From: Roger Petry, NSP Western Region Webmaster (March 1, 2001)

To: NSP Western Region Administration and Patrol Representatives

Subject: Anti-virus Guidelines

Several WR folk have written to me or have called regarding the spread of computer viruses within e-mail sent among our group. First of all, I want to reassure you that use of our website for informational purposes will not infect your machine or propagate the viruses among us. However, it is possible with certain types of computer viruses, to send "infected messages" to others when you click on the e-mail links listed in our Region Roster. If only text messages are sent (ie. those without attachments), then a virus will not be sent with the message, even if the computer from which the message is sent is infected with one or more viruses.

Viruses are computer programs which must be "executed" ("run") in order to become active on the recipient's computer. "Opening" an attachment is one common way for viruses to infect a computer. Users of "popmail"- type e-mail programs, such as "Microsoft Outlook", "Eudora", "Netscape Messenger" are especially vulnerable to infection by e-mail attachment viruses because these e-mail programs can easily be "set up" to automatically open any attachments sent along with a message when the message is displayed (opened) for reading. Simply seeing it in the list of messages is not enough for the virus to spread from an attachment sent with that message. The infected attachment must be opened (launched) by the recipient in order for the virus to spread.

Here at UMD, another of our staff in our "computer center" (ITSS) assists with the development of anti-virus guidelines for our campus, researches viruses and attacks to our campus, and obtains current "virus definition files" (anti-virus programs for new viruses) from one of the vendors of anti-virus software which we use on campus. He has provided me with a link to a web page maintained at UMD containing some useful information pertaining to viruses.

http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/news/infotechnews/feb/virus.html

He also stresses that three things have to be addressed by all users of e-mail, especially those who use Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express:

1. obtain and install anti-virus software

2. keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. Out-of-date antivirus software is not useful anti-virus software. Many vendors of anti-virus software offer a fee-subscription service to make it very easy to keep your antivirus software current.

3. users of Microsoft Outlook/Express should install the security patch from Microsoft that disables the auto-launching of attachments. For more information, go to

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS00-043.asp

If you work within a firm which has "fire walls" (virus shields, or barriers, which protect computers within from virus infections without) installed, you still need to "practice safe computing" in order to reduce the threat of virus infections. It is possible for a virus to spread very quickly within an organization "protected" by fire walls, because individual machines may not have their own anti-virus software installed.

One last comment. In order for us, as a group, to help reduce the spread of computer viruses, and the ensuing damage they cause, we must all be willing to share in the responsibility of minimizing the risk of spreading viruses via e-amil. Failure to do any of the above by any one person in a group of correspondents will be exploited by virus writers and the whole group will be subjected to future infection.

Please feel free to send to me any questions you might have.

Roger Petry.

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