Member Avatar for janells

I keep getting problems sending viruses to PC people, which is hard when sending newsletters to printers, so I need (after 7 years!) an antivirus software, preferably free.

NB I took Norton Antivirus off as it kept clashing with Word ('98) extensions and making the system crash. I have an iMac G3 with 96mB built in memory and currently 97mb virtual memory.

Any ideas? I will be upgrading to OS X eventually but the thought of having to lose software and import files and upgrade Office is too much at the moment!:eek:

Thanks - Jane:cool:

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Practical, low-risk workflow for sending newsletters from an iMac running Mac OS 9.2.4.

Because legacy OS 9 systems rarely get up-to-date, signature-based protection, the safest short-term strategy is to stop sending anything that can carry Windows malware in executable form and to let a current scanner check outgoing files. Convert editable newsletters to formats that strip macros (save as Rich Text Format or plain text) so Office macros and templates are removed. When layout must be preserved, create a flattened file (PDF if available) or publish the newsletter to a web/FTP location and send a link instead of attaching editable Office documents.

Compress final distribution files into a standard ZIP archive without password protection so mail servers and recipient-side antivirus engines can inspect contents. Before sending, copy the ZIP (or original files) to a modern machine with current antivirus definitions and run a full scan, or use a mail/hosted service that performs server-side scanning. If a modern local scanner is not available, ask the print house to accept uploads via their secure FTP/http upload so they can scan on receipt rather than relying on the OS 9 client to be clean.

Avoid sending executables, installers, Office add-ins, or template files; send flattened images, PDFs, or plain text whenever possible. Treat any legacy OS9 antivirus as a fallback only — it may miss modern Windows threats and should not be the sole barrier. For medium-term relief, plan a staged migration path to a modern OS (or keep a modern secondary machine for pre-send scanning) so newsletters can be prepared and checked on supported software without disrupting the existing OS 9 setup.

This approach addresses the compatibility concerns raised earlier in the thread (notably by , , and ) while minimizing the risk of passing infected files to PC recipients.

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Member Avatar for scubadoc

Try ClamXav, It works in the background and its free.

I keep getting problems sending viruses to PC people, which is hard when sending newsletters to printers, so I need (after 7 years!) an antivirus software, preferably free.

NB I took Norton Antivirus off as it kept clashing with Word ('98) extensions and making the system crash. I have an iMac G3 with 96mB built in memory and currently 97mb virtual memory.

Any ideas? I will be upgrading to OS X eventually but the thought of having to lose software and import files and upgrade Office is too much at the moment!:eek:

Thanks - Jane:cool:

Member Avatar for janells

Try ClamXav, It works in the background and its free.

Thanks for that idea 'scubadoc' - however, on going to the link I found that this is for OS X and I don't have that - do you find it works OK on OS 9?

Jane

Member Avatar for 'Stein

Hmm, I don't think it does, sadly. ;)

http://handpickedsoftware.com/clamxav-087c

Sorry, there’s no version of ClamXav for 0S 9 and, as far as I know, there’s no version of Clam AntiVirus for OS 9.

commented: useful to know things that don't work - saves me time! Thanks. +1
Member Avatar for janells

Hmm, I don't think it does, sadly. ;)

http://handpickedsoftware.com/clamxav-087c

Thanks for that - even though I still need something else, it saves me time trying to find out on that site! :)
Jane

Member Avatar for MacJunkie

I think Norton Anti-Virus WAS the best option for OS 9. Problem is that no one has updated the virus definitions for OS 9 versions in years. MacScan searches for OS 9 virus' and spyware (doesn't do much of anything for OS X which makes it a pretty pointless program). You could see if Intego still offers the OS 9 version of VirusBarrier.

commented: Useful and very relevant +1
Member Avatar for janells

Thanks Mac Junkie - that was useful. I have Norton Antivirus for OS8 but it clashed with Word extensions so everything crashed so I took it off. Does NA for OS9 have similar problems or have they resolved that one?
Anyway sounds like Norton isn't suitable anymore. I will have a look at Intego. But really it would be great to find a freebie as I will have to upgrade my whole system soon in order to use Acrobat. A subject of a new thread I think!
Jane

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