Billing & Account Support

Overview

Welcome to the Cox Anti-Virus Resource Center. Here you will find information on what a virus is, how it affects you, and what you can do about it. In addition, you will also find tips and tools for avoiding, detecting and eliminating viruses.

See also: View Virus Threat Maps With McAfee Security Center

General Information

There are three main types of computer viruses.

• A true Virus: a program that attempts to cripple your computer by "infecting" key files and spreading itself on to others. It might change critical files or perform unwanted functions like erasing your hard drive.
• A Trojan Horse will leave your computer accessible for other people to use (a common Trojan Horse is Back Orifice). Once a Trojan Horse is installed it may "bounce" through your machine as a way to cover its tracks and do other damage. A Trojan Horse gives the hacker access to all the information stored on your hard drive, so he can read your files & personal information, or use your pc to store data, send email, etc.
• A Worm will travel from system to system, gather information and send it on, also doing collateral damage along the way.

The War on Viruses

The Cox email service provides built-in anti-virus protection to help defend Cox High Speed Internet customers from receiving hazardous computer viruses via email. This free service is automatically activated, and does not need to be installed. Customers do not need to contact Cox in order to benefit from this service.

It works as follows:

• Messages sent to Cox customers' email accounts on the cox.net domain (i.e. ending with '@cox.net') will be checked for viruses before being delivered to the customers' inbox or Webmail.
• If a known virus is detected the service will silently discard the entire email. While Cox previously notified senders about messages that have been discarded due to detection of a virus, Cox discontinued this notification process based on customer feedback on our continuing efforts to provide the best in both security and overall customer experience.
• Note that Cox does not read the content (text) of your email messages. This automated solution only detects known viruses.

Although the Cox anti-virus solution will provide protection against viruses transmitted via email, we still recommend the use of anti-virus software on your PC, which will protect you from viruses transmitted through Web sites, Internet downloads, diskettes, and portable drives. The email virus protection service will not prevent downloading of virus-infected files, nor will it remove viruses already present on your computer.  

How can I avoid getting viruses?

Viruses are designed not only to infect you, but also to spread themselves. Some viruses read your email address book, and email themselves to everyone in the book. Other viruses attach themselves to every outgoing email. Below are a few simple steps to help you avoid receiving a virus:

• Do not open an email attachment if you do not know the sender, or the message text or attachment name seems odd.
• Scan all attachments and files you receive with an frequently updated anti-virus program.
• Do not download from sites you are unfamiliar with or sites that may be questionable.

What can I do if I get Virus?

Stop! Do as little as possible on your computer, every click could spread the infected program.  Immediately update your anti-virus software, and run a full virus scan on your computer. If your virus scanning software is properly updated it should remove the infected files.

In the event you receive an email that contains a virus, you can send it to Cox for review. We will work with our partners to ensure that this type of virus is detected in the future.

To submit an email, forward the email virus to VirusReport@cox.net.

Note: All suspect and false positive emails must be forwarded as an attachment.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I automatically delete Virus Notifcations?
Most email software can be setup to automatically delete Virus notifications. This can be done by setting up specific rules within your email softwareIs Cox also offering anti-virus protection?

Is Cox also offering anti-virus protection?

Yes, Cox has implemented email anti-virus filters that will help to better protect you from destructive Internet viruses that spread via email. Our email anti-virus system will scan and clean messages sent to you in email, removing known viruses that may be attached.