ENG-BLACKCOUNTRY-DIASPORA-L Archives

From: "Satima Flavell Neist" <>
Subject: [BC Diaspora] Virus Messages
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 08:19:40 +0800

Dear friends,

This is a regular message to remind folks about the Rootsweb protocol
regarding viruses.

It is good manners to let people know when you have a virus, and might have
passed it on to them. If you have done so, you will have done it off-list,
because the Rootsweb system strips all messages of html code, which can
carry viruses. Also, as you know, you cannot post attachments to the
mailing lists, so viruses can't get through that way. So, if you think you
might have passed a virus on to someone, it is good manners to drop them a
line off-list so they can clean up their system.

If you receive a virus-carrying message from someone on the list, please
write to that person directly and explain what has happened. People do not
spread viruses deliberately: the infected computer does it without their
knowledge. It can happen to any of us. Even the best anti-virus software
has a problem keeping up with all the new viruses! It does no good,
therefore, to become angry with the person who sent it to you, or to
bad-mouth them on the list. If for any reason you cannot contact the person
who inadvertently sent you the virus, please get in touch with me and I will
try to contact them. You can contact me at any time through the address in
my signature.

Please do not post messages about viruses or hoaxes to the list. It is the
responsibility of each and every list member to ensure that his or her
anti-virus program is up to date and working correctly, and to be aware of
the various hoaxes that are doing the rounds. (The current one is the
Sulfnbk.exe hoax, which tries to persuade people to delete a perfectly good
Windows file!)

You can download free AV software from several places on the internet. Just
type "free anti-virus software" into your favourite search engine, and
you'll find many to choose from.

To keep up with hoaxes, the best site I've found is
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

If you are really interested in this aspect of computing, you might like to
consider joining the Rootsweb mailing list especially set up for the purpose
of discussing issues connected with viruses. To subscribe, send an e-mail to
with the single word subscribe
in the message subject and body. To join in digest mode, send the message
instead to

Persistent discussion of viruses on this list will get you unsubscribed, as
will any suggestion of flaming or bad-mouthing other listers because they
may have sent you a virus. Remember - your virus protection is your
responsibility, not that of the person who sent you the virus.

Cheers,
Satima
Satima Flavell Neist in Perth, Western Australia
Listadmin ; ;
;
and

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