Ones and Zeros: Yeah, Yeah, "hi" yourself

Yeah, Yeah, "hi" yourself

January 27, 2004	Computers and Software
The Register reports on what everyone with email already knows: there's a nasty Windows worm out there sending lots of email. I've been getting 2-4 an hour. That's not a problem. I don't use Windows, so even if I were to open the attachment, I wouldn't get hit by the payload. So for the most part, it's just a piece of junk in my inbox, one that isn't even trying to get me to pay for products to enlarge my breasts. Here's the part that really makes me laugh: some people's anti-virus solutions tell me when they've caught this virus. It works like this: Some poor sap gets a virus like "MyDoom" The nasty virus send email to a random contact, from a different random contact. For instance, I got a virus today "to" me from "elizabeth", sent from an IP belonging to Toshiba America. It was clearly not really from Liz... Half clever virus scanner detects the virus and stops it. Half clever virus scanner notifies the bogus "sender" (me, in this case) that I have sent a virus. If this scanner is very poorly implemented, it will propagate the virus by "returning" the mail to me, the spoofed fake "sender." Mail admin of half (or less) clever mail scanner gets a warm, fuzzy feeling of having done good by notifying me of my anti-social viral condition. I just laugh and tell them not to send me any more dumb notices. Unless they sent me a virus, in which case I tell them they're idiots. The moral of this story is, if you're going to use a virus scanner on your mail server, get one that can be configured not to be stupid, and configure it. Thus endeth the lesson. Good luck with your virus problems, both to the afflicted and to those who just get mail from the afflicted. By the way, I've heard that a little penicillin will clear that right up...
.:Posted by Michael on January 27, 2004 10:23 AM:.

I've gotten one of those that was from me to me.

.:Posted by Ginger ( total) on January 27, 2004 11:02 AM:.

Two Terrible Tastes That Taste Terrible Together

Michael is complaining today about the big virus outbreak. The random mailbox thing sometimes produces humorous results; I've gotten one......

.:Posted to Perverse Access Memory on Jan 27, 2004 11:13 AM:.

Wow, good to know, Ginger. I got one from "mike at textartisan.com", and I can say with some authority there's no such person...

.:Posted by Dorothea Salo ( total) on January 27, 2004 11:19 AM:.

From me, elizabeth, or is there another elizabeth in your life? (sniff)

I have not yet received this worm, although I trust my virus blockers to take care of this stuff for me.

...of course, perhaps I really did send you this virus to get back at you for moving away. :p

.:Posted by elizabeth ( total) on January 27, 2004 4:11 PM:.

There's another elizabeth? (stomp) ;)

I've been very lucky so far with this one. (knock on wood)

.:Posted by LizT ( total) on January 28, 2004 10:41 AM:.

Hi there, LizT, nice to meet you. :)

So, Michael, is this why my coffeecorner address keeps getting "undeliverable email" notifications from people to whom I never sent email?

.:Posted by elizabeth ( total) on January 28, 2004 2:06 PM:.

I am aquainted with as fine a collection of Elizabeths as one can find outside of the Tudor/Stewart/Hanover/Windsor line. I think all three of the Lizes I know I met through RPGs, too. In that they are far superior to the so-called 'monarchs of England' series of Lizes.

Liz: Yes, someone who has you in their address book (or possibly web page cache) has been duped into sending viruses that come from your coffeecorner address. Some mail servers helpfully tell you that the mailbox of the recipient is full (probably of other copies of the virus). Some really broken mail servers helpfully will send you a copy of the virus yourself, because you might need a copy of the virus they bounced. Easy type of server is run by someone who thinks they've done you a favor.

.:Posted by Michael ( total) on January 28, 2004 4:07 PM:.