Free Automatic Windows Updater Available for F-PROT for DOS
Overself Research07-22-04, 07:18 PMsomethingDear F-PROT for DOS users,
Due to recent discussion on alt.comp.virus about DOS virus scanners
and their updating, we release a small Windows utility that updates in
the background the antivirus definitions of F-PROT for DOS and
unintrusively notifies you when an update is applied. The utility can
also create a set of antivirus emergency diskettes from your F-PROT
for DOS installation and a bootable DOS diskette on any 32-bit version
of Windows (thanks to FreeDOS). Online help (context-sensitive) is
included.
AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, version 1.0, released July 20,
2004.
More information and download at:
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos
Post feedback here, and also at:
http://www.overselfresearch.com/forum
P.S.
We in no way wanted to copy Arthur Kopp and his updater tool. This is
something that we have used previously in-house and repackaged in
"commercial-quality" form. We hope that you find it useful.
-----------------------------------------------
Kinds regards,
Overself Research Ltd.
A software development company.
Overself Research08-02-04, 07:18 PMsomethingVersion 2.0 is out.
Mostly based on customer feedback, here are the following improvements
in AV Defs Updater for F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) 2.0 over version 1.0:
* Checking for new releases of the F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) antivirus
engine;
* Fewer diskettes required to create an emergency disk set (now 3,
before 4);
* Ability to change the automatic update check frequency (including
the disabling of automatic update checks) according to user
preference;
* Revamped and updated boot disk. Features a RAM disk providing fast
storage which can be resized from the DOS command line without
rebooting (thanks to XMSDSK). Capacities of up to 2 GB are supported
for the RAM disk. Added a couple of useful tools such as a text
editor. Ability to perform a RAM memory test from a created FreeDOS
bootdisk (this was already possible in the previous version by
pressing 0 from the boot menu, but has now been made a visible
option).
Download from http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Overself Research
http://www.overselfresearch.com
echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself Research) wrote in message news:<e297084f.0407220758.5e2c7ed@posting.google.com>...
> Dear F-PROT for DOS users,
>
> Due to recent discussion on alt.comp.virus about DOS virus scanners
> and their updating, we release a small Windows utility that updates in
> the background the antivirus definitions of F-PROT for DOS and
> unintrusively notifies you when an update is applied. The utility can
> also create a set of antivirus emergency diskettes from your F-PROT
> for DOS installation and a bootable DOS diskette on any 32-bit version
> of Windows (thanks to FreeDOS). Online help (context-sensitive) is
> included.
>
> AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, version 1.0, released July 20,
> 2004.
>
> More information and download at:
> http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos
>
> Post feedback here, and also at:
> http://www.overselfresearch.com/forum
>
>
> P.S.
> We in no way wanted to copy Arthur Kopp and his updater tool. This is
> something that we have used previously in-house and repackaged in
> "commercial-quality" form. We hope that you find it useful.
> -----------------------------------------------
> Kinds regards,
> Overself Research Ltd.
> A software development company.
Overself Research08-07-04, 07:16 PMsomethingWe are happy to announce that version 2.0 of our small free utility
has received 4/5 rating from SnapFiles (former WebAttack). See it at
http://www.spychecker.com/program/fprotupdate.html
(the screenshot is from the old version). For more information and
latest screenshots, go to
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Overself Research08-20-04, 10:14 PMsomethingVersion 2.1 is out.
Please upgrade to it since all previous versions are going to stop
working in the very near future (you will be warned by the version
that you have installed), because FRISK Software
(http://www.complex.is), the makers of F-PROT, have changed the
location of the updates. They have kindly approached us with the
changes, have assisted us in their implementation, and we have done so
to ensure that this small utility continues to work in the future.
Version 2.1 supports the same features as version 2.0, except:
* Changed locations which the program knows to retrieve F-PROT
updates and version information from. This was done through the kind
cooperation of FRISK Software(r), the makers of F-PROT(r), as it was
necessitated by a reorganization of their web site;
* User notification after an update can now be enabled or disabled
according to user preference.
There are also minor tweaks to make a couple of messages more
informative to the user, and better error handling in case a
configuration file is corrupted.
