UVa's Email Virus Protection Service

About the Service & Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs)

About UVa's Email Virus Protection Service

UVa's automatic Email Virus Protection Service (EVPS) augments the protection of the antivirus program on your computer (such as the UVa-provided Symantec Norton Antivirus, downloadable from Software Central), to stop infection from most viruses and worms.

As automated systems are never perfect, they cannot ensure full protection for your computer from infections on your computer (which can happen in a variety of ways), but their use will lessen the number of infections of your computer.

Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions about the EVPS

What messages are protected by UVa's Email Virus Protection Service?
The Email Virus Protection Service (EVPS) drops messages which:
  1. contain attachment(s) and MIME types which are banned or that have attachments that match known virus signatures; and
  2. are sent:
    • to primary UVa email addresses (e.g., mst3k@virginia.edu),
    • to/from accounts on UVa's Central Mail Service (e.g., mst3k@cms.mail.virginia.edu),
    • to/from accounts on the UVa Exchange Service (e.g., mst3k@eservices.virginia.edu),
    • to UVa email aliases (e.g., mthomas@virginia.edu), or
    • to Mailman mailing lists (e.g., uvaworkgrp@virignia.edu).

The EVPS does not process messages to or from departmental email servers (unless the inbound message is sent to a primary address or email alias address that then directs the message to the departmental server).

The EVPS also does not process messages to student and alumni email accounts provided by UVa-contracted vendors, as the vendors themselves provide this service.

How does the Email Virus Protection Service work?
The Email Virus Protection Service (EVPS) makes 2 checks on each email message that is sent:
  • compares message attachment(s) and MIME types to a list of banned attachment types; then
  • scans messages for attachments, and checks any attachments against a known set of computer virus/computer worm signature definitions.

If a message has a match in either of the 2 checks, it is dropped, even if the message is legitimate and would not be a problem. The message is not delivered to its intended recipient, nor is it returned to its sender. An entry for the drop is made into the Dropped Message Summary database for the message.

What does it mean to say a message has been dropped?
When any message protected by the EVPS message is dropped, the EVPS does not deliver it, and does not send a failed mail message about the non-delivery. An entry for the drop is made into the Dropped Message Summary database for the message. See banned attachment and MIME types for more information on the types of messages which the EVPS will drop.
What can I do if a legitimate message has been dropped?

If you need to send or receive an email message and the file attachment uses one of the banned attachment and MIME types, the sender can:

  1. Rename the file, avoiding the banned type in the name; and
  2. Resend the file as an attachment, providing the recipient with instructions to save the attachment to a file, and then rename the file to a specified name before using it.
Can I obtain a record of my dropped messages?

When a message associated with your email address (either to or from you) is dropped, a record of the drop is put into the Dropped Message Summary database.

A summary of your dropped messages is automatically sent to you via email on any day an entry is made into this database for you. If there are no virus-dropped messages for your account on a given day, you will not receive an email message from the Email Virus Protection Service on that day.

UVa Mailman mailing list administrators receive email notices of messages sent to their lists which have been dropped.

Do I have to receive the Dropped Message Summary email message?

Individuals may disable their Dropped Message Summary email notification on the Email Virus Protection Service Dropped Message Summary website. We recommend that you check this website for your dropped messages to determine if a legitimate message has been dropped.

Mailman mailing list administrators cannot disable the Dropped Message Summary email notification for their list(s).

What is included in a Dropped Message Summary?

For every email message which is dropped, you will have a Dropped Message Summary (sent via email or viewable on the Web). Each Summary can have up to 4 sections; yours will contain only those sections in which you have had messages dropped. The possible sections you may have are:

  • Messages that appear to have come from your account, which were dropped for having a banned attachment type, as listed in the banned attachment type list. Having messages appear in this section may be indicative of a problem on your computer, or it could indicate that a virus has forged your email address onto one or more messages it has sent. Updating your antivirus definitions daily and scanning your computer often will help ensure that it is free from these infections.
  • Messages addressed to your account, which were dropped for having a banned attachment type, as listed in the banned attachment type list. Examine the information in this section and contact any sender of a message you believe may have been legitimate.
  • Messages that appear to have come from your account, which were dropped for having an attachment that matches industry-defined virus signatures. Having messages appear in this section may be indicative of a problem on your computer, or it could indicate that a virus has forged your email address onto one or more messages it has sent. Updating your antivirus definitions daily and scanning your computer often will help ensure that it is free from these infections.
  • Messages addressed to your account, which were dropped for having an attachment that matches industry-defined virus signatures. You will want to examine the information in this section and contact any sender of a message you believe may have been legitimate.
Information in the summary is updated continuously and is taken from the problematic messages before they are dropped. The information in the summary is all the data available for that message.
How do I access my Dropped Message Summary?

To see your summary of dropped messages on the Web, please visit the Email Virus Protection Service Dropped Message Summary website. You will be required to authenticate to this secure website by providing your UVa computing ID (e.g., mst3k) and a password that you use for any of the following systems:

  • Central Mail Service (CMS)
  • Home Directory
  • Blue Unix Cluster
  • Eservices/UVa Exchange Service
  • HSC domain
  • UVa Google Email
  • UVa Microsoft Live Email
Where can I get additional help or information about the Email Virus Protection Service?
Questions and comments about the Email Virus Protection Service should be directed to the ITC Help Desk by calling (434) 924-3731 or using the Help Request Form.

© 2008 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

The information contained on the University of Virginia’s Department of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) website is provided as a public service with the understanding that ITC makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information, including warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others. These pages are expected to represent the University of Virginia community and the State of Virginia in a professional manner in accordance with the University of Virginia’s Computing Policies.