Michael Holzt skribis 2005-12-16 13:20 (+0100): > > I strongly believe that users should never solely *depend on* virus > > filtering provided by the ISP, and must run a local virus scanner. This > > is a security issue, not one of convenience. > While you are right, this does not free the ISP from having to keep its > virus scanner running when offered as a service. I'm very certain that in > most jurisdiction the ISP will be held liable for damages, if he offers a > virus filter which has known defects.
If virus filtering is done as a convenience measure, it should be marketed as such explicitly, with the warning that it does not replace client side scanners. This should solves the liability issue. > > We think that when our spamassassin is broken, our clients would prefer > > receiving spam to receiving nothing at all. > I disagree. A responsible ISP needs to make sure that an offered service > is functional at all times. They have to do their best. We're talking about hardware and software, each of which are expected to fail at times. 100% uptime is certainly something to strive for, but not a realistic goal, in the internet business. > It is not too complicated to install automatic checks etc. which will > soon reveal when an error occurs. Revelation does not fix things, unfortunately. > And a virus which is executed by an unaware client will likely cause a hell > of a lot of more damage. A client who does not run a virus scanner has not followed our recommendations. Viruses in e-mail are not their problem, system administration is. > In the end it all depends on the needs and wishes of the client and > the security-awareness of its employees Awareness can be improved through communication from the mail service provider to the client. > however speaking of my customers most of them would prefer a short > mail outage much over the risk of getting a virus/worm which could > have been filtered. Have you actually asked them? We have. Juerd -- http://convolution.nl/maak_juerd_blij.html http://convolution.nl/make_juerd_happy.html http://convolution.nl/gajigu_juerd_n.html
