42 Does setting a file's attributes to READ ONLY protect it from viruses?
Description
This article is from the Computer Viruses FAQ, by Nick FitzGerald n.fitzgerald@csc.canterbury.ac.nz with numerous contributions by others.
42 Does setting a file's attributes to READ ONLY protect it from viruses?
Generally, no. While the Read Only attribute will protect your files
from a few viruses, most simply override it, and infect normally. So,
while setting executable files to Read Only a good idea (it protects
against accidental deletion), it is certainly not a thorough protection
against viruses!
In some environments the Read Only attribute does provide some
additional protection. For instance, under Novell Netware a user can be
denied the right to modify file attributes in directories on the server.
This means that a virus that infects such a user's machine will be
unable to infect files in those server directories if the files have
their Read Only attribute set.
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