[Ansteorra] My ID stolen from elsewhere

David Hughes davidjhughes.tx at netzero.net
Sat Mar 6 16:48:33 PST 2004


Elaine Crittenden wrote:

>Although my email address was used as one of the "original message" senders,
>I did *not* send the virus that has everyone so upset! My address was stolen
>possibly from the PC address book of someone who has me in their address
>book.
>
>Point 1: I only use a Mac.
>PC viruses don't come from Macs. Macs aren't apparently as much fun for
>vandals, since there aren't as many of us Mac users out there... Nor are
>Macs as easy to violate as Bill Gates has made his products to be.
>
>[Seems to me that someone could make a lot of money if they started a
>revolution to replace the Microsoft mess. Sadly, I don't know enough about
>computers to do that and be another Forbes billionaire! ;-)   ]
>
>Point 2: I am so stupid about computers that I don't know how to send
>attachments unless someone is standing by my elbow, telling me how.
>
>Being as old as I am, the memory is going fast, and I forget how to send an
>attachment after the advisor leaves...
>
>Point 3: The date of the virused email was March 3. I have been out of town
>and did not use my computer from February 26 until March 6.
>
>Someone smarter than I suggested that viruses wouldn't have a chance to send
>things if something called a "blind cc" was used to reply to emails. (I
>still don't know exactly what that means.)
>  
>

I don't know about Macs, but most modern messaging software has several 
options when you address a message using the address book:

To:
cc:
bcc:

the first is the usual type you probably use.
cc: is a Carbon Copy, just sends the same message to another address, 
but everyone can see who the copies were sent to, the same as the old 
cc: notation used by secretaries on business mail.
bcc: is a Blind Carbon Copy.  It sends a copy of the message, but 
doesn't list the other addresses it was sent to, and  the address you 
sent the bcc to does not appear on the messages sent to  To: or cc: 
recipients.
The original idea was for business, you could send a message to person 
A, and also send a copy to their supervisor without Person A knowing 
about the copy.

The suggestion is to use only bcc: as the address, making it more 
difficult for spammers and viruses to "harvest addresses".

>My sympathies to all who have had problems with emails lately. Just be
>assured that this ignoramus with the antique Mac didn't do it.
>
>Lete
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>  
>





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