03/17/97 A NEW BREED OF FEARLESS VIRUS HUNTERS

A NEW BREED OF FEARLESS VIRUS HUNTERS

BY NOW, MOST SAVVY computer owners know to guard against such computer viruses as Michelangelo, which could trash an infected PC's hard drive on Mar. 6, the artist's birthday. But what about new viruses? With the Internet reaching into every corner of the globe and by some estimates helping to spread over 100 new viruses a month, the chances of infection are high. IBM Corp. and Symantec Corp. are separately testing independent immunity systems.
Symantec is using its Bloodhound technology, which crawls through the Web looking for viruses, to create antidotes that the company can ship to customers. Bloodhound spots viruses by looking for well-documented ''fingerprints,'' or patterns of software codes typically used by hackers. When a virus is located, it's shipped to a Symantec lab for analysis and the development of an antidote. The Bloodhound software, which will be ready later this year, will work with Symantec products such as its $69 Norton Anti-Virus program.
IBM's approach is similar. Early next year, new software tricks will be included in its $49 Anti-Virus for Desktops and other programs. Its setup will ship suspected viruses to a corporate administrator who will then pass the files on to IBM's antivirus headquarters in Hawthorne, N.Y. An antidote is sent back to the administrator to be used for inoculating the entire network.
By Ira Sager
EDITED BY PAUL M. ENG