Dear Pam, listers and e-mail admins:
There appears to be a much simpler, and cheaper solution for your current woes. Installing a web-based bulletin board on your web server would eliminate any virus threat, providing the web server is secure. Because bulletin board messages are stored on the web server, and not downloaded to the subscriber's computer, the virus threat is eliminated. All messages and threads can be automatically archived to a searchable database on the web server. The bulletin boards I am familiar with are fairly simple for experienced users or support staff to install. I have provided some links here so that you can see the boards in real time:
Open Bulletin Board:
Price: Open source software (free).
http://community.iansoft.net/index.php
Ideal Bulletin Board:
Price:
branded - $100
unbranded $2000
Ultimate Bulletin Board:
Price: $199
http://www.smartquest.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
http://www.boomercafe.com/cgi/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi
Regards,
Richard Cox
Registered Sanitarian
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Certified Novell Engineer
A+ Hardware Technician
>>> Pamela Tom <pdtom@ucdavis.edu> 12/10/01 12:47AM >>>
To: UCD Postmasters
cc: Seafood HACCP Mailing List
Debbie and Mike, Mike mentioned that my e-mail message (endorsing UCD's
proposed purchase of antiviral software for $80,000 is well worth the
investment) would be supportive documentation when the topic of computer
security issues are discussed this Friday, 12/14. Well...I'd appreciate it
if you'd include this message too at your meeting. Not only are
subscribers plus UCD staff needlessly affected by countless hours of
dealing with viral infections, word is circulating (according to my friend
and mentor, whom I saw in So. Calif. this weekend) that people don't want
to subscribe to our listserv because it transmits too many viruses.
"Great," I mused on the plane ride home..."people want our mailing list
information but are inhibited in subscribing due to its reputation."
Late this evening I checked my mailbox and was surprised by over 350
messages; most of which were *error* (rejected) messages based on 3
messages all containing the virus, W32/Magistr.b@MM [disinfection
information is at: http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=99199&]
transmitted from the computer of subscriber, mpepp@eol.com.er. Had I not
checked late this evening, I could have easily amassed about 1000 error
messages by Monday morning.
Upon discovering the viral transmission, I immediately unsubscribed mpepp
and notified him/her of this action.
Mike, please remove the messages from mpepp@eol.com.er from the seafood
archive for 12/9. Also, please give me an update on the status of UCD's
policy on antiviral software following your security meeting this Friday.
Seafood subscribers (and subscriber wannabes) are very interested in the
security of the HACCP mailing list and would welcome UCD's adoption of
antiviral software for the mailing lists. Also, UCD's reputation is
apparently tarnished by UCD's current stance against prophylactic software
to guard against viral/worm transmissions. With the holiday season
approaching and many UCD staff (including yours truly) taking vacations,
many of the mailing lists may be unmonitored and very vulnerable to
attack. So, if the securuity committee approves (finally) antiviral
software for mailing lists, I hope that it can be installed before
Christmas.
Thanks for your help and consideration with these requests.
Pamela Tom, Seafood Mailing List Co-owner
p.s., Seafood Mailing List subscribers, please remain vigilant in
refraining from opening attachments without using your own updated viral
protection software to check the status of the attachment. Also, please
remember that you can easily get a virus from a friend or relative's
e-mail message.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Dec 10 2001 - 10:07:35 PST