ZyXEL Communications 70 Series User Manual

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ZyWALL 5/35/70 Series User’s Guide
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Chapter 14 Anti-Virus
The virus spreads to other files and programs on the computer. 
The infected files are unintentionally sent to another computer thus starting the spread of 
the virus. 
Once the virus is spread through the network, the number of infected networked 
computers can grow exponentially.  
14.1.3  Types of Anti-Virus Scanner 
The section describes two types of anti-virus scanner: host-based and network-based. 
A host-based anti-virus (HAV) scanner is often software installed on computers and/or servers 
in the network. It inspects files for virus patterns as they are moved in and out of the hard 
drive. However, host-based anti-virus scanners cannot eliminate all viruses for a number of 
reasons:
• HAV scanners are slow in stopping virus threats through real-time traffic (such as from 
the Internet). 
• HAV scanners may reduce computing performance as they also share the resources (such 
as CPU time) on the computer for file inspection. 
• You have to update the virus signatures and/or perform virus scans on all computers in 
the network regularly.
A network-based anti-virus (NAV) scanner is often deployed as a dedicated security device 
(such as your ZyWALL) on the network edge. NAV scanners inspect real-time data traffic 
(such as E-mail messages or web) that tends to bypass HAV scanners. The following lists 
some of the benefits of NAV scanners. 
• NAV scanners stops virus threats at the network edge before they enter or exit a network. 
• NAV scanners reduce computing loading on computers as the read-time data traffic 
inspection is done on a dedicated security device.
14.2  Introduction to the ZyWALL Anti-Virus Scanner
The ZyWALL has a built-in signature database. Setting up the ZyWALL between your local 
network and the Internet allows the ZyWALL to scan files transmitting through the enabled 
interfaces into your network. As a network-based anti-virus scanner, the ZyWALL helps stop 
threats at the network edge before they reach the local host computers. 
You can set the ZyWALL to examine files received through the following protocols: 
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
• SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) 
• POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)