Crystone AB
Control panel

Viruses

Question:
People have received virus-infected email from my email address, but I don’t have any viruses in my computer. How is this possible?
Answer:
Anyone can specify your reply address so that it looks like the email comes from you and your computer. It happens quite often that someone you’ve corresponded with has a virus and the virus uses your email address as a sender. Unfortunately, this is very common and there is no way to prevent it. By checking the header of the email message, the recipient can see the server the message went through. This server is often completely unknown to you.


Question:
Can the email server be affected by viruses?
Answer:
No, viruses are created to infect and be spread by ordinary PCs. It is technically impossible for the server itself to be infected. If you only use webmail, you can’t be affected by viruses.


Question:
What are viruses?
Answer:
A virus is a program that reproduces itself without the user’s permission for the purpose of spreading as much as possible. A computer virus can be compared to a biological virus that uses cells as hosts to produce new copies of the virus. A computer virus is dependant on other programs or files to survive, and in order to spread it must be inactive for a certain amount of time. A program that isn’t infectious can’t be called a virus. A computer virus consists principally of two parts: a reproductive part and a destructive part. Viruses are most often spread via email or files attached to emails.


Question:
How do I know if I have a virus in my computer?
Answer:
  • Your computer sends email without your knowledge (with or without viruses).
  • It takes more time to load programs.
  • Unusual error messages.
  • Unusual disk activity apart from when you are writing to the disk yourself.
  • A significant reduction in available memory.
  • Files disappear.
  • Unexplained reduction in available disk space.
  • Changes to file and program sizes.
  • The computer hangs more than “usual”.

Question:
How do I protect myself or remove a virus?
Answer:
First, you should have an antivirus program in your computer. Go to www.f-secure.seor www.symantec.comfor additional information. Since viruses are frequently spread via email, a rule of thumb is to never open email or attached files if you’re not sure what they contain or whether they come from a known source.


Question:
What does Crystone do to prevent viruses from landing in my email box?
Answer:
Almost all of our customers have virus filters and all new ones do. We work continuously to keep our filters updated.