How the UCD Anti-Virus Software Works to Protect You on this Listserv

From: Pamela Tom (pdtom@ucdavis.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 02 2003 - 14:31:23 PDT

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    A message with "my details" in the subject line (one of several viruses
    circulating the internet these days) was transmitted on our listserv on
    8/30/03. Do not worry. This file, though a nuisance, was rendered
    harmless by UCD anti-virus software. The file was not intentionally sent
    by the subscriber. There are a number of files circulating with
    fraudulent use of valid e-mail addresses.

    Please be vigilant in routinely updating your anti-virus software on your
    computer.

    I asked our UC Davis Assistant Postmaster, Mike Waid, for an explanation
    on how the virus software here at UCD functions. His reply is below.

    Regards,

    Pamela Tom, List Owner
    University of California, Sea Grant Extension Program.
    =========================================================================

    >From email@ucdavis.edu Tue Sep 2 14:16:44 2003
    Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 13:54:47 -0700 (PDT)
    From: Email List Managers <email@ucdavis.edu>
    To: Pamela Tom <pdtom@ucdavis.edu>
    Subject: Re: question

    Our anti-virus software strips virus attachments only for the viruses
    known to the anti-virus software. The definitions get updated each night,
    and if something big and quick comes along we try to get the new
    definition as soon as it is available. That being said, there will be
    times when a new virus will get through out filters, since anti-virus
    software by definition is a action-reaction situation.

    The spam filtering software adds a plain text attachment on messages that
    trigger its spam threshold. This can be confusing with some viruses
    because viruses have a tendency to look like spam, so the virus filter
    strips off the virus attachement, then the spam filter adds a spam report
    attachment.

    regards,
    Mike

    *******************************************************************
        Mike Waid postmaster@ucdavis.edu
        Assistant UC Davis E-Mail Postmaster
        Information and Educational Technology/Client Services
        PHONE: (530)754-5204 url: http://email.ucdavis.edu/
        FAX: (530)754-5205
    ********************************************************************

    On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, Pamela Tom wrote:

    > Hi Mike,
    >
    > Will our software catch and strip all viruses that go through the
    > listserv, or only those that the software has definitions for?
    >
    > How frequently is our software updated to catch the viruses and protect
    > our UC Davis listservs?
    >
    > Pamela



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