Glossary of Terms

Vacation message
A message automatically sent as a reply to any message received in a specified mailbox, in this case to inform the original sender that the recipient is away and will not be able to respond. Also known as an autoresponder.

Virtual
Simulation of the real thing. Means "almost" or "in effect only". You will see this term appear before various computer terms to indicate simulation technology that enables you to cross boundaries and experience something without requiring its physical presence. The Internet is also seen as a "virtual" world.

Virtual domain
A virtual domain is the base URL of the domain name. Examples include yahoo.com and whg.org. Virtual domain names are not just limited to .com, .net, .org, or .edu domain extensions. International domain names are also virtual domain names, such as communitech.co.uk, deutchland.de, etc.

Virtual server
A VServer virtual server is a fully functional Internet server system. There are a few distinct differences, however, between a virtual server and other Web hosting solutions. To function properly, all Internet servers require a computer, special software, and a high-speed connection to the Internet. A dedicated Internet server typically allows only one person (or group of people) to use the computer, software, and Internet connection. Because one person or group must purchase all the hardware and software, plus pay for the monthly expense of a high-speed Internet connection just to publish a single Internet site, dedicated servers are rather expensive. As an alternative to dedicated Internet severs, there are two basic types of Web hosting solutions: Virtual Hosting, and Virtual Server technology.

Virus profiling
Virus profiling uses a scoring system to determine the likelihood that the message contains a virus. There are certain attributes that make a message inherently risky. We check those attributes first and block those messages outright. Next, the profile software compares the message body, subject line, attachment name, attachment file type, and other message attributes against a database. The database contains attributes that are indicative of known virus or worm characteristics. Virus profiling is not an exact science. Some viruses are very proficient at masking themselves by varying these attributes, and making it more difficult to detect their presence through profiling.

Virus scanning
Virus scanning is done by actually scanning a file and seeking certain attributes that define it as a virus, based on the scanning software’s definitions. This is not possible on any mail server because viruses are contained within attached files. Since mail can only be transferred in ASCII text format, any attached file is encoded into ASCII text. The only way for a mail server to perform virus scanning is if the messages are decoded on the server, scanned, and then encoded for final transport to the recipient. This is not feasible, given the amount of time required to complete this process. Thus, virus scanning must be done on the local computer, and as a result is the responsibility of that computer’s owner.