Mostly based on customer feedback, here are the following improvements
in AV Defs Updater for F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) 2.0 over version 1.0:
* Checking for new releases of the F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) antivirus
engine and facilitating its installation/update;
* Fewer diskettes required to create an emergency disk set (now 3,
before 4);
* Ability to change the automatic update check frequency (including
the disabling of automatic update checks) according to user
preference;
* Revamped and updated boot disk. Features a RAM disk providing fast
storage which can be resized from the DOS command line without
rebooting (thanks to XMSDSK). Capacities of up to 2 GB are supported
for the RAM disk. Added a couple of useful tools such as a text
editor. Ability to perform a RAM memory test from a created FreeDOS
bootdisk (this was already possible in the previous version by
pressing 0 from the boot menu, but has now been made a visible
option).
SPECIAL THANKS to FRISK Software (http://www.complex.is) for making
this release possible!
null@zilch.com08-21-04, 07:16 AMsomethingOn 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>Version 2.1 is out.
>
>Please upgrade to it since all previous versions are going to stop
>working in the very near future (you will be warned by the version
>that you have installed), because FRISK Software
>(http://www.complex.is), the makers of F-PROT, have changed the
>location of the updates.
I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
************************************************** **************
I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
future.
To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
To download new virus signature files, please go to:
http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
************************************************** ***************************
Revised versions (using these HTTP locations) of my F-Prot for DOS
updaters are available at my web site. Because of the new updating
method required, current users will suffer a needless download of the
F-Prot for DOS program the first time the revised updaters are used. I
suggest that current users opt to use a different working folder than
the default C:\F-PROT for the revised versions. That way they can test
them out and make sure everything is OK. Later, the C:\F-PROT folder
can be emptied and the files from the temp folder copied to it.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Julian Moss08-21-04, 07:16 PMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote:
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> ******* Revised versions (using these HTTP locations) of my F-Prot
> for DOS updaters are available at my web site. Because of the new
> updating method required, current users will suffer a needless
> download of the F-Prot for DOS program the first time the revised
> updaters are used. I suggest that current users opt to use a
> different working folder than the default C:\F-PROT for the revised
> versions. That way they can test them out and make sure everything is
> OK. Later, the C:\F-PROT folder can be emptied and the files from the
> temp folder copied to it.
>
>
> Art
> http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Thanks for posting this, Art. This is going to break the updater in
Tech-Protect, which uses the FTP site. Do you have any information on
when the FTP site will be phased out?
--
Julian Moss
Tech-Pro Limited
http://www.tech-pro.net/
null@zilch.com08-21-04, 07:16 PMsomethingOn 21 Aug 2004 17:13:18 GMT, "Julian Moss" <julian@invalid.invalid>
wrote:
>Thanks for posting this, Art.
You're welcome.
>This is going to break the updater in
>Tech-Protect, which uses the FTP site. Do you have any information on
>when the FTP site will be phased out?
No time frame was given. Notifications were sent out just a couple of
days ago, so I suspect you have time to make the needed changes.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ***************************
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance at your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people..
Thanks again and take care.
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> *******
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance to your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people.
Thanks again and take care.
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> *******
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance to your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people.
Thanks again and take care.
null@zilch.com08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingOn 22 Aug 2004 02:20:06 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>null@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
>
>Dear Art,
>
>Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
>of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
>:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
>Software's site.
>But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
>new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
>They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
>determine the version information. It is
>http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Interesting. Thanks. I had dropped display of the version in my latest
updaters. It's displayed by F-Prot itself when in runs so I just let
it go. But I agree it's nice to display that info. Doubt if it saves
any updating time though since that url has to be checked instead of
checking if a new version is available. So it's six of one and a half
dozen of the other in that respect.
>Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
>yours, we have given only cursory glance at your FPup. Any expert
>recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
I once took a brief look and saw you offer a slick looking GUI. Don't
recall if you offer a F-Prot user interface with selectable scan
options, folder select options, etc. That sort of thing would be nice
IMO if done in a GUI rather than a 16 bit DOS program such as mine.
>Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
>yet they are useful to quite a few people..
The amount of work that goes into utilities such as these isn't
laughable though :)
>Thanks again and take care.
