Protecting viruses from spreading

Corvette

Sauske!
Joined
19 Jul 2003
Messages
761
There is a way to prevent yourself and friends against viruses and worms that spread through "e-mail address harvesting".
All you do is add something to every address in your address book that makes it invalid. Here's how:

Step 1: Go into the Windows Address book or where ever your e-mail address book is such as inside your mail client in Mozilla and Thunderbird's case.
Step 2: Open up every entry in your address book and add in something such as "nospam" or "novirus".
Every entry may look like this: someone@nospamdomain.com
Or this: someone@novirusdomain.com

Then everytime you send an e-mail to someone in the book, Edit out whatever you added.

What makes this work is that e-mail harvesting worms and viruses take e-mail addresses from your address books and then it sends itself to everyone in there in the form noted down in the database. But what happens if it sends it to an invalid e-mail address? When it sends it out, The server will register an error such as "Invalid Address" and send back error messages.

Those errors will probaly clog up the SMTP of the virus and proably disable it.

This is a good way of protecting your friends from viruses that send itself to address book e-mail addresses.
 
or you could just save yourself that massive waste of time and use a good anti-virus app & or mailwasher :p
 
I've read this before. Could be useful, but I've never had the need to use it. Let's see...when was the last time I actually had a virus? So long ago, I can't even remember.
tongue.gif
 
this isn't useful. All it would do is clog up the bandwith of the mail servers of the ISPs of the poor saps with the viruses. Same thing as those annoying alert emails sent to you saying you've been sending infected emails, when it isn't even you sending them.
 
The best way to prevent your friends from getting one of these little virus buggers is to just not use the address book period. No addys in the book means no way for the virus to send itself out.

Personally I keep a locked personal diary with the email addys for everyone. That way if I forget one I can look it up and type it in.
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

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