[Glenn Jones]

Hi,

I'm a newbie and therefore am not sure of the site etiquette so please be kind. I have had occasion to visit a fairly open ftp site to download a range of files, including gif, xls and pdf files. I know that other users upload files to the same site all the time (it is a scientific site, not an XXX site). While I have up-to-date virus software, I am concerned about the following:

Is it possible for someone to upload, either accidentally or deliberately, a file containing a virus?
Should I expect that the ftp people will screen all files when they are uploaded or downloaded?
Are there any specialised viruses that are aimed at ftp? I have seen mention of something called sdbot worm ftp virus. Is this such a virus or is it something else altogether?

Any help would be appreciated.

Rgds -Glenn

[ScottGem]

Yes its possible for someone to deliberately or inadvertently upload a file with a virus in it.

No, you can't assume the site operators are scanning files unless they state that they are. The only way that a virus would target FTP sites is to upload itself whenever the user connected to an FTP site or even automatically upload to any FTPs the user has gone to.

You can do a search on any virus name to get info about its properties.

As long as your A/V software is up to date, it should scan any downloaded files and warn you if it is infected.

[Glenn Jones]

Yes its possible for someone to deliberately or inadvertently upload a file with a virus in it.

No, you can't assume the site operators are scanning files unless they state that they are. The only way that a virus would target FTP sites is to upload itself whenever the user connected to an FTP site or even automatically upload to any FTPs the user has gone to.

You can do a search on any virus name to get info about its properties.

As long as your A/V software is up to date, it should scan any downloaded files and warn you if it is infected.

Thank you for coming back to me so quickly. It is much appreciated.

Rgds -Glenn