5. DOS RECOVERY

F-PROT.EXE MENU OPTIONS

Run F-PROT.EXE by typing the following from the DOS command line. Make sure you press the [ENTER]after each command.

F-PROT

Each time you run F-PROT.EXEit scans for viruses in memory. When the memory check is complete the following menu with the items Scan, Configure, Viruses, Program and Quit appears.

Main Menu Screen

You may select a command from the menu in one of two ways:

1. Press the highlighted letter from the keyboard. For example, the letter Q in QUIT is highlighted.
2. With the arrow keys, move the highlight bar to the command and press[ENTER]

SCAN

When you select "Scan" from the main menu, the scanning menu appears. From this menu, you can scan for viruses on both local and network drives. You may configure how F-PROT Professional scans by selecting the other options that appear on this menu. Press [ESC] at anytime to abort a scan in progress.

Main Menu Screen

The following sections discuss the commands and options available from this initial menu.

BEGIN SCAN

Select this item and press [ENTER] to begin scanning. The F10 key will also start this process.

Scan Method Screen

Method

When you choose this menu item and press [ENTER], a sub-menu appears from which you select the type of scan to perform. Two types of scanning are available and each offers advantages. Use the arrow keys to highlight the type of scan you wish to perform and press [ENTER]. Remember, the scan does not start until you select "Begin Scan".

Secure Scan

"Secure Scan" uses two different signatures when scanning for a virus and reports the variant of virus found. Secure Scan also checks for Trojan Horses and polymorphic viruses.

Heuristic Scan

This method of scanning does not rely on specific virus signatures. It uses behavioral patterns as well as a set of rules to identify the type of code that viruses use. This is not a recommended option for inexperienced users as it can return false positives.

Search

This command displays a sub-menu that lists where F-PROT Professional should search for viruses. You may select only one option at a time.

Hard Disk

Select this option to search your local hard disks. By default, F-PROT Professional searches all logical and physical drives automatically.

Diskette Drive

Use this option to select a diskette drive for scanning. A sub-menu appears from which you can select the drive.

Network

Select this option to search all of your network drives.

User-specified

Select this option to specify the drive/path to search. This is particularly useful when you want to scan newly created directories after installing a new program.

ACTION

This command displays a window from which you can select the type of action to take when a virus is found. The default is "Report Only". If you choose to disinfect a file, make sure you can run F-PROT Professional after booting the system from a clean write-protected system diskette. Should a virus remain active in memory, it can interfere with the disinfection process.

Scan Action Screen

Report Only

This option displays the results of the scan in a window. You may scroll through this window. This report may be sent to the printer or to a disk file.

Disinfect/Query

Select this option to have F-PROT Professional prompt you before disinfecting a file. F-PROT Professional is capable of disinfecting most non-overwriting viruses.

Automatic Disinfection

Select this to automatically disinfect a file when F-PROT Professional finds a virus. No prompt appears with this option. There are some viruses that cannot be disinfected.

Delete / Query

Select this option to prompt you before deleting an infected file.

Automatic Deletion

F-PROT Professional will delete infected files automatically with this option. This is not recommended since some viruses encrypt portions of the hard disk. The encrypted portions would be lost when the virus is removed.

Rename/Query

Select this option to rename infected files to .VOM or .VXE. Use this if you wish to study the infected file or compare it to a clean backup copy. Files with these extensions are not executable and, therefore pose no threat to your system.

Automatic Renaming

This option is the same as the Rename/Query option described above except that F-PROT automatically renames an infected file.

Targets

This menu item displays a window from which you can select the search criteria for F-PROT Professional. Use the space bar to toggle a YES or NO option.

Files

Select this option to choose which files to search.

Standard Executables

Select this to have F-PROT Professional search files that end in .APP, .COM, .EXE, .OV?, .PGM and .SYS. Users may specify up to ten extensions to scan.

All Files

Use this to search every file. This is not a recommended option for an inexperienced user. Searching all files on a disk will generate a lengthy report, some of which could be inaccurate. Use this if you are concerned that an improperly named file may contain a virus that could later be activated by renaming the file.

User-Specified

Select this to specify a list of custom filename extensions to search. Simply move the highlight bar to an empty line and enter a three-character filename extension. DOS wildcards are acceptable.

Keep in mind the fact that only an executable file will allow a virus to activate and infect other programs. Further information on virus terminology and behavior can be found in the Glossary.

Packed Files

Select this to examine executable files that have been compressed with PKLite, Diet or similar programs.

CONFIGURE

When you Select "Configure" from the main menu, the options "Language" and "Setup" appear. These options provide language selection and virus list formatting.

Language

Where available, this is for multiple language support in F-PROT Professional.

Setup

Select this option to sort the list of viruses F-PROT Professional scans for, by row or column. When sorted by row, viruses appear left to right in alphabetical order. This is the default.

VIRUSES

When you select "Viruses" from the main menu, the options "Information" and "New Viruses" appear. Use these to view information about a specific virus or add a new signature.

Information

Select this option to display a window that lists the most common viruses in the virus signature database. This screen helps you find out more about a specific virus, such as the type of damage it causes and how it spreads.

Virus Information Screen

To view information on a virus, simply move the highlight bar to the name of the virus and press [ENTER]. The up and down arrows and the page up and page down keys allow you to scroll through the virus list. You can also type the first few letters of the virus name. A second window provides specific information about the virus. Press [ESC] to close the information window.

The virus names shown in yellow designate the root of a family of viruses. Virus names in white are variants.

New Search Strings

Select this option to display a menu from which you can add, delete or list your user-defined signatures. These options are useful when a new virus is discovered and you have not obtained a virus signature update.

Be sure to set "Targets to Scan" to check user-defined strings. Should you choose "New Search Strings", F-PROT Professional will ask you a series of questions concerning the virus. These are:

• What is the name of the virus?
• Does it infect .COM files?
• Does it infect .EXE files?
• Does it infect the boot sector?
• Search String: ?

You must provide a hexadecimal series of characters for the search string. F-PROT Professional will add this to a list and can use this information.

PROGRAM

When you select "Program" from the main menu, another menu appears with the following options:

• Licensing F-PROT
• Obtaining Updates
• Performance
• About the Program

Each provides specific information that may prove useful.

QUIT

Select "Quit" to exit F-PROT.EXE. A prompt appears to let you save changes you may have made to F-PROT.EXE's settings.

Setup information is stored by default in a file named SETUP.F2.

COMMAND-LINE MODE

Use command line switches when you wish to run F-PROT in a non-interactive mode.

The order of the switches is not critical.

F-PROT.EXE RETURN CODES

F-PROT Professional returns the following codes that you can check with the ERRORLEVEL command from a batch file. Use this return code in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to alert the user if F-PROT Professional finds a problem. For example, if F-PROT Professional returns the number 2 to the operating system, you could notify the user that F-PROT Professional failed its self-test and request that the user notify a supervisor or take corrective action.