Last updated 20 June 2007
LISTSERV 14 (1.8e) and following includes an Anti-Virus Scanning feature for messages passing through the server. This is a value-added enhancement which requires a special LAK and F-Secure Anti-Virus. At this writing the feature is only available for Windows XP Pro/2000/2003 and Linux servers running LISTSERV Classic or LISTSERV Classic HPO. (Other OS platforms are supported through the LISTSERV AVS. There is no intent to make this functionality available in the Lite version of the product.)
L-Soft's regular support addresses are reserved for LISTSERV maintainers' use only. List owners should use alternate avenues (some listed below), and may not write directly to L-Soft for help.
LISTSERV Site Manager's Manual Chapter 5.11
F-Secure install documentation
Here we have tried to compile a list of the most frequently-asked questions that LISTSERV maintainers ask about F-Secure AntiVirus.
1. Which F-Secure Anti-Virus products are supported?
2. What are the recommended FSAV settings for use with LISTSERV?
3. How can I tell if LISTSERV is actually using FSAV to scan for viruses?
4. Why does the FSAV icon sometimes not show up in LISTSERV’s web interface?
5. I see there is a more recent version of F-Secure Anti-Virus available. Can I install it?
6. We already have [insert name of AV product]. Can we use it instead of FSAV?
7. Do I need ANTI_VIRUS=1 in my site.cfg or go.user for FSAV to be enabled?
8. If I want to disable LISTSERV from using FSAV, how do I do that?
9. Why do I get a notification from LISTSERV that the FSAV database hasn’t been updated in xx days?
10. Can I disable these database notifications?
11. What are the requirements to have F-Secure run on my LISTSERV installation?
12. Why should I upgrade to the latest current version?
14. [Windows] How can I configure F-Secure BackWeb via Terminal Services?
16. [Windows XP] FSAV 5.50 or later for Windows Servers will not install on Windows XP.
With your paid maintenance, you will receive the following:
- LISTSERV running on Windows Server: a key for F-Secure Anti-Virus for Windows Servers
- LISTSERV running on Windows XP Professional: a key for F-Secure Anti-Virus for Windows Workstations
- LISTSERV running on Linux: a key for F-Secure Anti-Virus for Linux Servers
- LISTSERV running on other platforms: you must purchase a LISTSERV Anti-Virus Station running on one of the above platforms in order to benefit from LISTSERV's anti-virus protection with F-Secure.
Other F-Secure Anti-Virus products, purchased separately directly from F-Secure, may work with LISTSERV as well, but are not certified by L-Soft.
For Windows:
1. Real Time protection enabled (mandatory)
2. Action: "Delete Automatically" (strongly recommended)
3. Scanning Options: "Files with these extensions"
4. Scan inside compressed files: "checked"
5. LISTSERV and/or LSMTP spool directories must be exempted from scanning.
6. *.mail, *.mai or *.job files must be exempted from scanning. (Technically speaking, if you apply point 5, you should not have to explicitly exempt any LISTSERV or LSMTP file types.)
7. We do not recommend (nor do F-Secure recommend) that the "Scanning Options" box titled "All files" be checked. This can lead to serious performance degradation and is strongly discouraged.
For Linux, the installed defaults are sufficient. To obtain regular automated updates of the FSAV virus signature files, you should be sure to create the update job via 'cron' when prompted to do so by the FSAV for Linux installer.
Note: For Windows, F-Secure recommends their "Backweb" product for automatic updates of virus data. Backweb is included in the FSAV 5.44 and 5.52 installation kits or may be downloaded separately from the link below:
F-Secure Backweb - Free F-Secure product for automatic updates of virus data (Windows Only).
http://www.europe.f-secure.com/products/backweb/
F-Secure 7.00 (Windows only) no longer uses Backweb, but rather has an integrated Automatic Update Agent that handles the automated signature updates.
Issue a "SHOW VERSION" command to LISTSERV. The response should include a line like the following:
Virus database version: 2005-06-15 09:49:43 (F-Secure Anti-Virus 5.50)
When LISTSERV starts it sends the command "fsav /version" (Windows) or "fsav --version" (Linux) to FSAV. If there is a problem with the response, LISTSERV's AV scan feature will be disabled.
You must also have current paid maintenance for the AV scan feature to work. This means that for sites with perpetual (non-expiring) Product LAKs, an additional Maintenance LAK must be installed. (For sites with non-perpetual Product LAKs, your maintenance expires at the same time as your Product LAK.) To check your maintenance status, issue a SHOW LICENSE command to LISTSERV. There should be a line in the response that looks like this:
Maintenance until: 26 Nov 2005, serial number MNT-EXAMPLE-1
If the SHOW LICENSE output says
Maintenance until: No maintenance information
either your maintenance has expired or you have not received or applied your maintenance LAK. If you need a new maintenance LAK, please contact your L-Soft sales representative. (The support department cannot issue LAKs.)
If maintenance is current, try another stop/start of LISTSERV.
Check with support@lsoft.com before doing so to make sure that it has been tested for use with LISTSERV. Please note that you will need a different F-Secure Anti-Virus license key from your Sales Representative before installing the latest version.
