http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3247200.stm
As for safe to preview, well, I don't consider *anything* safe to preview, so I keep my Preview Pane permanently turned off. lI am set to "Read all messages as plain text," which keeps Web bugs and embedded script from doing their job. If I open a page with HTML that I want to see (About.com newsletters, WinXPNews, SQL Server Users, etc.), I just click "View|Message in HTML," then click the bar at the top of the message to show images. I still get to read desirable HTML messages as they were composed, while blocking unwanted active content from having its way with my machine.
These days, paranoia pays...
Cheers, Scott
----- Original Message ----- From: "ANDREA STREIGHT" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 4:57 AM
Subject: [wdvltalk] RE: random text generator spam?
To update and expand my understanding of spam/malicious code techniques and
how to guard against them, please explain this oddity.
By using preview panel mode in MSN Mail, I was able to safely preview, but not open, the following:
[From:] Alanna [Subject:] Fwd: [Message:] spring OFFICE 2003 $80: ADOBE PHOTOSHOP $80; [etc.]
[URL, beginning with hyper text transfer protocol, that I will not give,
except to state that it had that difficult to recall, record, and report
characteristic of long complex query string, with lots of two digit numbers
followed by percentage sign, at hotmail dot com--hotmail is a URL
destination???]
[text] expected fell out nature blew outside cheat car, seems object wind news wife, very familiar recognize patient should fathers office, there pride hurry sir air hot less worth [etc., I think you get the idea]
As a former poet, when I was significantly younger than I am now, I used to
try, after a bout of too much pot and alcohol, to generate nonsense text
that seemed to be saying something, was almost on the verge of making sense,
but slipped away surrealistically. My deconstruction experimental goal was
to ramble on, without saying anything that could be interpreted in any
manner whatsoever. {{+}} Some say I accidentally perfected this and spew
such things forth habitually :^]
At any rate, is this a spammer using a Random Text Generator just to fill in
the message area?
Could there be "hidden malicious code" in such text? Er, this is plain text,
I turned off the "read HTML" in my email client.
Any comments? Is it safe to preview panel such crap?
Steven Streight STREIGHT SITE SYSTEMS Web Usability Analysis Web Content Writing Online & Direct Marketing
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.vaspersthegrate.blogspot.com *Web Usability*
www.streightsite.blogspot.com *Mentally Correct Marketing*
www.ArtTestExplosion.blogspot.com *Experimental Computer Art*
www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/0408-user-observation.html
*latest published online article*
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