OFF TOPIC: Re: Virus warning

On Thu, 26 Mar 1998, Thomas Barclay wrote:

> Allan, I hate to burst your bubble. This is definitely a hoax. It 
> used to be, you could not get a virus from email. Due to all the 
> active content now, Web links, active X controls, Java enabled mail 
> readers, etc, I am not ENTIRELY sure this is as true as it once was. 

ActiveX, with its completely missing security, is definitely a risk 
factor. The others are at least supposed to be secure...  but it's no 
worse than browsing the web...

Other "fluff" content can also be used to trace you -- I know of 
at least one case where the sender included an innocent-looking link to
a 
GIF in a HTML formatted email. It's just that this link was unique, so 
the sender can check their logs to see where the email was read after
the 
"smart" email reader automatically loaded the pic...
Spamsters could use this to check which addresses actually read their 
garbage etc. 

> I'm not positive, but it isn't the same world as it once was. The 
> more active content becomes and the more capable mailers and other 
> tools become in handling such content (and the more automagically 
> they do it....), the greater the risk of such viruses. Frankly, I 
> turn all of that stuff off in my mailer, and I set my browser 
> settings to confirm all that stuff (and sites that pop up ten million 
> frames go instantly on my hate list). 

The more stuff that goes on without the user knowing and/or 
understanding, the more control he signs over to an unknown party. 
BigBrother(tm) is the first application, HTML spoofing is a possibility,
but 
I'm sure they'll think of more evil ways soon enough... And this is not 
some sorry nerd loser trying get even, this is big money corporations
and 
their big money lawyers out to empty your wallet.

-- 
maxxon@swob.dna.fi (Mikko Kurki-Suonio) 	   | A pig who doesn't
fly
+358 50 5596411 GSM +358 9 80926 78/FAX 81/Voice   | is just an ordinary
pig.
Maininkitie 3C14 02320 ESPOO FINLAND | Hate me?    |	      - Porco
Rosso
http://www.swob.dna.fi/~maxxon/      | hateme.html |