Conference iosg::all-in-1

2482.0. "Disinfect or bounce incoming email with virus in it?" by BIGUN::ANDERSON (Still Alive) Fri Jan 24 1997 10:02

    Our main source of MS Word and Excel virus infections is incoming
    email. The TeamLinks checks catch some of this, but I was wondering if
    we could automate the checking of incoming email from off node by using
    the VMS VSWEEP program, and if we find an infected email then bounce
    the email back to the sender rather than deliver it. 
    
    I am not an ALL-IN-1, Mailbus, MR support person -- just a part time
    VMS system manager with the local ALL-IN-1 services on the VMS cluster
    here. Is it possible to do what I want? 
    
    I guess that it means:
    
    a. being able to put some DCL (or script?) into either the process
    delivering email onto our nodes, or else into the Fetcher process that
    picks the email up and puts it into the ALL-IN-1 file cabinet (am I
    right that this is what Fetcher does?). Is there a place to insert DCL
    in the delivery mechanism?
    
    b. That DCL would run VSWEEP.EXE against the directory/directories with
    the as yet undelivered email in it. Filespecs of email with virus would
    be placed into a file, VSWEEP can do that. Is incoming undelivered
    email stored in one place or is it spread over all the OA$SHARE* areas
    or what else instead?
    
    c. Is it possible that given a filespec of an undelivered email, to
    determine who sent it and bounce it back to them undelivered?
    
    d. VSWEEP is supposed to be able to disinfect files with macro viruses
    but it is new functionality and it seems to let a lot of infected files
    through on our cluster. I'd rather bounce than rely on VSWEEP cleaning
    up, at this time. 

    You are not the first person to ask this - See note 1709 and numerous
    replies.
    
    There isn't any point in the fetcher code where you can get your own
    code run to check incoming messages. Actually, you might be able to do
    it in Message Router, but it would probably need some programming
    changes.
    
    Incoming mail messages are, as you so accurately describe it, "spread
    all over the shared areas". So your only strategy is to run batch jobs
    that scan all the .DOC messages in the shared areas and look for
    viruses. If you find one, you can simply replace the file with a empty
    Word document saying that there was a virus. Then you can look the
    filename up in the SDAF and, assuming you can decode the format, work
    out the sender and addressees.
    
    In 1709, you'll see how the IOSG System Manager does it.