When I was a kid, my mom used to put a baking soda paste on bee stings and bug bites. I'm not sure it really helped that much, but psychologically it made me feel alot better. McAfee's AVERT labs has released a new tool, Stinger, that takes the sting out of many popular viruses and it's definitely much more than a 'feel good' fix. At a time when virus writers specifically target antivirus software, disabling its protective shields and leaving systems difficult to disinfect, Stinger is a must have in your arsenal. Best of all, Stinger is free - consider it a philanthropic remedy to cure today's most common viruses.
The McAfee AVERT Stinger is designed to search for and eradicate thirty different infections, including SoBig, Blaster (Lovsan), Klez and BugBear. The download is a simple self-extracting, self-installing file so there's no learning curve - making it a quick and painless tool for everyone from savvy system administrators to even the most novice users.
McAfee adds high profile and widespread threats to Stinger on a regular basis. If you've downloaded it in the past, you should download a new version to ensure you're getting the full potential. To verify which viruses Stinger can detect and remove, open the program and click the "List Viruses" button at the top of the program window.
Stinger could not be easier to use. Simply download the tool (being sure to read the short instructions McAfee has provided on their download page), double-click it to launch Stinger, and click the "Scan Now" button. Of course, if you have drives other than C:\, you'll need to first click the "Add" button and add those drives as well.
AVERT even considered users of Windows XP and ME that might have one of these viruses lurking in their System Restore folders, providing easy to follow instructions to ensure the virus is removed from this normally locked location.
Stinger is not a cure-all for every virus, nor does it prevent infection. It's purpose is to scan the system for a handful of known, high-profile threats, and cleanly remove them. It does a superb job of this. At 688KB, it is small enough to fit on a floppy and take from system to system if necessary. It truly is a must-have in your antivirus arsenal.
