Antivirus support is provided as a free service at this time for all our Virtual Mail Services. Antivirus support can be disabled via Web.Manager. Webvisions cannot guarantee that the use of Antivirus service will result in a 100% virus free environment. Webvisions cannot guarantee that all viruses will be blocked nor will we guarantee against loss of data as a result of a virus failing to be blocked by the Antivirus service.

FAQs for Integrated Antivirus Support in Virtual Mail Server

A. Computer viruses today are a threat to many computer systems. They destroy data as well as enable computer systems unusable. The Email system is a medium which is commonly used to spread these viruses. With Webvisions' Integrated AV Support built into your Virtual Mail Server, it provides an extra layer of protection for your email.

Q. Ok, great, we have an AV Scanner on our emails now, does this mean I am 100% safe ?

A. Absolutely not. There's no such thing as 100% security. Basic AV precautions should still be put in place. These would include installing AV software on your PCs, being careful about what attachements to open etc. Webvisions will not guarantee that it'll catch every virus, neither will we be responsible if you get infected as a direct result of assuming this service exist.

Q. Can I do away with my Antivirus tools now that we have this from Webvisions ?

A. Certainly not. This just adds one layer of protection. Viruses spread through many mediums and are new unknown viruses are generated every day. It is recommended that you would have at least your standard antivirus tools available on your desktop to protect you against viruses that may attack your system through any means.

Q. Do I need to update any Virus Defination Files on the Virtual Mail Server ?

A. There is NO need to. Webvisions' Virtual Mail Server will automatically update defination files every two hours. You can find a list of definations at www.ravantivirus.com / www.clamav.net

Q. What happens when the Virtual Mail Server encounters a virus ?

A. If the scanning module is able to identify a MIME attachment to contain a possible virus, it will automatically reject the mail and send a notice back to the Sender.

Q. Will a notice be sent to the recipient as well if an email is rejected ?

A. At this moment, it will not. However, this and other features are planned for future releases.

Q. I found have a virus that your AV Scanner does not protect, what do I do ?

A. You can choose to update www.clamav.net. Please do not email us new viruses. There are hundreds of viruses that are released weekly, we do not have resources to update and track new viruses.

Q. Are all Webvisions Virtual Mail Servers installed with this service ?

A. Yes, when completed, all Webvisions Virtual Mail Servers will be installed with this service.

Do Webvisions Virtual Mail Servers protect us against suspicious file attachments sent via email ?

A. Yes. There is always a lag time between a virus starting its spread and an Anti Virus cure. To protect our networks and our customers, Webvisions has by default blocked all mail attachments with suspicious double extensions (.e.g .txt.exe) and common file extensions used by viruses (e.g. .pif, .scr, .com). Customers should pay heed to advice given by AV companies - Zip your files up before sending emails and scanning them before unzipping to prevent accidental infection.

We also pro-actively ban suspected viruses and spam content (by keyword matching collated from AV databases (like Symantec's) or Antispam sites (like SpamCop). The list is large and changes every day. If an attachment you have sent is blocked, you would receive a notice from your email client that says "Email rejected due to presence of banned content/attachment". If you have any doubts or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact support@webvisions.com

Q. I noticed that sometimes viruses do slip through, why is that?

A. The can be several reasons for this. One common reason this occurs is due to the way email is encoded and sent via various email clients. Not all scanners know how to unpack every mime type, or type of encoded email so some uncommon ones do get through. With time, these would be discovered and added to the scanner's fix list. Another reason could be that a specific antivirus scanner does not have the signature for this virus or a lag time between an update of the virus signature. This is not a full proof solution.

Security has to be managed in a totality sense, it does not mean that if you have antivirus protection, you can get wanton in opening unknown files. Similarly, if you had a firewall installed, it does not mean you are fully protected against hackers. Likewise, if you depended on just a single AV scanner on your mail service and neglect to install AV scanners on your desktop and relied on the former, then you are running your own risks.

Please also read this list of tips of how to practice safe computing.