As of the date of this FAQ:
FSAV 7.00 is approved for use with LISTSERV 15.0 or later for Windows Servers. If you are running an earlier version and wish to upgrade, contact your sales representative for an FSAV 7.00 key.
FSAV 5.52 continues to be approved for use with LISTSERV 14.3 or later for Windows Servers. If you are running an earlier version and wish to upgrade, contact your sales representative for an FSAV 5.52 key.
FSAV 5.44 continues to be approved for use with LISTSERV 14.3 or later for Windows Workstations. If you are running an earlier version and wish to upgrade, contact your sales representative for an FSAV 5.44 key.
FSAV 4.65 is approved for use with LISTSERV versions 14.3 and following for Linux. If you are running an earlier version of FSAV and wish to upgrade, contact your sales representative for an FSAV 4.65 key.
See below for more information on these updates.
Prior to LISTSERV 14.4: No. LISTSERV's AV scanning feature uses methods that are specific to F-Secure Anti-Virus. It does not have any facility to use any other anti-virus scanning software.
LISTSERV 14.4 and following: Yes, to a limited extent. Please see the LISTSERV 14.4 release notes for information on the FOREIGN_ANTI_VIRUS site configuration parameter and its use.
No, this is the default if you are running Classic with current maintenance. LISTSERV 1.8e (14.0) and following checks for FSAV running on the server when it starts.
For Windows: Add
ANTI_VIRUS=0
to your site.cfg file and restart LISTSERV. (Note for LISTSERV 15.0 and following: If this variable has been previously set via the web administration interface, you will need to set it there rather than in site.cfg.)
For Linux: Add
ANTI_VIRUS=0
export ANTI_VIRUS
to your go.user file and restart LISTSERV. (Note for LISTSERV 15.0 and following: If this variable has been previously set via the web administration interface, you will need to set it there rather than in go.user.)
LISTSERV only checks the time stamp of the database file. It does not check the last time it was checked with any auto-updating process (Backweb, F-Secure Automatic Update Agent, or cron job). In rare cases, F-Secure may not have a virus signature update for 5 days or longer, so when the database file is determined to be five days old, LISTSERV begins notifying the non-quiet postmaster(s) to alert them to a possible problem.
In this case you should check F-Secure's Backweb or Automatic Update Agent (Windows) or your cron job (unix) to make sure that it is still running correctly. If it is, then the warning can be ignored.
Yes, with the LICENSE_WARNING= site configuration variable (please see the Site Manager's Manual, Appendix C, for details). Please be aware this also turns off most LISTSERV license warnings, including warnings that inform you that your maintenance is about to expire, or that your product LAK is about to expire. It is L-Soft's strong recommendation that license warnings not be disabled under any circumstances, and then only with the understanding that you do so at your own risk.
Please note carefully that LISTSERV Lite does not support the virus scan feature.
Requirements to be able to run the AV scan feature are as follows:
- LISTSERV Classic or LISTSERV Classic HPO running under Windows 2000/2003 Server, Windows 2000 Workstation or XP, or Linux.
- If you have a perpetual (non-expiring) Product LAK for LISTSERV, a paid Maintenance LAK is also required to enable the AV scan feature. (Maintenance for sites with non-perpetual LAKs expires when the Product LAK expires.)
- You must obtain an FSAV key from your Sales Representative before installation. (Normally this key is supplied along with your LAK(s).)
- A copy of FSAV in a version approved by L-Soft for use with LISTSERV (see #1, above).
Also see: F-Secure install documentation
It is always a good idea to upgrade to the latest current version of an AV scanning software because although the older version will continue to work, the newer version may have changes to combat emergent types of malignant code that can't easily be backported via hotfixes into the older version.
When L-Soft approves a particular version of FSAV, that means that version of FSAV has been thoroughly tested by L-Soft and is known to work properly with LISTSERV.
In order to ensure that you are able to benefit from the new description method and maintain the virus detection capability of your F-Secure Anti-Virus products at the highest level, you should verify that you are using the latest version of the software. You can check the version number of your Windows software by right-clicking the F-Secure icon on the system tray and selecting "About".
If you are running LISTSERV 15.0 or later, and have F-Secure Anti-Virus 7.00 or F-Secure Anti-Virus 5.52 (or 5.44 for Windows 2000 Workstation or Windows XP) in use, you do not need to do anything. If you are using older versions, we strongly recommend that you update your product. LISTSERV 15.0 or higher sites running FSAV 5.52 or 5.44 may at their option upgrade to FSAV 7.00; simply contact your sales representative for an FSAV 7.00 key.
If you are running LISTSERV 14.3, 14.4, or 14.5, and have F-Secure Anti-Virus
5.52 (or 5.44 for Windows 2000 Workstation or Windows XP) in use, again, you do
not need to do anything. If you are using older versions, we strongly
recommend that you update your product.
For Linux, simply issue an 'fsav --version' command from the shell prompt (assuming 'fsav' is in your path). If you have F-Secure Anti-Virus 4.65 in use, you do not need to do anything. If you are using older versions, we strongly recommend that you update your product.