Thanks again for the url.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Overself Research08-27-04, 10:15 PMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<sfugi01vqsq3acb27i0qo4u9dhankjtm9e@4ax.com>...
> On 22 Aug 2004 02:20:06 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> Interesting. Thanks. I had dropped display of the version in my latest
> updaters. It's displayed by F-Prot itself when in runs so I just let
> it go. But I agree it's nice to display that info. Doubt if it saves
> any updating time though since that url has to be checked instead of
> checking if a new version is available. So it's six of one and a half
> dozen of the other in that respect.
The dos_version.html file is produced by a script running on FRISK
Software's server that automatically retrieves the latest version
string of F-PROT for DOS.
We use that as a reliable means of obtaining the engine version, but
it can also serve another purpose (which is not actually implemented
in our utility because it takes an alternative approach of opening the
browser at http://www.f-prot.com/download/download_fpdos.html): if you
have noticed, presently there are two completely identical files
available on f-prot.com. The one is
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip, and the other is
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/fp-315.zip. A FRISK Software
representative told us the following (exact quote from letter):
"The timestamp of this file may change although the version stays the
same. It's even possible that timestamp stays the same although the
version has changed (since it's a symbolic link to the actual file)."
When the engine file resided on FTP, "f-prot.zip" was a symlink, too,
so it appeared natural to us that a symlink is going to be in use on
HTTP, too. So, to detect a new version of the engine, it would still
not be possible or desirable to check the timestamp of
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip (or use the -N option of
GNU wget to do that), the fp-315.zip has to be retrieved directly. But
of course, one would have to know the actual file name suffix, as it
could be "400" for the upcoming version 4.0. This is impossible to do
on HTTP without getting extra info, since an index or file list cannot
be retrieved for the http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/ directory.
HOWEVER, I just saw that http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
is NO LONGER a symbolic link. I tried your latest very functional
F-Pup, and noticed that you take advantage of this change. About a
week ago when we made the changes to our utility, it was STILL a
symbolic link and the official words above didn't hint in the
slightest that this would change. So we played safe and the
dos_version.html file is used as a means to detect the version
information.
So, Art, if they suddenly decide to make it a symlink again, this
method will cause f-prot.zip to be erroneously downloaded at every
check. Just something to be noted.
>
> I once took a brief look and saw you offer a slick looking GUI. Don't
> recall if you offer a F-Prot user interface with selectable scan
> options, folder select options, etc. That sort of thing would be nice
> IMO if done in a GUI rather than a 16 bit DOS program such as mine.
:) Thank you. No, there is no user interface for running F-PROT.EXE
itself. I think it is great that you took this step with F-Pup, but if
we were to implement it in GUI, it may start seeming as a competition
to the commercial-only Windows version. It's our choice not to do it
also because we have other, unique projects to attend to. :) But thank
you for telling us your impressions! Undoubtedly, the most useful part
of the utility is the configurable update scheduler (which BTW heeds
standby and hibernation correctly), and the emergency disk set,
including the antivirus bootdisk.
On a related note, as of the writing of this post, now there is
"unofficial" support for the commercial version of F-PROT. For
example, if one has the commercial and free version in the same
directory, as they are both installed by the commercial version by
default, the definitions will now get correctly updated (previously
they couldn't be). The update scheduler included may also be used to
complement or, according to their needs, replace the built-in
scheduler in the commercial version. The version number is not changed
as not to confuse those (and most) who will never need this.
>
> The amount of work that goes into utilities such as these isn't
> laughable though :)
It isn't indeed, however we look at it :).
> Thanks again and take care.
> Thanks again for the url.
You are very welcome. Take care :). Thank you, Art, for your
outstanding intelligent support in this turbulent newsgroup!
Overself Research09-10-04, 07:20 PMsomethingHello all,
It now seems that the changes made by FRISK Software's update
addresses are doing the job as fine as before they were introduced,
and there are no problems with version 2.1 that we've made available
some days ago.
Additionally, no problems with Windows XP Service Pack 2 have been
reported, so you can safely go on and install it or upgrade it on a
system with SP2.
As always, the latest version of our F-PROT updater / F-PROT update
utility, AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, can be downloaded from
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Cheers, Art Kopp & all.
