Sunday, September 28, 2003
Meet the People Who Make Spam So Easy for Richard Colbert
I've been getting 3-4 e-mailed viruses a day for the past three weeks. Why is this interesting? Because before that time period, I had never gotten ONE, much less three times that every day. That's because I'm fairly careful. You get that way after enough years. Now, the next question you might ask is: what is the source of these virus-laden little packets of annoyance? The answer, in 99 out of 100 cases- Yahoo.
Finally, I got a mite annoyed, as anyone might, that Yahoo didn't seem to give a hoot or yahoo about so much crap flowing our way from the mouth of their sewer. So I complained. In no uncertain terms. I asked them what kind of mickey-mouse operation they were running that just opened the gates and let viruses flood peoples' inboxes. Here, then, is their carefully-crafted-by-lawyers response-
Quote:
Hello,
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.
There are many viruses in existence today (often called "worms"), that
propagate when an email attachment containing the virus is sent to an
email address found in an infected user's computer (e.g., address book,
local files, etc.). In cases such as these, Yahoo! users may receive an
email with an attachment that indicates the email has been sent from
their own Yahoo! account, when in reality, it most likely was not.
Yahoo! Mail is a web-based email system. Your email messages, address
book and other account information are stored on Yahoo!'s servers,
rather than on your computer. Because most viruses infect your local
computer, it is very unlikely that the virus would propogate through a
Yahoo! Mail account.
Currently, the most reported virus as described above is the
"W32.Klez.H@mm" virus. If you have received a suspicious email that you
think may contain the Klez virus, please compare the subject line of the
email you have received to those listed at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.klez.h@mm.ht
ml
Please be aware that because Yahoo! Mail is web-based, simply viewing
your email messages in Yahoo! Mail does not make your computer
vulnerable to computer viruses. In addition, attachments sent along with
email are not a threat to your system if you do not download them.
However, if you choose to download an attachment by either opening it or
saving it to your computer, your computer does then become vulnerable to
computer viruses. The same is true of all files you download to your
computer, whether email attachments or not.
Please note that there is a risk involved whenever downloading email
attachments to your computer or sending email attachments to others. As
stated in the Yahoo! Terms of Service, neither Yahoo! nor its licensors
are responsible for any damages caused by your decision to do so. The
Yahoo! Mail Abuse team recommends that you never download files from an
unknown source.
As a further precaution, we recommend that you choose to scan your
attachments whenever this option is available. Following these
suggestions will greatly reduce your likelihood of experiencing trouble
from computer viruses.
If you believe you have a virus on your system, we recommend that you
install an anti-virus program and contact your computer's user support
group for assistance. You can also search the virus encyclopedia at:
http://www.symantec.com/
Mass distribution of unsolicited email messages (or "spamming") violates
the Yahoo! Terms of Service (TOS).
Please include the following in your report of email abuse to assist us
in a prompt and full investigation:
1. Original subject line -- Please forward the email with a subject
identical to the original subject.
2. Complete headers -- Email programs often display abbreviated
headers. To learn how to display the full headers in a Yahoo! Mail
account, please visit the Yahoo! Mail Help Desk at:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/config/config-11.html
If you are using a different client to read your email, please consult
your email program's help system for more information on viewing full
headers.
3. Complete message body -- Please include the complete, unedited
content of the email message in question. Please do not change or edit
the message in any way.
If reports of email abuse are missing any one of these three items, it
may take longer for the Yahoo! Mail Abuse Team to properly investigate
and take appropriate action. We appreciate your efforts in reporting
this abuse to Yahoo!. At this time, we will need you to forward a copy
of the message, as opposed to sending it as an attachment. Due to
security purposes, our custom messaging system is unable to access
attachments.
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
Regards,
Yahoo! Customer Care
http://www.yahoo.com/
This, then, is their idea of "Customer Care". Thank God I don't have to deal with Yahoo as an ISP. Those snappy TV ads they're running in conjunction with SBC will still have their entertainment value, but they lack something in the way of 'full disclosure'.
Finally, I got a mite annoyed, as anyone might, that Yahoo didn't seem to give a hoot or yahoo about so much crap flowing our way from the mouth of their sewer. So I complained. In no uncertain terms. I asked them what kind of mickey-mouse operation they were running that just opened the gates and let viruses flood peoples' inboxes. Here, then, is their carefully-crafted-by-lawyers response-
Quote:
Hello,
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.
There are many viruses in existence today (often called "worms"), that
propagate when an email attachment containing the virus is sent to an
email address found in an infected user's computer (e.g., address book,
local files, etc.). In cases such as these, Yahoo! users may receive an
email with an attachment that indicates the email has been sent from
their own Yahoo! account, when in reality, it most likely was not.
Yahoo! Mail is a web-based email system. Your email messages, address
book and other account information are stored on Yahoo!'s servers,
rather than on your computer. Because most viruses infect your local
computer, it is very unlikely that the virus would propogate through a
Yahoo! Mail account.
Currently, the most reported virus as described above is the
"W32.Klez.H@mm" virus. If you have received a suspicious email that you
think may contain the Klez virus, please compare the subject line of the
email you have received to those listed at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.klez.h@mm.ht
ml
Please be aware that because Yahoo! Mail is web-based, simply viewing
your email messages in Yahoo! Mail does not make your computer
vulnerable to computer viruses. In addition, attachments sent along with
email are not a threat to your system if you do not download them.
However, if you choose to download an attachment by either opening it or
saving it to your computer, your computer does then become vulnerable to
computer viruses. The same is true of all files you download to your
computer, whether email attachments or not.
Please note that there is a risk involved whenever downloading email
attachments to your computer or sending email attachments to others. As
stated in the Yahoo! Terms of Service, neither Yahoo! nor its licensors
are responsible for any damages caused by your decision to do so. The
Yahoo! Mail Abuse team recommends that you never download files from an
unknown source.
As a further precaution, we recommend that you choose to scan your
attachments whenever this option is available. Following these
suggestions will greatly reduce your likelihood of experiencing trouble
from computer viruses.
If you believe you have a virus on your system, we recommend that you
install an anti-virus program and contact your computer's user support
group for assistance. You can also search the virus encyclopedia at:
http://www.symantec.com/
Mass distribution of unsolicited email messages (or "spamming") violates
the Yahoo! Terms of Service (TOS).
Please include the following in your report of email abuse to assist us
in a prompt and full investigation:
1. Original subject line -- Please forward the email with a subject
identical to the original subject.
2. Complete headers -- Email programs often display abbreviated
headers. To learn how to display the full headers in a Yahoo! Mail
account, please visit the Yahoo! Mail Help Desk at:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/config/config-11.html
If you are using a different client to read your email, please consult
your email program's help system for more information on viewing full
headers.
3. Complete message body -- Please include the complete, unedited
content of the email message in question. Please do not change or edit
the message in any way.
If reports of email abuse are missing any one of these three items, it
may take longer for the Yahoo! Mail Abuse Team to properly investigate
and take appropriate action. We appreciate your efforts in reporting
this abuse to Yahoo!. At this time, we will need you to forward a copy
of the message, as opposed to sending it as an attachment. Due to
security purposes, our custom messaging system is unable to access
attachments.
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
Regards,
Yahoo! Customer Care
http://www.yahoo.com/
This, then, is their idea of "Customer Care". Thank God I don't have to deal with Yahoo as an ISP. Those snappy TV ads they're running in conjunction with SBC will still have their entertainment value, but they lack something in the way of 'full disclosure'.
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