Some of the PCs in our corporate network are infected with Virus. How to identify which PCs are infected?

Question

Most of the PCs are Windows 98 / Windows 2000.

There are more than 300 PCs in the network ( intranet ) . Most of them are Windows 98 / Windows 2000.

Answer 1

I'd not worry about which are and which aren't (infected)...I'd run a virus program that scans, cleans, disinfects and deletes infected files on ALL computers. That way you have no worries about trying to figure out which ones are, or aren't, and cover all the bases in one swoop!

PS...try Panda Virus Scan, the professional edition...it's the best on the market, with hourly updates on newest viruses!

Answer 2

As stated already, you will have to scan and clean every PC on the network. You can do this by either putting AV software on every computer and running it, or you can get a server based AV software and have it run from your network server.

But, that is just part of the picture. You need to consider a defense in depth strategy. Defense in Depth is deploying multiple layers of security just like a secured building. A secured building has things like a perimeter fence, guarded gate, video cameras, locked doors, internal access control to sensitive areas within the building, etc, etc.

Start deploying some form of firewall between your company and the internet. You can use the firewall to keep malicious traffic and unwanted users out. You can also set up rules to prevent people from going to sites that are known to drop viruses, spyware, or other little nasties. Be careful here though, depending on what country you reside in, there may be privacy laws that prevent you from doing certain filtering and logging. If you have very sensitive parts of your company (say payroll or R&D), you can also use internal firewalls to further segment and protect those areas.

You can also incorporate some form of Intrusion Detection (IDS) or Intrusion protection system (IPS) into your network that is capable of dealing with viruses as part of its portfolio.

Something else to consider is a network based service such as Message Labs Managed Email Content services which filter AV, porn, spam and other unwanteds from your email. ML's MEC is a network based service; you redirect all your Internet mail through their servers. Of course, there are other companies that offer similar products; I just happen to be familiar ML (no, I don't work for them). For example, Blue Coat builds proxy servers you can manage yourself if your company has the capability and preference to do so.

Of course, the one thing many folks forget is to educate their users. The more users know about how viruses come into the network and how to spot "bad" email, etc, etc, the safer your network will be.

Now, before you begin looking into all of this, your company needs to write a security policy and a set of security proceedures. Policy and Procedures will define what you want to accomplish, what tools you need to accomplish this (e.g. IPS, firewall, etc), provides direction, and clearly defines to users what they can/can not do and the ramifications for not following corporate policy. Policy and Procedures are something many companies overlook or just do a sloppy job with because they don't put a premium priority on it. They need to - after 16 years in this industry, I tell you, they need to.

Good Luck with your PC's.

Answer 3

Unless you have network edition of virus app. you are going to have to go through them one at a time I guess

Answer 4

Just get powerful antivirus packages like norton antivirus 2006.................. always updates the virus definitions........... and whichever antivirus used by you.............