Several of you have wanted to be removed from this list because you were
receiving virus, or strange looking mail. You are safe here. There is no need
for panic or worry.
A virus needs an attachment. The mailman.qth.net systems strips all attachments
out before a post is sent to this list, or any other. You can ONLY receive a
virus in your personal mail, not on this list! The qth.net lists are among the
safest anywhere. The owner, Alan Waller, K3TKJ, goes to a great extent to make
them as safe as possible. What he can not do, is make you use your computer with
wisdom and proper safeguards. That is your responsibility.
Rule #1: NEVER open attachments, no matter who they are supposed to be from.
Why? Because some virus programs will fake the sender and you may think it is
from a trusted friend. Wrong!
Rule #2: If the 'subject field' looks strange, do NOT open the mail! Delete it
immediately. Such things as: "Somebody Is Talking About You", "Information You
Requested", "Personal And Confidential, Open Immediately", "Virus Warning Please
Read", " etc. Some will appear to be from a business contacting you about a
problem with your account. Some will appear very authentic. Wrong! Use the
delete key.
Rule #3: If you can set your mail client to limit a file size to no more than
39K, do so. Generally speaking, a virus will be at least 40K. Hence, you can not
download a file of 40K into your mailbox. It remains on your ISP server. There
you can go check it safely. Then if it is alright, you can authorize the
download.
Rule #4: Most virus programs attack Outlook Express. I do not wish to promote
other software here by naming more safe programs. I will comment privately if
asked.
Rule #5: Use a good virus scan program and keep it updated. At least weekly! If
you do a lot of Internet wandering, a daily update is not unreasonable. Most
virus detection software programs now let you specify a time and it will go on
line and update while you sleep, or whatever. Hence, you are always updated with
the most current .dat files.
Rule #6: Although common sense is the most rare form of human intelligence, try
using it! If you think before clicking that mouse, you can save yourself a world
of grief and operate quite safely.
Again, you are safe here on the qth.net lists!
Duane Fischer, W8DBF
List Administrator