing that it wouldn't fix the virus
I already have in microsoft word. I may have to buy the intego but
would rather use the freeware of course. Thanks for help with
clarifying the way these things work. Best, Phyllis

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Phyllis,

See here:
<http://www.macworld.com/2005/02/reviews/antivirussoftware/index.php>

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
MacOffice MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
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Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[pkgold]

Thanks Beth, this is helpful. Best, Phyllis

 

[Clive Huggan]

Jeff,

When I mentioned in this thread that I had had no problems with Virex over a
long period, I did not mention that I do not have it set to automatically
operate.

Intego were behind the big beat-ups about [non-existent] OS X viruses
earlier this year, and consequently I will not buy their products (if they
beat up a non-existent threat for free advertising, what is their integrity
in developing the product?).

So I continue to use Virex, but not on automatic-everything.

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
============

 

[Jeff Wiseman]

I'm glad to hear that. Just curious here, but what Version are
you using?

 

[pkgold]

Just to interject here I am getting ready to buy intego virus Barrier
X. After reading everything here it seems like the best idea and I
really should get rid of the virus I have. I would prefer to go with
the free clam download but I don't think that will heal my current
wounds. Thanks to all for the interesting and useful insights and
information. Best, Phyllis

 

[pkgold]

Well, I just went to the site and magically there is a free trial I
didn't see there before. So I may use that and then switch to the clam
AV. I will have to see if the free trial will actually cure my virus
or will just detect it. Thanks, Phyllis

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Just to interject here I am getting ready to buy intego virus Barrier
X. After reading everything here it seems like the best idea and I
really should get rid of the virus I have. I would prefer to go with
the free clam download but I don't think that will heal my current
wounds. Thanks to all for the interesting and useful insights and
information. Best, Phyllis

McAfee just released an update of Virex today for Tiger.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

The latest free trial from their website: 7.6...

I'm glad to hear that. Just curious here, but what Version are
you using?

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Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
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John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410