[Ti] (OT) virus reports sent back to me by PC users

[Dale Gardner]

Almost certainly, no...and your client's IT department would benefit from
some clue. That said, I assume you have an appropriate av package installed
on your system, and that you keep it up to date. There is little risk from
virus infection on the Mac, but that will change - sooner, rather than later
I expect. Your existing av package won't protect you, but you'll be in a
position to get updated signatures quickly when it does happen.

You're really dealing with two things...

The first are automated messages sent by antivirus products to inform you
that you're "infected" with a virus. In reality, these are little more than
spam advertisements for av vendors. Since the from email address is so
easily spoofed, most admins have realized the notices are useless and have
stopped their distribution. Somebody else sent the infection - you're
getting the notice, and can ignore them...I'm trying to get Entourage to
consistently move them the the junk mailbox with a little success.

The other type of message is a virus infection attempt - these messages will
inform you a message of yours was 'infected' with a virus and is being
returned to you. The hope is that the recipient will click on the attached
file to investigate...and be infected. As noted, these are often executables
or scripts that Macs are not susceptible too - but that will change, so
prudence suggests you delete the files without trying to open.

Regards,

Dale


on 6/16/04 10:53 AM, F. Mortes at fmortes at saltidiomes.com wrote:

> ... could I be infecting other users and their PCs?

-- 
Dale Gardner
drgardner at mac.com

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin