Announcements

August 22, 2003 - Sobig.f Virus Information
A new computer virus was unleashed on the Internet on August 19 called Sobig.f. It is the fastest spreading computer worm to date. The following are some items of information that should help customers who are wondering about Sobig and their vulnerability to it:

Customers using Xpressweb e-mail accounts: Sobig is a mass mailing worm, meaning that it spreads via e-mail. All Xpressweb e-mail accounts (including e-mail accounts ending in xpressweb.com, kanab.net, fredonia.net, and altonutah.net) are protected from this virus and have been since August 19. However this virus appeared and spread so rapidly that it took most anti-virus vendors by surprise. Therefore, it's possible that a copy of Sobig may have made it into your Xpressweb e-mail account before the anti-virus software knew about it. If you have opened any strange e-mail attachments recently, you may want to check your computer for this virus.

You should also keep in mind that even though you use a virus-protected Xpressweb e-mail account, others in your household may use other 3rd-party accounts, such as Hotmail, Yahoo, or others. 3rd-party e-mail accounts may or may not be protected from viruses. See the next section for more information on this.

Customers using Hotmail, Yahoo, or other 3rd-party e-mail accounts: If you use a 3rd-party e-mail account, we recommend installing and using anti-virus software on your computer. Because e-mail from 3rd-party accounts does not pass through Xpressweb's e-mail server, we are unable to scan it for viruses. If you have recently opened any strange e-mail attachments, you should check your computer for this virus. Keep in mind that if you use an anti-virus software package, it is absolutely crucial to keep it updated often. Hundreds of new viruses appear every week, and your computer is unprotected from them if you don't update your anti-virus software.

If you have received an e-mail telling you that your computer sent a virus to someone: Please disregard messages telling you that your computer sent a virus to someone. The Sobig virus forges incorrect e-mail addresses onto the viruses that it sends out. In other words, if you received a message saying that you sent someone an e-mail that was infected with Sobig, it means that another computer (not yours) is infected with the virus, and is sending out viruses purporting to be from you. For more information on this particular behavior of Sobig, see the following: http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/autorespond.html

How to determine if your computer is infected and how to get rid of it: If you suspect your computer has been infected with Sobig, you can download a free removal tool from Sophos Anti-Virus. This removal tool can be found here: http://www.sophos.com/support/disinfection/sobigf.html

Once you've downloaded the removal tool, do the following:

  1. Double-click the downloaded file to install it.
  2. After installing the tool, click "Start" -> "Run".
  3. If you are using Windows 95, 98, or Me, type "command" (without the quotation marks). If you are using Windows NT, 2000, or XP, type "cmd" (again, without the quotation marks).
  4. Click OK
  5. A black MS-DOS window will appear. Type the following:

    C:\SOPHTEMP\RESOLVE.COM -DF=SOBIG.DAT -NOC

    and hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

The tool will proceed to scan your computer for the virus, and will remove anything it finds. When it is finished, it will tell you how many infected items were found. If it says that 0 items were infected, you did not have the virus.

The Sobig.f second wave attack: The Sobig.f worm is programmed to attempt to download a file on August 22. At this point in time, nobody knows what this "payload" file will contain or what it will do. Some of the possibilities include damaging the infected computer, launching a new virus, or launching a spam (junk e-mail) attack from the infected machine.

Xpressweb has put filters in place on our network to keep this payload file from being downloaded. This action will hopefully keep the potential damage done by Sobig to a minimum.

May 13, 2003 - Junk E-mail (Spam) Filtering
Over the past year, the amount of junk e-mail received by Internet users has increased dramatically. It used to be that an occasional junk e-mail was simply an annoyance. However, over the past few months, the flood of unwanted e-mail has reached a critical level. Many Internet users would simply rather not use e-mail than have to spend time wading through the never-ending (and often offensive) sales pitches that fill their inboxes.

Xpressweb now has the answer. Our junk e-mail filter has been in testing for a number of months now by actual Xpressweb customers. After putting a few finishing touches on it, we are now announcing this invaluable tool is officially available to all Xpressweb e-mail users free of charge. The junk e-mail filter setup can be accessed from Xpressweb's new website, by selecting Junk E-mail Filter from the My Account menu, or by clicking here.

May 13, 2003 - Webmail system available
Xpressweb is now officially announcing our Xpress~Webmail system. This is a web-based e-mail system that allows you to send and receive e-mail via your Xpressweb e-mail account from anywhere in the world that has Internet connectivity. The Webmail system also includes an address book, spell checker, and a fairly full featured calendaring system.