From: Rod Fleming (rodfleming@sol.co.uk)
Date: 05/05/00-01:18:46 AM Z
Hi
----- Original Message -----
From: Judy Seigel <jseigel@panix.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca>
Sent: 05 May 2000 06:38
Subject: course of true love
>If he is so stupid, negligent or
> reckless as to open an attachment with a virus in it, he's going to sue.
> True, the "proximate couse" would be himself, but we know he meant the
> sender.
Only in the case of relatively tame viri such as the LOVE one. These viri
are relatively safe because it needs a thoughtless operator to open them for
them to take effect. The KAKWORM virus, on the other hand, which was
distributed through the list recently, was of a type which does NOT require
that anyone executes it or opens the attachment- simply reading the message
in the viewing pane is enough to relase the worm.
Further, it is axiomatic that viri are loose in the wild BEFORE the
designers of anti-virus software can design the cure- so sooner or later
you're going to get bit.
In view of that I don't think there is any doubt at all that it would be a
Very Good Thing if all attachments were blocked.
Gordon, like all list hosts, is to be thanked for giving up his time to
allow all this to exist. He has written saying he does not know if there is
any way to block attachments using the Listserv software.
So instead of people slagging each other off, what about offering to help
Gordon find a way to block attachments? I am no programming whizzkid, but
I'll happily look over the help file or the manual for the program if you
want, Gordon.
I note however that at least two of the sabre-rattlers who have been
stirring up the dust do claim to be expert in this area.
Money where mouth is time guys- how about you offer to help Gordon find a
solution?
Finally- and I hope it is- my company sends a lot of attachments. I would
appreciate it if anyone who wants to send me an attachment adopts a
procedure similar to ours. (Well they'll have to if they want it to be
opened.)
Our system is as follows; normally we are in touch with the client either by
email or phone before we send. When we send, we send TWO emails; the first,
a plain text message, tells the client that they are about to receive an
email with our attachment and tells them the subject line which will be on
it, which is usually an order number or agreed reference; the second repeats
the text message but has the attachment. But even so, yesterday, as I said,
I had clients who could not take our attachments because their security
admins had blocked all such emails.
BTW this is not off-topic; these things threaten us all- in my case
directly, financially because it costs to send couriers all over the place
with cd-roms- and we all need to do what we can to stop them.
Rod
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