I have a combination virus – firewall program. Between my browser and those programs there must be something like 200 different controls or settings for things which the programs will permit and what they will block. And probably like most people I just try to guess what each one means and then see if it will allow me read my e-mail etc. It took me ages to determine how to set the controls so that I could access certain Web sites which apparently demand some type of information from your Internet browser before they will let you examine some of their Web page etc.

Individual Internet servers are I feel eventually going to have to make options available to users which would allow them to tell the server that they want their incoming e-mail etc. to be scanned for the latest viruses. A record would then be made that a message containing a virus had been placed in a special “hold” location for a certain period of time. The user could then access it and examine it to see if it might have been from a friend or a business contact etc. The servers would also let users specify what type of e-mail messages should be intercepted such as ones which are larger than a certain size. My Internet server does not offer options like that. I doubt that many others do. And without them it will be difficult to deal with some of these virus threats.

Finally, this latest virus appears to have at long last run its course. Activity has dropped off considerably.