Overself Research Support
http://www.overselfresearch.com/support
echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself Research) wrote in message news:<e297084f.0408270514.5a924331@posting.google.com>...
> null@zilch.com wrote in message news:<sfugi01vqsq3acb27i0qo4u9dhankjtm9e@4ax.com>...
>
> The dos_version.html file is produced by a script running on FRISK
> Software's server that automatically retrieves the latest version
> string of F-PROT for DOS.
> We use that as a reliable means of obtaining the engine version, but
> it can also serve another purpose (which is not actually implemented
> in our utility because it takes an alternative approach of opening the
> browser at http://www.f-prot.com/download/download_fpdos.html): if you
> have noticed, presently there are two completely identical files
> available on f-prot.com. The one is
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip, and the other is
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/fp-315.zip. A FRISK Software
> representative told us the following (exact quote from letter):
>
> "The timestamp of this file may change although the version stays the
> same. It's even possible that timestamp stays the same although the
> version has changed (since it's a symbolic link to the actual file)."
>
> When the engine file resided on FTP, "f-prot.zip" was a symlink, too,
> so it appeared natural to us that a symlink is going to be in use on
> HTTP, too. So, to detect a new version of the engine, it would still
> not be possible or desirable to check the timestamp of
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip (or use the -N option of
> GNU wget to do that), the fp-315.zip has to be retrieved directly. But
> of course, one would have to know the actual file name suffix, as it
> could be "400" for the upcoming version 4.0. This is impossible to do
> on HTTP without getting extra info, since an index or file list cannot
> be retrieved for the http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/ directory.
>
> HOWEVER, I just saw that http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
> is NO LONGER a symbolic link. I tried your latest very functional
> F-Pup, and noticed that you take advantage of this change. About a
> week ago when we made the changes to our utility, it was STILL a
> symbolic link and the official words above didn't hint in the
> slightest that this would change. So we played safe and the
> dos_version.html file is used as a means to detect the version
> information.
> So, Art, if they suddenly decide to make it a symlink again, this
> method will cause f-prot.zip to be erroneously downloaded at every
> check. Just something to be noted.
>
>
> :) Thank you. No, there is no user interface for running F-PROT.EXE
> itself. I think it is great that you took this step with F-Pup, but if
> we were to implement it in GUI, it may start seeming as a competition
> to the commercial-only Windows version. It's our choice not to do it
> also because we have other, unique projects to attend to. :) But thank
> you for telling us your impressions! Undoubtedly, the most useful part
> of the utility is the configurable update scheduler (which BTW heeds
> standby and hibernation correctly), and the emergency disk set,
> including the antivirus bootdisk.
>
> On a related note, as of the writing of this post, now there is
> "unofficial" support for the commercial version of F-PROT. For
> example, if one has the commercial and free version in the same
> directory, as they are both installed by the commercial version by
> default, the definitions will now get correctly updated (previously
> they couldn't be). The update scheduler included may also be used to
> complement or, according to their needs, replace the built-in
> scheduler in the commercial version. The version number is not changed
> as not to confuse those (and most) who will never need this.
>
>
> It isn't indeed, however we look at it :).
>
>
> You are very welcome. Take care :). Thank you, Art, for your
> outstanding intelligent support in this turbulent newsgroup!
null@zilch.com09-10-04, 07:20 PMsomethingOn 10 Sep 2004 05:28:13 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>Cheers, Art Kopp & all.
Cheers :)
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Due to recent discussion on alt.comp.virus about DOS virus scanners
and their updating, we release a small Windows utility that updates in
the background the antivirus definitions of F-PROT for DOS and
unintrusively notifies you when an update is applied. The utility can
also create a set of antivirus emergency diskettes from your F-PROT
for DOS installation and a bootable DOS diskette on any 32-bit version
of Windows (thanks to FreeDOS). Online help (context-sensitive) is
included.
AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, version 1.0, released July 20,
2004.
More information and download at:
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos
Post feedback here, and also at:
http://www.overselfresearch.com/forum
P.S.
We in no way wanted to copy Arthur Kopp and his updater tool. This is
something that we have used previously in-house and repackaged in
"commercial-quality" form. We hope that you find it useful.
