Network virus protection

[Seancom]

We work for a company where audio production is just one of our functions. Our IT department is constantly taking new measures to protect the company from outside attacks. They perform a valuable service, but the encroachment of their "this is for your own good" solutions are now affecting our productivity.

Up until a week ago, each editor was able to disable the virus protection on his workstation at will. We've always understood that virus protection can slow-down the performance. Now IT has upgraded the company's virus protection software and it is always on - the end user can't deactivate it.

We have complained to IT about the slowdowns and problems we seem to be experiencing and their response is for us to give them all of the file types we work with so they can add them to the list of types the virus protection software will exempt. They're thinking audio/video files types, but the virus protection works globally, scanning every .dll etc. The list I would have to give them would be hundreds of file types - not simply .wav, .aiff., mp3 etc.

I think this is probably a bad way to go about it. Viruses can masquerade as a number of file types - and surely as one of the types that would be on my list.

What have you all done to keep your networks safe with minimal effect to your productivity? Secondly, since I don't know a whole lot about how virus protection programs do what they do, how do typical virus scanning programs affect audio/video production performance? Would a list of file types added to the ignore list solve the problem?

I should add that we have four editors doing audio/video. Our sourcefiles are on network servers that we all pull from/write to.

Thanks!

[soundtrack2life]

I keep my entire studio (6 computers & 1 Server) on and internal network. However when I need to access the web (MS updates etc.) I unlock the Pathlock switch http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=279-111
when I need internet access. This keeps the hackers out and no need for a firewall by seriously minimizing my "allways on connection" on my editing machines. Furthermore, I run Nortons AV on one machine dedicated to doing web stuff. And I do all my major downloading on this machine only. Once I DL files for the other machines I AV scan them prior to moving them over the network. The key here is I dedicate my machines to specific purposes and use a hardware lock box. Knock on wood I have never been ever hit with anything ever yet. However if you need to connect with your editing machines this senerio will not benifit you. BTW with my web system I use a software Firewall (zone alarm), Antivirus (nortons corporate edition), Ad / Spyware (ad aware), constantlly check for MS patches & of coarse the Pathlock (manual firewall). It really sucks that there are such assholes in the word that have nothing better to do with their time but try and write viruses and trojans that F@#$ up our computers. And in order to protect them we have to use AV FW programs that kill performace. Why can't they do more productive things like write audio software:) Hope this helps.
Joe

[Bob L]

You could ask IT to keep the audio production machines on their own little network hub between themselves... keep them off the internet and email... a simple solution...

When you need to download drivers and updates, simply use another machine connected to the internet and burn the downloads onto a CD and install them on your production machines...

Or, be smart... have limited internet access and only visit known safe sites for updates and downloads.

Most viruses come in Email and if you never open email messages on your production machines, you most likely won't need the virus software on them.

Bob L

[Seancom]

Great suggestions. Thanks all.