Identify Your E-mails
May 3, 2002 | 10:56 am
#1
Original Poster
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 1998
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Identify Your E-mails
With so many viruses floating around, we are constantly being reminded by our IT people not to open any e-mails where we don't recognize the sender.
I get a lot of e-mails from FlyerTalkers and I always open them if I am sure they are actually from FlyerTalkers. I get a lot of e-mail that I delete unread because I am not certain of the sender. When we do send e-mails to other FlyerTalkers who are not familiar with our e-mail addresses, we should probably all be careful to clearly indicate that our e-mail is from another FlyerTalk member.
Just a thought.
P.S., If you have e-mailed me and not received an answer, this may explain it. Of course, I have also had a recent computer crash and total loss of all informations.
I get a lot of e-mails from FlyerTalkers and I always open them if I am sure they are actually from FlyerTalkers. I get a lot of e-mail that I delete unread because I am not certain of the sender. When we do send e-mails to other FlyerTalkers who are not familiar with our e-mail addresses, we should probably all be careful to clearly indicate that our e-mail is from another FlyerTalk member.
Just a thought.
P.S., If you have e-mailed me and not received an answer, this may explain it. Of course, I have also had a recent computer crash and total loss of all informations.
May 3, 2002 | 1:13 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Springfield, VA, USA
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Punki:
[b]With so many viruses floating around, we are constantly being reminded by our IT people not to open any e-mails where we don't recognize the sender.
B]</font>
[b]With so many viruses floating around, we are constantly being reminded by our IT people not to open any e-mails where we don't recognize the sender.
B]</font>
May 3, 2002 | 2:51 pm
#6
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I've never heard of problems OPENING an email, it's opening attatchments to an email that pose a threat. If you make sure all the recent patches are installed and you have a good virus package there is nothing to be worried about.
May 3, 2002 | 3:16 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2000
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ScottC - what about the viruses w/ macros which autolaunch the attachment when the email is opened or viewed thru preview pane in Outlook ( a real no-no ).. The Klez virus was an example of this. Granted, my Norton Antivirus intercepted it, and quarantined the infected attachment, but others weren't so lucky.. Another boring reminder to keep those definitions updated!!
And Punki - other are correct in that most of these ARE going to be from people you know - they just didn't intend to send them to you!
[This message has been edited by svpii (edited 05-03-2002).]
Another boring reminder to keep those definitions updated!!And Punki - other are correct in that most of these ARE going to be from people you know - they just didn't intend to send them to you!
[This message has been edited by svpii (edited 05-03-2002).]
May 3, 2002 | 5:30 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2001
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by svpii:
ScottC - what about the viruses w/ macros which autolaunch the attachment when the email is opened or viewed thru preview pane in Outlook ( a real no-no )[...] Another boring reminder to keep those definitions updated!!</font>
ScottC - what about the viruses w/ macros which autolaunch the attachment when the email is opened or viewed thru preview pane in Outlook ( a real no-no )[...] Another boring reminder to keep those definitions updated!!</font>
May 3, 2002 | 6:08 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2000
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One other way is to make the "subject" line specific enough so that it clearly isn't generated by a virus. If I'm sending an e-mail to someone out of the blue (where he or she might think that the message contains a virus), I make the subject line something like "Bob, here's the Smithco data you wanted," on the theory that a virus won't know that "[email protected]" is named "Bob" and won't know that I have a reason to write him about Smithco.
May 3, 2002 | 9:18 pm
#11
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Hear, hear for Eudora and a regularly updated copy of Norton or McAfee.
With all the new friends and contacts we make on FT, scanning subject lines is definitely harder. I too like the idea of providing something about a handle and a specific topic in the subject.
Also if you get something you are not sure you should open, and if you have a shell account, just be patient for the few minutes it takes to log in to your shell account via Telnet and have a look that way at the message body. If you do not need it or want it, delete at that level and all your problems are averted.
Mike
[This message has been edited by mjm (edited 05-03-2002).]
With all the new friends and contacts we make on FT, scanning subject lines is definitely harder. I too like the idea of providing something about a handle and a specific topic in the subject.
Also if you get something you are not sure you should open, and if you have a shell account, just be patient for the few minutes it takes to log in to your shell account via Telnet and have a look that way at the message body. If you do not need it or want it, delete at that level and all your problems are averted.
Mike
[This message has been edited by mjm (edited 05-03-2002).]
May 7, 2002 | 6:26 am
#12
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Another thing that helps is using a Mac. This has nothing to do with its being inherently more secure than Windows (though its latest OS incarnation, Unix-based System X, probably is) and everything to do with its smaller market share making it a less attractive target for virus writers.
May 7, 2002 | 6:52 am
#13
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It would take a whole lot more than a virus to ever get me to touch a mac, Thank the heavens we switched to all windows company years ago
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Efrem:
Another thing that helps is using a Mac. This has nothing to do with its being inherently more secure than Windows (though its latest OS incarnation, Unix-based System X, probably is) and everything to do with its smaller market share making it a less attractive target for virus writers. </font>
Another thing that helps is using a Mac. This has nothing to do with its being inherently more secure than Windows (though its latest OS incarnation, Unix-based System X, probably is) and everything to do with its smaller market share making it a less attractive target for virus writers. </font>