-----------------------------------------------
Kinds regards,
Overself Research Ltd.
A software development company.
Overself Research08-02-04, 07:18 PMsomethingVersion 2.0 is out.
Mostly based on customer feedback, here are the following improvements
in AV Defs Updater for F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) 2.0 over version 1.0:
* Checking for new releases of the F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) antivirus
engine;
* Fewer diskettes required to create an emergency disk set (now 3,
before 4);
* Ability to change the automatic update check frequency (including
the disabling of automatic update checks) according to user
preference;
* Revamped and updated boot disk. Features a RAM disk providing fast
storage which can be resized from the DOS command line without
rebooting (thanks to XMSDSK). Capacities of up to 2 GB are supported
for the RAM disk. Added a couple of useful tools such as a text
editor. Ability to perform a RAM memory test from a created FreeDOS
bootdisk (this was already possible in the previous version by
pressing 0 from the boot menu, but has now been made a visible
option).
Download from http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Overself Research
http://www.overselfresearch.com
echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself Research) wrote in message news:<e297084f.0407220758.5e2c7ed@posting.google.com>...
> Dear F-PROT for DOS users,
>
> Due to recent discussion on alt.comp.virus about DOS virus scanners
> and their updating, we release a small Windows utility that updates in
> the background the antivirus definitions of F-PROT for DOS and
> unintrusively notifies you when an update is applied. The utility can
> also create a set of antivirus emergency diskettes from your F-PROT
> for DOS installation and a bootable DOS diskette on any 32-bit version
> of Windows (thanks to FreeDOS). Online help (context-sensitive) is
> included.
>
> AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, version 1.0, released July 20,
> 2004.
>
> More information and download at:
> http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos
>
> Post feedback here, and also at:
> http://www.overselfresearch.com/forum
>
>
> P.S.
> We in no way wanted to copy Arthur Kopp and his updater tool. This is
> something that we have used previously in-house and repackaged in
> "commercial-quality" form. We hope that you find it useful.
> -----------------------------------------------
> Kinds regards,
> Overself Research Ltd.
> A software development company.
Overself Research08-07-04, 07:16 PMsomethingWe are happy to announce that version 2.0 of our small free utility
has received 4/5 rating from SnapFiles (former WebAttack). See it at
http://www.spychecker.com/program/fprotupdate.html
(the screenshot is from the old version). For more information and
latest screenshots, go to
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Overself Research08-20-04, 10:14 PMsomethingVersion 2.1 is out.
Please upgrade to it since all previous versions are going to stop
working in the very near future (you will be warned by the version
that you have installed), because FRISK Software
(http://www.complex.is), the makers of F-PROT, have changed the
location of the updates. They have kindly approached us with the
changes, have assisted us in their implementation, and we have done so
to ensure that this small utility continues to work in the future.
Version 2.1 supports the same features as version 2.0, except:
* Changed locations which the program knows to retrieve F-PROT
updates and version information from. This was done through the kind
cooperation of FRISK Software(r), the makers of F-PROT(r), as it was
necessitated by a reorganization of their web site;
* User notification after an update can now be enabled or disabled
according to user preference.
There are also minor tweaks to make a couple of messages more
informative to the user, and better error handling in case a
configuration file is corrupted.
Mostly based on customer feedback, here are the following improvements
in AV Defs Updater for F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) 2.0 over version 1.0:
* Checking for new releases of the F-PROT(r) for DOS(r) antivirus
engine and facilitating its installation/update;
* Fewer diskettes required to create an emergency disk set (now 3,
before 4);
* Ability to change the automatic update check frequency (including
the disabling of automatic update checks) according to user
preference;
* Revamped and updated boot disk. Features a RAM disk providing fast
storage which can be resized from the DOS command line without
rebooting (thanks to XMSDSK). Capacities of up to 2 GB are supported
for the RAM disk. Added a couple of useful tools such as a text
editor. Ability to perform a RAM memory test from a created FreeDOS
bootdisk (this was already possible in the previous version by
pressing 0 from the boot menu, but has now been made a visible
option).
SPECIAL THANKS to FRISK Software (http://www.complex.is) for making
this release possible!
null@zilch.com08-21-04, 07:16 AMsomethingOn 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>Version 2.1 is out.
