Re: [T3] The S-list

[Greg Merritt <gregm@vwtype3.org>]

Don, and everyone,

	This has come up often enough recently that I believe it's worth
taking a time out to explain what's going on.  I'll use a made-up example.

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	Say I'm running Windows (I'm not) and I'm using Outlook
(remember, we're pretending...) for e-mail.  I use e-mail often, and have
lots of messages in my inbox, my outbox, my address book, and so on.  I'm
subscribed to a couple of mailing lists, so I really do have *lots* of
e-mail messages and addresses hanging around.

	Also, I like to surf the Web.  Many of the Web pages I visit have
"mailto:"; links and other e-mail addresses listed on them.  So, there
really are lots and lots of e-mail addresses hanging around on my
computer.

	Then I get a virus.

	This virus is kind of cleverly made.  It likes to spread itself by
e-mail.  Where does it find the addresses of likely victims?

	Well, it finds them all over my computer -- in my e-mail program,
in my address book, in my Web browser's cache of recently-visited pages.
My computer is just full of hundreds (or thousands) of e-mail address.

	Now, not only does the virus start to send e-mail *To:* the e-mail
addresses it finds on my computer... it also does something else that's
deceptive.  Do you think it creates headers that say that the message is
from BigBadVirus@joes.infectedcomputer.com?  No way.  It makes up bogus
"From:" lines.  Where does it get e-mail addresses to put into the bogus
"From:" lines?  You guessed it: my computer is full of e-mail addresses.

	The virus then continues to spew out copies of itself to every
e-mail address it can find on my system -- and I don't even know about it.
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	Don, the reason that you're getting all of these is that you're a
popular guy.  Some of the people who've received e-mail from you (either
directly or via an e-mail list), or who've visited Web sites with your
address shown, have infected computers.  They probably don't even know it.

	Unless you want to take up the hobby of digging through headers
(which may be bogus), doing reverse lookups on IP addresses, and
contacting ISPs, then the best solution is to just delete these messages.
If you choose to use a Windows operating system, and particularly if you
choose to use Outlook, then you'll want to make sure that you run robust
anti-virus software and run your updates religiously.

	Also remember that attachments cannot be sent via the vwtype3.org
list, and that To: and From: headers are not to be believed.  (Real
delivery information is included in the so-called "envelope", which your
e-mail software does not show to you.)

-Greg