Q1: What is ClamAv?
Q2: How is the virus protection licensed?
Q3: How does CIPAFilter's anti-virus compare to other major anti-virus companies?
Q4: What files are blocked by the virus protection?
Q5: Does CIPAFilter have to be a firewall in order to stop viruses?
Q6: How does FTP virus scanning work?
Q7: What is "Transparent POP3 Virus Scanning"?
Q8: What happens when an e-mail has a virus-infected attachment?
A: ClamAv is the open-source anti-virus engine that CIPAFilter has been using since 2004. Because it is a freely available engine, the design focus was not on providing signature updates but also to create a clever engine, able to recognize various forms of viruses before a signature file becomes available. Many sources worldwide are designated to provide updates.
ClamAv is exceptional at detecting new viruses, and has a very rapid signature file update-deployment. There is a software client available as well.
Question 2: How is the virus protection licensed?
A: The virus protection is a low-cost flat annual fee that covers the entire company or school district. It is based on the model you purchase. See our pricing section for more information. The software client is provided at no additional cost, and may be used on as many computers as you wish.
Question 3: How does CIPAFilter's anti-virus compare to other major anti-virus companies?
A: ClamAv has been around for a long time, and is very comparable to other major software packages. CIPAFilter clients argue that ClamAv has blocked more viruses, and that the software client was catching viruses on servers that other engines did not detect. You can rest assured that this virus protection solution is very effective, and will compare to, if not outperform, existing engines.
Question 4: What files are blocked by the virus protection?
A: The e-mail virus protection will strip executable attachments on any incoming mail, and forward the e-mail to the recipient, informing them of the stripped attachment. One can just rename the extension of a file to e-mail it. This is becoming very common, to help decrease user's opening files with harmful content.
Question 5: Does CIPAFilter have to be a firewall in order to stop viruses?
A: If CIPAFilter is not a firewall, you will have limited protection. CIPAFilter needs to proxy all traffic. This means that as a firewall, the unit sees all the traffic traversing the network. As a proxy server, only computers that are set to use the proxy server are protected. You also lose transparent POP3 virus scanning, and possibly SMTP mail (if the box is not relaying mail internally).
Question 6: How does FTP virus scanning work?
A: FTP viruses are caught automatically as FTP file transfers occur. FTP transfers may also be setup to use CIPAFilter as a proxy server. FTP scans are intercepted automatically, whether passive or active FTP client/server connections.
Question 7: What is "Transparent POP3 Virus Scanning"?
A: All mail traverses the Internet through SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol), which operates on TCP Port 25, until it is delivered to the mail server. POP3 however, is only a mail retrieval protocol, designed to connect to an external mail server where the e-mail has already been delivered, authenticate, and receive the messages.
Because POP3 mail can be retrieved from anywhere, e-mail containing viruses can be downloaded with a mail client from within the network. This traffic comes in on TCP Port 110 instead. CIPAFilter monitors this port, and will automatically intercept and virus scan the mail. This causes a slight abnormal delay, but will protect your network if you are allowing external mail to be delivered to any computer.
Question 8: What happens when an e-mail has a virus-infected attachment?
A: The attachment is removed, and the e-mail is delivered to the recipient, notifying that a harmful attachment has been removed.