>
>Please upgrade to it since all previous versions are going to stop
>working in the very near future (you will be warned by the version
>that you have installed), because FRISK Software
>(http://www.complex.is), the makers of F-PROT, have changed the
>location of the updates.
I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
************************************************** **************
I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
future.
To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
To download new virus signature files, please go to:
http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
************************************************** ***************************
Revised versions (using these HTTP locations) of my F-Prot for DOS
updaters are available at my web site. Because of the new updating
method required, current users will suffer a needless download of the
F-Prot for DOS program the first time the revised updaters are used. I
suggest that current users opt to use a different working folder than
the default C:\F-PROT for the revised versions. That way they can test
them out and make sure everything is OK. Later, the C:\F-PROT folder
can be emptied and the files from the temp folder copied to it.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Julian Moss08-21-04, 07:16 PMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote:
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> ******* Revised versions (using these HTTP locations) of my F-Prot
> for DOS updaters are available at my web site. Because of the new
> updating method required, current users will suffer a needless
> download of the F-Prot for DOS program the first time the revised
> updaters are used. I suggest that current users opt to use a
> different working folder than the default C:\F-PROT for the revised
> versions. That way they can test them out and make sure everything is
> OK. Later, the C:\F-PROT folder can be emptied and the files from the
> temp folder copied to it.
>
>
> Art
> http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Thanks for posting this, Art. This is going to break the updater in
Tech-Protect, which uses the FTP site. Do you have any information on
when the FTP site will be phased out?
--
Julian Moss
Tech-Pro Limited
http://www.tech-pro.net/
null@zilch.com08-21-04, 07:16 PMsomethingOn 21 Aug 2004 17:13:18 GMT, "Julian Moss" <julian@invalid.invalid>
wrote:
>Thanks for posting this, Art.
You're welcome.
>This is going to break the updater in
>Tech-Protect, which uses the FTP site. Do you have any information on
>when the FTP site will be phased out?
No time frame was given. Notifications were sent out just a couple of
days ago, so I suspect you have time to make the needed changes.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ***************************
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance at your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people..
Thanks again and take care.
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> *******
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance to your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people.
Thanks again and take care.
Overself Research08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
> On 20 Aug 2004 17:00:45 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> I believe all F-Prot for DOS users should be made aware of the
> changes. Here's a cut from a email I received from FSI:
>
> ************************************************** **************
> I would like to inform you that some of the URLs are about to become
> invalid. In particular, all FTP URLs will become obsolete in the near
> future.
>
> To download the DOS version of F-Prot Antivirus, please go to:
>
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
>
> To download new virus signature files, please go to:
>
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?fp-def
> http://updates.f-prot.com/cgi-bin/get_randomly?macrdef2
>
> ************************************************** ********************
> *******
Dear Art,
Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
Software's site.
But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
determine the version information. It is
http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
yours, we have given only cursory glance to your FPup. Any expert
recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
yet they are useful to quite a few people.
Thanks again and take care.
null@zilch.com08-22-04, 07:14 AMsomethingOn 22 Aug 2004 02:20:06 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>null@zilch.com wrote in message news:<vkaei0lverrqfehmn5q3dk2j0lfl9psdpv@4ax.com>...
>
>Dear Art,
>
>Thank you for posting those links. We were not sure if they would be
>of interest in general, but we assumed that you probably got them, too
>:). In any case, they would have eventually been visible on FRISK
>Software's site.
>But there's something else that will be of good use to you. There is a
>new page on their website, which is not linked from any other page.
>They have kindly created it because we asked for a reliable means to
>determine the version information. It is
>http://www.f-prot.com/dos_version.html.
Interesting. Thanks. I had dropped display of the version in my latest
updaters. It's displayed by F-Prot itself when in runs so I just let
it go. But I agree it's nice to display that info. Doubt if it saves
any updating time though since that url has to be checked instead of
checking if a new version is available. So it's six of one and a half
dozen of the other in that respect.
>Art, have you tried our tool? Because we frankly didn't want to copy
>yours, we have given only cursory glance at your FPup. Any expert
>recommendations on your part regarding our updater? :)
I once took a brief look and saw you offer a slick looking GUI. Don't
recall if you offer a F-Prot user interface with selectable scan
options, folder select options, etc. That sort of thing would be nice
IMO if done in a GUI rather than a 16 bit DOS program such as mine.
