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Sophos PureMessage Windows and Macintosh |
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Sophos PureMessage Windows and Macintosh |
The Sophos PureMessage software scans all email messages and attachments arriving on the Wellesley College central email server for viruses and blocks any infected messages or suspicious attachments.
The Wellesley College email system no longer allows .ZIP attachments in email from the Internet. All .ZIP files are removed automatically from messages before they are passed on to your Wellesley email account. This is a safety precaution the College (along with many other campuses) has taken to help protect Wellesley from the sudden virus outbreaks that have caused serious problems in the past.
If you need to receive a .ZIP compressed file from off campus, there is a workaround you can use posted in the Anti Virus Updates Conference which is located inside of the Computing Questions Conference on FirstClass. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have questions about how to receive .ZIP files, please post your questions on the Computing Questions Conference.
What will happen if someone off campus tries to e-mail me an attachment infected with a virus?
If Sophos PureMessage detects a virus in an incoming e-mail message/attachment, the message will be discarded/deleted. Most infected attachments are sent automatically by the virus and do not contain useful information; if, however, the attachment which was removed, because it contained a virus, is a real document, the sender will need to clean the virus from his or her computer, including this document, and then resend the attachment.
What will happen if I try to send someone an attachment infected with a virus?
Sophos PureMessage will reject the message and notify you that the message was rejected because it contained a virus.
Do I still need to update the anti-virus software on my computer?
Yes! Although Sophos PureMessage will prevent many viruses from reaching your computer, your computer is still vulnerable to infection. To learn how to keep your Windows or Macintosh computer's anti-virus software up to date, see http://www.wellesley.edu/Computing/TVD/.
What about local e-mail?
Most of the viruses which infect computers at Wellesley College are originally received from off-campus addresses. Attachments sent between accounts on the Wellesley College FirstClass system will not be scanned; however, messages sent to other Wellesley users in the form username@wellesley.edu will be scanned.
What if I use a POP client such as Eudora or Outlook?
If you read e-mail on campus using a POP client such as Eudora or Outlook instead of the FirstClass client, your incoming messages/attachments will still be scanned. If you use use a POP client off campus, mail that originated from off-campus that you download from FirstClass will have been scanned; your outgoing mail, which is routed through your internet service provider's mail server, will not be scanned by Sophos PureMessage but may be scanned by your ISP.
Can I assume that every attachment I receive is safe?
Although Sophos PureMessage will prevent most virus-laden attachments from reaching your In box, no anti-virus system is absolutely impenetrable. You should still keep your computer's anti-virus software up to date and use caution when deciding whether to open attachments.
How does Sophos PureMessage recognize viruses?
This software automatically recognizes viruses in e-mail messages/attachments by comparing each attachment with a library of known virus characteristics, or virus identity (IDE) files. Our Sophos PureMessage software is configured to check Sophos' servers for new virus identity files every 30 minutes, and automatically downloads any updates.
What happens to infected attachments?
Sophos PureMessage is configured to automatically delete messages with infected attachments which carry viruses.
What if a legitimate attachment is removed by Sophos PureMessage?
This software deletes e-mail messages that contain viruses and drops attachments with suspicious extensions such as .exe, .scr, .bat, etc. If a friend or colleague sends you a legitimate attachment which also contains a virus, the message along with the attachment will be deleted. The sender will need to remove the virus from his or her computer, then resend the attachment. If a friend or colleague needs to send you an attachment that is on the list of banned file types, have them try renaming the attachment before sending it. It is always prudent to keep a copy of any file you send as an attachment until you are certain the recipient has received the information.
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