Re: Melissa Virus

["Willem-Jan Markerink" <w.j.markerink@xxxxx>]

On 29 Mar 99 at 23:53, Alan Wheeler wrote:

> >> > Hope this helps someone:
> >> > (and yes, it's real, I received an infected message this morning)
> >>  
> >> I hope that we ALL know not to execute programs sent via email.
> >
> >It was not a program, but a Word file (.doc), even though I couldn't 
> >open it in Word (it asked for file type, and opening it as text-only 
> >showed the URL-list and a lot of binary garbage).
> >
> >Outlook is the bad Omen here, in combination with Word, not an 
> >executable.... 
> >
> >As always, it pays to use as little as M$ products as 
> >possible....especially net-software....;-)) 
> 
> Don't you think that the person who wrote this Word macro understood this?
> Since it was written specifically for Outlook Express I thought it obvious
> that it was designed to bring out this type of thing. Not that M$ is not
> beyond pounding their competition, but does it make them <the programmer
> who wrote the virus> any better than M$ by doing some under handed trickery
> that destroys alot of other's work?

Actually, on PC-level, it doesn't do much damage....but on 
(mail)server level, it does, as it tries to spread by using the first 
50 addresses in your Outlook address book.
If the latter isn't a serious bug in the Outlook/Word interaction, as 
well as each on its own, then nothing is.
It also reminds me why I hate those all-in-one packages, browsers in 
specific.

But I am biased, as I drive a non-electronics diesel Land Cruiser
too....only a electro/mechanical lever will stop it, and even that
part can be overruled to do without batteries....:-)) 
Simple things often prove to be the best....;-))



--                 
Bye,

Willem-Jan Markerink


      The desire to understand 
is sometimes far less intelligent than
     the inability to understand


<w.j.markerink@xxxxx>
[note: 'a-one' & 'en-el'!]
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