>Myself and colleagues laugh that those are such small things (utils),
>yet they are useful to quite a few people..
The amount of work that goes into utilities such as these isn't
laughable though :)
>Thanks again and take care.
Thanks again for the url.
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg
Overself Research08-27-04, 10:15 PMsomethingnull@zilch.com wrote in message news:<sfugi01vqsq3acb27i0qo4u9dhankjtm9e@4ax.com>...
> On 22 Aug 2004 02:20:06 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
> Research) wrote:
>
>
> Interesting. Thanks. I had dropped display of the version in my latest
> updaters. It's displayed by F-Prot itself when in runs so I just let
> it go. But I agree it's nice to display that info. Doubt if it saves
> any updating time though since that url has to be checked instead of
> checking if a new version is available. So it's six of one and a half
> dozen of the other in that respect.
The dos_version.html file is produced by a script running on FRISK
Software's server that automatically retrieves the latest version
string of F-PROT for DOS.
We use that as a reliable means of obtaining the engine version, but
it can also serve another purpose (which is not actually implemented
in our utility because it takes an alternative approach of opening the
browser at http://www.f-prot.com/download/download_fpdos.html): if you
have noticed, presently there are two completely identical files
available on f-prot.com. The one is
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip, and the other is
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/fp-315.zip. A FRISK Software
representative told us the following (exact quote from letter):
"The timestamp of this file may change although the version stays the
same. It's even possible that timestamp stays the same although the
version has changed (since it's a symbolic link to the actual file)."
When the engine file resided on FTP, "f-prot.zip" was a symlink, too,
so it appeared natural to us that a symlink is going to be in use on
HTTP, too. So, to detect a new version of the engine, it would still
not be possible or desirable to check the timestamp of
http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip (or use the -N option of
GNU wget to do that), the fp-315.zip has to be retrieved directly. But
of course, one would have to know the actual file name suffix, as it
could be "400" for the upcoming version 4.0. This is impossible to do
on HTTP without getting extra info, since an index or file list cannot
be retrieved for the http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/ directory.
HOWEVER, I just saw that http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
is NO LONGER a symbolic link. I tried your latest very functional
F-Pup, and noticed that you take advantage of this change. About a
week ago when we made the changes to our utility, it was STILL a
symbolic link and the official words above didn't hint in the
slightest that this would change. So we played safe and the
dos_version.html file is used as a means to detect the version
information.
So, Art, if they suddenly decide to make it a symlink again, this
method will cause f-prot.zip to be erroneously downloaded at every
check. Just something to be noted.
>
> I once took a brief look and saw you offer a slick looking GUI. Don't
> recall if you offer a F-Prot user interface with selectable scan
> options, folder select options, etc. That sort of thing would be nice
> IMO if done in a GUI rather than a 16 bit DOS program such as mine.
:) Thank you. No, there is no user interface for running F-PROT.EXE
itself. I think it is great that you took this step with F-Pup, but if
we were to implement it in GUI, it may start seeming as a competition
to the commercial-only Windows version. It's our choice not to do it
also because we have other, unique projects to attend to. :) But thank
you for telling us your impressions! Undoubtedly, the most useful part
of the utility is the configurable update scheduler (which BTW heeds
standby and hibernation correctly), and the emergency disk set,
including the antivirus bootdisk.
On a related note, as of the writing of this post, now there is
"unofficial" support for the commercial version of F-PROT. For
example, if one has the commercial and free version in the same
directory, as they are both installed by the commercial version by
default, the definitions will now get correctly updated (previously
they couldn't be). The update scheduler included may also be used to
complement or, according to their needs, replace the built-in
scheduler in the commercial version. The version number is not changed
as not to confuse those (and most) who will never need this.
>
> The amount of work that goes into utilities such as these isn't
> laughable though :)
It isn't indeed, however we look at it :).
> Thanks again and take care.
> Thanks again for the url.
You are very welcome. Take care :). Thank you, Art, for your
outstanding intelligent support in this turbulent newsgroup!
