Officials warn users of new e-mail virus

As if University students don’t have enough e-mails lingering in their mailboxes, a recent virus is adding more messages to sift .

The e-mails, which reach students through their subscribed listservs, have subject headings warning that there is an “online user violation” or that the e-mail account will be closed. Once opened, the e-mails contain no message.

“They’re cluttering my mailbox,” said Lucy Witt, a sophomore biology major. “I’ve got one from every single listserv I’m on. I’m confused as to why they haven’t notified students.”

Kevin Lyles, a sophomore business major, agreed.

“I think they’re annoying, and I would like to know the root of the problem,” he said.

According to Chris Columb, director of messaging for Information Technology Services, the e-mails are a result of a family of global viruses known as Mytob.

“It’s one of a series of viruses going around,” he said. “We have to go after every single one of them because we don't which will be the next to do some major damage.”

The Mytob virus spreads by sending e-mails with infected attachments.

“The big thing with these e-mails is not to click on the attachment,” Columb warned.

Thanks to ITS filters, e-mails that students receive through University e-mail should contain no attachments.

These filters screen campus e-mails before they reach students and usually remove all viral e-mails before students even see them.

Sometimes, however, the filters only remove the damaging parts of the e-mails while the rest of the message reaches students.

Such is the case with the recent slew of mail clogging student inboxes.

If students do receive suspicious e-mails containing attachments, they should contact ITS immediately by calling 962-HELP.

Another way to find out about recent problems or updates facing ITS is to visit its Web site, http://itschanges.unc.edu.

Meanwhile, ITS officials continue to work to prevent future problems.

“We work closely with several vendors to make sure that all networks have the most current virus protection to keep everything updated,” said Megan Bell, assistant vice chancellor for ITS communications.

In managing approximately 45,000 e-mail accounts, Columb also is updating virus filters constantly to adjust to new viruses threatening the system.

With all the precautions taken by ITS, it is still important to be wary of suspicious e-mails.

“Students should know that we do not send out any kind of vague e-mails,” Columb said. “We don't send out updates to software. We don’t send out magic things to clean your mailbox of spam.”

For students who want to learn more about protecting their computers, ITS also offers a training class that teaches different techniques useful in protecting computers from spam.

Columb also recommended that students download the Symantec antivirus from http://shareware.unc.edu.

As Bell said, “No matter how many proactive measures you take, there’s always someone trying to find a way to break into the system.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.