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From: paul@pbunyk.physics.sunysb.edu (Paul Bunyk)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.newton.misc,comp.sys.newton.programmer,comp.sys.next.advocacy,comp.sys.next.hardware,comp.sys.next.marketplace,comp.sys.next.misc,comp.sys.next.software,comp.sys.palmtops,comp.sys.pen,comp.sys.powerpc.advocacy,comp.sys.powerpc.tech,comp.sys.sgi.admin,comp.sys.sgi.apps,comp.sys.sgi.graphics,comp.sys.sgi.hardware,comp.sys.sinclair,comp.sys.sun.admin,comp.sys.sun.hardware,comp.sys.sun.misc,comp.sys.sun.wanted,comp.sys.tandy,comp.text.frame,comp.text.pdf,comp.text.sgml,comp.text.tex,comp.u
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Subject: Re: VIRUS ALERT
Date: 06 Jan 1997 01:49:23 +0000
Organization: SUNY @ Stony Brook
Lines: 70
Message-ID: <55pvzjh8t8.fsf@pbunyk.physics.sunysb.edu>
References: <59nb2t$eck@news3.texas.net> <59nmve$phs@synthemesc.insync.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pbunyk.physics.sunysb.edu
In-reply-to: mtm@insync.net's message of Tue, 24 Dec 96 04:41:54 GMT
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3047 comp.sys.sun.misc:27882 comp.sys.sun.wanted:16858 comp.sys.tandy:16659 comp.text.frame:20145 comp.text.pdf:6033 comp.text.sgml:14597 comp.text.tex:96402 comp.unix.admin:53307 comp.unix.advocacy:33538 comp.unix.aix:91788 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:33902 comp.unix.misc:27490 comp.unix.osf.osf1:17322 comp.unix.programmer:48565 comp.unix.questions:94041 comp.unix.sco.misc:32782 comp.unix.shell:40892
Actually... there was an ancient way to break a *given* mail programm
on a system you know too well: Theoretically if the mail program do
not allocate enough space for Subject: line, for example, and you feed it
a cerefully choosen long subject line, it can write itslef over some internal
structures of the program and mabe even cause some code to be executed.
Of course the mail program should be buggy (but sendmail *was* buggy, moreover,
it *is* buggy still) but I doubt that there still are people who can craft
that ;-) As far as I remember Morrison's famous Internet worm exploited
something like this in Sun's sendmail...
But you should not worry, Windows'95's mail can not have this bug!
<kidding!>
Paul
>>> "MM" == Michael Murphy <mtm@insync.net> writes:
In article <59nmve$phs@synthemesc.insync.net> mtm@insync.net (Michael Murphy) writes:
> What is this? Another "Good Time's Virus" scare? This is
> crazy. Email can't contain a virus. Maybe a binary attachment, but
> then you have to actually run it. Someday these people will
> learn....
> In article <59nb2t$eck@news3.texas.net>, jmh@intrepid.net (Little
> John) wrote:
>> Subject: Fw: IMPORTANT! virus alert - " Trojan Horse" -Forwarded
>> Date: Monday, December 09, 1996 9:37 PM
>>
>> Subject: Virus Alert Importance: High
>>
>> If anyone receives mail entitled: PENPAL GREETINGS! ; please
>> delete it WITHOUT reading it. Below is a little explanation of
>> the message, and what it would do to your PC if you were to read
>> the message.
>>
>> This is a warning for all internet users - there is a dangerous
>> virus propagating across the internet through an e-mail message
>> entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS!". DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGE
>> ENTITLED "PENPAL GREETING!."
>>
>> This message appears to be a friendly letter asking you if you are
>> interested in a penpal, but by the time you read this letter, it
>> is too late. The "trojan horse" virus will have already infected
>> the boot sector of your hard drive, destroying all of the data
>> present. It is a self-replicating virus, and once the message is
>> read , it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to anyone who's e-mail
>> address is present in your mailbox!
>>
>> This virus will DESTROY your hard drive, and holds the potential
>> to DESTROY the hard drive of anyone whose mail is in your inbox,
>> and who's mail is in their inbox, and so on. If this virus
>> remains unchecked, it has the potential to do a great deal of
>> DAMAGE to computer networks worldwide!!!!
>>
>> Please, delete the message entitled "PENPAL GREETING!' as soon as
>> you see it! And pass this message along to all of your friends
>> and relatives, and the other readers of the newsgroups and mailing
>> list which you are on, so that they are not hurt by this dangerous
>> virus!!!! --------- End forwarded message ----------
>>
--
("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._ UNIX *is* user-friendly, he is just very
`6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) picky about who his friends are...
(_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' Paul Bunyk, graduate student
_..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,'art by (and part-time UN*X sysadm)
(il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' F. Lee http://pbunyk.physics.sunysb.edu/~paul