Overself Research09-10-04, 07:20 PMsomethingHello all,
It now seems that the changes made by FRISK Software's update
addresses are doing the job as fine as before they were introduced,
and there are no problems with version 2.1 that we've made available
some days ago.
Additionally, no problems with Windows XP Service Pack 2 have been
reported, so you can safely go on and install it or upgrade it on a
system with SP2.
As always, the latest version of our F-PROT updater / F-PROT update
utility, AV Defs Updater for F-PROT for DOS, can be downloaded from
http://www.overselfresearch.com/software/downloads/avdefsupdaterfprotdos/
Cheers, Art Kopp & all.
Overself Research Support
http://www.overselfresearch.com/support
echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself Research) wrote in message news:<e297084f.0408270514.5a924331@posting.google.com>...
> null@zilch.com wrote in message news:<sfugi01vqsq3acb27i0qo4u9dhankjtm9e@4ax.com>...
>
> The dos_version.html file is produced by a script running on FRISK
> Software's server that automatically retrieves the latest version
> string of F-PROT for DOS.
> We use that as a reliable means of obtaining the engine version, but
> it can also serve another purpose (which is not actually implemented
> in our utility because it takes an alternative approach of opening the
> browser at http://www.f-prot.com/download/download_fpdos.html): if you
> have noticed, presently there are two completely identical files
> available on f-prot.com. The one is
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip, and the other is
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/fp-315.zip. A FRISK Software
> representative told us the following (exact quote from letter):
>
> "The timestamp of this file may change although the version stays the
> same. It's even possible that timestamp stays the same although the
> version has changed (since it's a symbolic link to the actual file)."
>
> When the engine file resided on FTP, "f-prot.zip" was a symlink, too,
> so it appeared natural to us that a symlink is going to be in use on
> HTTP, too. So, to detect a new version of the engine, it would still
> not be possible or desirable to check the timestamp of
> http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip (or use the -N option of
> GNU wget to do that), the fp-315.zip has to be retrieved directly. But
> of course, one would have to know the actual file name suffix, as it
> could be "400" for the upcoming version 4.0. This is impossible to do
> on HTTP without getting extra info, since an index or file list cannot
> be retrieved for the http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/ directory.
>
> HOWEVER, I just saw that http://files.f-prot.com/files/dos/f-prot.zip
> is NO LONGER a symbolic link. I tried your latest very functional
> F-Pup, and noticed that you take advantage of this change. About a
> week ago when we made the changes to our utility, it was STILL a
> symbolic link and the official words above didn't hint in the
> slightest that this would change. So we played safe and the
> dos_version.html file is used as a means to detect the version
> information.
> So, Art, if they suddenly decide to make it a symlink again, this
> method will cause f-prot.zip to be erroneously downloaded at every
> check. Just something to be noted.
>
>
> :) Thank you. No, there is no user interface for running F-PROT.EXE
> itself. I think it is great that you took this step with F-Pup, but if
> we were to implement it in GUI, it may start seeming as a competition
> to the commercial-only Windows version. It's our choice not to do it
> also because we have other, unique projects to attend to. :) But thank
> you for telling us your impressions! Undoubtedly, the most useful part
> of the utility is the configurable update scheduler (which BTW heeds
> standby and hibernation correctly), and the emergency disk set,
> including the antivirus bootdisk.
>
> On a related note, as of the writing of this post, now there is
> "unofficial" support for the commercial version of F-PROT. For
> example, if one has the commercial and free version in the same
> directory, as they are both installed by the commercial version by
> default, the definitions will now get correctly updated (previously
> they couldn't be). The update scheduler included may also be used to
> complement or, according to their needs, replace the built-in
> scheduler in the commercial version. The version number is not changed
> as not to confuse those (and most) who will never need this.
>
>
> It isn't indeed, however we look at it :).
>
>
> You are very welcome. Take care :). Thank you, Art, for your
> outstanding intelligent support in this turbulent newsgroup!
null@zilch.com09-10-04, 07:20 PMsomethingOn 10 Sep 2004 05:28:13 -0700, echi@overselfresearch.com (Overself
Research) wrote:
>Cheers, Art Kopp & all.
Cheers :)
Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg