UC Davis Not Equipped to Filter Viruses

From: Pamela Tom (pdtom@ucdavis.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 09 2000 - 17:16:34 PST

  • Next message: J. (Jan) A.M. Verhoeven: "HACCP applicable to viruses"

    To: Seafood Listserv
    Fr: Pamela Tom, Seafood List Co-owner

    As soon as we realized a virus/worm was released, our subscribers did what
    was possible to alert the group (850+ of you worldwide), and we had the
    particular files removed from the archive on our web site.

    I hope that our subscribers will continue to be vigilant and alert the
    mailing list if they receive a virus warning through the seafood listserv.

    The best HACCP control for the mailing list that you can implement is to
    delete, without opening, any incoming file attachments with the ".exe"
    extension.

    At this time, David Zavatson (coordinator of all listservs here at UC
    Davis) indicates that the UCD listproc is not equipped to screen for
    viruses. (See Dave's message below.) This means that your own servers or
    computers need to guard against invasions. Fortunately, many of your
    servers are working because they are bouncing back the infected files to
    both seafood mailing list co-owners (Bob Price and me).

    Here's McAfee's advice on protecting computers against viruses: Don't let
    your guard down! Remember: Never open an email attachment unless you know
    what it is--even if it comes from someone you know and trust.

    >From dhzavatson@ucdavis.edu Thu Mar 9 16:27:14 2000
    Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 11:35:24 -0800 (PST)
    From: Dave Zavatson <dhzavatson@ucdavis.edu>
    To: Pamela Tom <pdtom@ucdavis.edu>
    Subject: Re: inquiry

    On Tue, 7 Mar 2000, Pamela Tom wrote:

    > Hi Dave,
    >
    > Can the listproc be configured to prevent the transmission of .exe files?
    > Perhaps this way we can minimize the spread of viruses?
    >
    > Pamela

    Not really. listproc has no concept of scanning attachments for content.
    Besides, in some cases sending exe files might be appropriate use of listproc.

    There are third party products that scan email attachments for viruses.
    However, with the volume of mail we deal with, the additional cost for
    hardware to support the required processing is cost prohibitive. Even if we
    did add that, only users that receive mail processed by our systems would
    be protected. The other listproc users would still be just as vulnerable
    from other sources.

    Users should use common sense when receiving attachments. Do not open
    them unless you trust the source and know what it is.

            -Dave
                             ''' \|/
                            (o o) (O O)
     /------------------oOO--(_)--OOo---------o00--(_)--00o----------------------\
     | Dave Zavatson | Information Systems Management | (530)752-7758 |
     |dhzavatson@ucdavis.edu | UC Davis / Information Technology | |
     \---------------------------------------------------------------------------/
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