For your convenience, L-Soft is providing installation kits for FSAV for Windows Servers 5.52 and 7.00, FSAV for Windows Workstations 5.44 and 7.00, and FSAV for Linux Servers 4.65 on its FTP site at ftp://ftp.lsoft.com/f-secure. Please contact your sales representative to obtain an installation key for the appropriate version.
It is also important to check F-Secure's web site regularly for product hotfixes (L-Soft does not mirror the hotfixes).
Windows: FSAV hotfixes can be downloaded from http://support.f-secure.com/enu/corporate/downloads/hotfixes/av5-hotfixes.shtml. The hotfixes available as of 30 May 2007 are as follows:
|
FSAV 5.52 (server) |
|
|
FSAV 5.44 (workstation) |
When
downloading F-Secure hotfixes, be sure
to choose the ones for standalone environments, which are signified with this
icon: 
Please check the
F-Secure website regularly for any subsequent hotfixes that may be provided.
Linux: FSAV hotfixes can be downloaded from http://support.f-secure.com/enu/corporate/downloads/hotfixes/av-linux-hotfixes.shtml. As of 30 May 2007, there is one hotfix available for FSAV 4.65: Hotfix package download page. Please check the F-Secure website regularly for any subsequent hotfixes that may be provided.
L-Soft will post notification about the availability of FSAV hotfixes to the LSTSRV-L mailing list as soon as we are made aware of them.
Windows: FSAV hotfixes can be downloaded from http://support.f-secure.com/enu/corporate/downloads/hotfixes/av5-hotfixes.shtml. The hotfixes available as of 30 May 2007 are as follows:
|
FSAV 5.52 (server) |
|
|
FSAV 5.44 (workstation) |
When
downloading F-Secure hotfixes, be sure
to choose the ones for standalone environments, which are signified with this
icon: Please check the
F-Secure website regularly for any subsequent hotfixes that may be provided.
Linux: FSAV hotfixes can be downloaded from http://support.f-secure.com/enu/corporate/downloads/hotfixes/av-linux-hotfixes.shtml. As of 30 May 2007, there is one hotfix available for FSAV 4.65: Hotfix package download page. Please check the F-Secure website regularly for any subsequent hotfixes that may be provided.
L-Soft will post notification about the availability of FSAV hotfixes to the LSTSRV-L mailing list as soon as we are made aware of them.
This is normal. This service cannot be started manually as it is not used with FSAV 5.x versions. Only F-Secure VPN+ uses it for smart card authentication; therefore it is installed, but not running. You can ignore this service completely and may disable it if you choose.
(This FAQ answer does not apply to FSAV 7.00 and following.)
The BackWeb GUI does not work through Terminal Services. The only way to configure BackWeb via Terminal Services is with a command-line utility program called FSBWCONF.EXE, which is available here:
ftp://ftp.lsoft.com/f-secure/tools/FSBWCONF.EXE
The associated readme file can be viewed at
ftp://ftp.lsoft.com/f-secure/tools/readme.txt
This being said: Normally it is not necessary to do any configuration of BackWeb. In our experience, the most you might have to do is configure BackWeb to use a proxy server to connect outside of your firewall.
For instance:
> RELEASE
LISTSERV(R) for Windows NT version 1.8e, managed by:
lstmaint@listserv.example.com
Alias file version: 2005-03-09 19:45:42
Running under: Windows 2000 Server
Runmode: Networked
Serious error occurred - traceback follows
------------------------------------------
>>> Error X'00D00013' running virus scanner <<<
-> Severity: Error
-> Facility: Win32 error codes
-> Abstract: Unspecified error (2) - Refer to the Win32 online help
-> W32 info: The system cannot find the file specified.
Issue a SHOW LICENSE command to LISTSERV. This will tell you the build date of the LISTSERV software. If the build date is prior to 23 Dec 2002, then you need to upgrade to a later build of LISTSERV 1.8e or to LISTSERV 14.x. LISTSERV required non-backward-compatible changes in order to accomodate changes F-Secure made in FSAV 5.42 and later, so in order to run a current version of FSAV, you need a compliant LISTSERV build.
The latest released LISTSERV build for Windows is always available at http://www.lsoft.com/download/listserv.asp .
That is correct. The latest version of FSAV for Windows XP is (at this writing) FSAV 5.44 or 7.00 for Windows Workstations. If you are running LISTSERV under Windows XP rather than under one of the Windows Server operating systems, and you otherwise meet the criteria for the free FSAV license, you can contact your sales representative for the FSAV 5.44 or 7.00 for Workstations key and download FSAV 5.44 or 7.00 for Windows Workstations from the same ftp://ftp.lsoft.com/f-secure directory. FSAV 5.44 for Windows Workstations is fully approved for use with LISTSERV 14.3 and later running under Windows XP. FSAV 7.00 for Windows Workstations is fully approved for use with LISTSERV 15.0 and later running under Windows XP
Comments on this FAQ should be sent to manuals@lsoft.com. Please do not send support or sales inquiries to this address--it is for comments on the manuals only. If you need to ask a question that is not covered by this FAQ, see the support options outlined at the top of the page.
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