Spam Update: We have had many reports in the past few days of "Spam" and repeat e-mails.  These reports have come from jurisdictions and individuals that are part of the "Non-QVF" address group.  After a thorough investigation by Merit (the QVF Internet Service Provider) and QVF help desk personnel, it was found there was no evidence of any virus being sent to jurisdictions though these nuisance e-mails.

E-mail from the Bureau of Elections is sent to the e-mail addresses contained in three groups.   These groups are the "QVF Communities", the "Non-QVF Communities" and an internal group of employees at the Department of State.  These groups all have antiviral screening, so e-mail communications such as "News You Can Use" and the "Election News" are scanned for viruses before they are sent to you.  Merit technicians have found that the majority of the reported problems have been caused by e-mails that are regenerated by users who are responding with "reply to all" instead of "reply" (to sender).  Each user who does this generates approximately 800 new e-mails.  This volume overwhelms the system.    

We strongly urge you to follow these guidelines to prevent future problems:

1.      Do NOT Respond to Messages Using the "Reply to All" Feature.

2.      Stay Informed.  We will do our best to keep you informed about new and potentially dangerous viruses.  However, we encourage you to be alert.  Please pay attention to other sources such as the news media and various web pages.

3.      Don't Open Attachments.  Viruses are normally spread by opening attachments to e-mails.  You can open the e-mail itself and read the contents without concern.  If you receive e-mail that carries an attachment via the QVF e-mail system from anyone other than the Bureau of Elections, delete the message immediately.   Most viruses are designed to infect computers using e-mail attachments before the sender is even aware that there is a problem.

4.      Get Virus Protection.    As we have advised in the past, jurisdictions need to install an antiviral software program on the computer.  There are several web sites where you can download antiviral scan programs for free.     Regardless of the brand of antiviral software that you choose to install, keep in mind that all virus protection software programs must be updated on a regular basis because new viruses are continually being introduced. 

5.      Fix the Problem Right Away.   If your computer becomes infected with a virus, immediately notify the QVF help desk.  Some viruses can be "cured" using antiviral software, but others cannot and may require that your computer be re-built.

We thank you for your cooperation and patience in dealing with this latest nuisance.

 If you have further questions, please call the QVF help desk at 1-800-310-5697.