full-disclosure - This is getting a bit ridiculous

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Message-ID: <200401271259.15322.robochan@twcny.rr.com>
From: robochan at twcny.rr.com (robochan)
Subject: This is getting a bit ridiculous

It's been what, 2-3 years now that outlook viruses have been spoofing senders?
For as long as these things have been propagating and spoofing the sender 
address...these antivirus software packages STILL send a reply to SPOOFED 
senders telling them that they sent the wretched thing.

It more than doubles the amount of network traffic, and totally without merit 
or need. I'd say it more along the lines of triples-quadruples the amount of 
traffic, since the antivirus programs often also send a complete copy of the 
infected attachment alongside it - as well as sending it out to people who 
never sent it in the first place. Actually, I'd say considerably more than 
quadruples...
Consider the average address book...
Let's conservatively say 25 email addresses are contained. That one infected 
person then immediately sets off the antivirus software to send "infection 
alerts" to 25 other people. So, conservatively, the antivirus software is 
tacking on 25x the traffic.

Now who's responsible for all the network slowdowns...
The actual virus?
Or the antivirus companies that knowingly and needlessly, send "alerts" to 
uninfected spoofed senders?
Let's not even get into cpu cycles...

I, for one, have received at least 45 "alerts" about this latest outlook virus 
in the last 24 hours - SOLELY from antivirus software. I don't run windows or 
outlook, so I'm not susceptible to this. The antivirus software is 
responsible for 45x the amount of network traffic I've gotten, I'm just one 
person.
Thanks, outlook+antivirus software, for making it so that even those immune 
from the virus still have to suffer the ill effects.

Sorry for the rant, thanks for your time.

...Rob

-- 
If encryption is outlawed, only 3462AFC909DE11D235FDAE