NEW: Anti-Virus, Anti-Phishing added

--VQ-- · Site Admin Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 474

What is the big deal?

Engineers at the the Vanquish skunk works in Marlborough Massachusets have been noodling away at a top secret project for months. Quietly, at noon on Tuesday Jan 11 2005, vqME users got a major service upgrade. This one is REALLY BIG, and yet most users have not yet noticed it, because there is no user interface at all.

vqME now includes world class protection from both viruses and "Phishing scams".* Now your mail is not only free of spam, it is protected by the most widely deployed Anti-Virus technology in the world, with a signature database that is updated continuously.

How could we possibly follow a major new feature like this? Glad you asked! Another really, really big feature was added to vqME during the first week of February!

How Do I Use It?

Good question. Here is the complete instruction manual:

Do nothing. You are not likely to ever receive another email containing a virus
That's it. There is nothing to do -- not ever!

How Does It Work?

Another good quesiton! Here is how it works:

Your mail is cleaned of both spam and viruses before you download it
Our Anti-Virus process checks both the email and the attachments
The virus can't hide in a ZIP file. We know how to inspect those too!
vqME blocks the infected message before it reaches your PC. The sender is given data on the original message and the type of virus found within
Spammers are not informed. Bounce messages are sent only to mail that meets anti-spam criteria or that you RELEASE to your IN box

Unlike other vendors, vqME does not automatically block attachments based simply on a file extensions such as EXE, COM, BAT, SCR, PIF (however, your email program may block these attachments). Instead we have only one function...

Protecting you from downloading infected mail. The header is returned to the sender with a description of the virus.

Do I Still Need Anti-Virus Software on my PC?

A great question! Our server based anti-spam protection is probably better and more up to date than the anti-virus software that you are running now. But email is only one way in which a virus can enter your PC. It could arrive in any file you download from the web - or more likely, via a "buffer overun" when it is not even your intention to download a file. It could enter via floppy disc, CD, USB drive, office networking/file sharing, or through services running on your PC such as instant messenger, chat, and remote desktop. For these reasons, we recommend that you continue to use reputable anti-virus software on your PC at all times - even if you are disconnected from the internet and are not accessing email.

* What is a Phishing Scam?

Phishing scams are messages that link to fraudulent web sites - usually entry forms - that appear to be from organizations with which you have a relationship, like PayPal, eBay or Citibank. They attempt to lure you into entering credit card numbers and passwords. This data is used to steal your identity and empty your bank accounts.

Can I See the Anti-Virus Mail-Reject Message?

Choose either Anti-Virus alert messages:

Incoming Alert
Outbound Alert (when you send mail)

You can test this by sending yourself a virus. Better yet, send the special text string shown below. It is a universally recognized message designed to harmlessly trigger Anti-Virus systems. Essentially you will be "shooting a blank". Cut and paste the following line into an email and then change the first three dots to "X5O" and the last three dots to "+H*" (cut and paste 3 characters onto each end without quotation marks).

If you send from a NON-Vanquish account to a protected recipient, the message will arrive in his or her Held Mail. Upon release, the recipient will get the details of the virus that was detected and removed.

...!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H...