BS: The last thing I want to read (2)

Subject: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 01:52 PM

The first part of this thread is at Help: the last thing I want to read...

PAH, I've been on the receiving end of Brendy's onslaughts myself, so I'm happy to leave him to speak for himself in his own choice of language. But I would just say this: if some interfering Do Gooder sent me a gratuitous warning about a virus, with a message that itself contained a virus, I'd feel very much like Brendy obviously did. I wouldn't let it show quite so much, but that just shows we all have different thresholds, and I'm not sure that stifling or hiding one's reaction is all that clever anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Ferrara
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:19 PM

Well!!! What a lively thread it is, isn't it? Don't get onto Mudcat any more since I got involved with a woodburning artists' forum, so I got here late. But what a fine thread for stirring up some adrenaline on a lazy afternoon!

Anyway, an interpretation:

First, it seems obvious that WYSISYG really DID send her mass virus mailing to Brendy. Can't believe it was someone else, trying to get her in trouble. She says herself that her flag for "do not mass-mail to this address" seems to have gotten turned off in the last upgrade.

Second, Seemed to me that WYs was explaining, and more or less apologizing for sending it, when she told about the problem with the upgrade.

Third, it sounded to me as if she intended to clean up her address book and re-set that flag. That is, to comply with the spirit of Brendy's request by not sending mass messages, while NOT complying with the letter of it, which was to remove Brendy's e-address altogether.

Fourth, that said, it seemed to me that WYS was so infuriated by Brendy's accusation that she had sent him the virus that she got all rigid and stubborn... it would have been really helpful, Susan, to state explicitly that you've taken steps, by resetting the flag, to avoid including Brendy in any mass mailings. I think this was implied, but....

Fifth, I too received her message with NO virus. But whether or not his e-mail had a virus attached, Brendy's in-house system said it did. Couldn't you just have said so from the top, Brendy? So Susan didn't feel you were lying? And obviously she was worried sick about whether she really had sent out a virus to everyone on the list! -- So, very helpful that several people have confirmed they DIDN't get a virus.

But a darned shame if there was a false virus report from Brendy's software. And worse if there's an intermittent virus! (I'll believe it when I hear it from an authoritative source...)

Sixth, Brendy, I know there's lots of people who get bitched at Susan, but I CANNOT believe she would deliberately attach a virus just to your e-message and not to any of the others. Can't be done in a mass mailing anyway, far as I know.

Seventh, what the hell am I doing nattering on about this? Sorry....

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: GUEST,PAH
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:37 PM

I agree Fionn, he aparently has a reason to be upset, I have never disputed that, but he has a gripe with WYSIWYG. So what's the scoop on how he treated Sorcha? And others in that thread who had a differing opinion? You can blame Susan for going overboard to "save" him but it's tough to deny that the boy needs help.......

Frank

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Amos
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:51 PM

Ferraras:

Hey, man!! Welcome back!!!!

Sorry about the small gale in the hallway, though!! :>)

A

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:51 PM

I disagree, Frank.

Brendy is a mate. He's a grand fella. He's a marvellous singer and musician. He has demons, like us all. His fruity language is the lingua franca of the streets where grew up. He is forthright, doesn't suffer fools, but would and does help anybody, anytime. I have read these threads, top to bottom, and don't really give a bugger who did what, knowingly or otherwise. Just wanted to say that behind this self character assassination is a really great guy.

There, Frank, hopefully saved you finding more out about yourself than you wanted to know.

Skipjack

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Amos
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:52 PM

I meant "Hey, man" figuratively, you understand... :>)

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Roger in Sheffield
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 03:54 PM

The last thing I want to read, the last word on this I hope, is that Susan will remove anyone who asks from her Mudcat address book
Until then I think that she like me would like to see this thread drop out of sight

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: GUEST,PAH
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:27 PM

Skipjack, I'm not sure what it is I was supposed to find out about myself from your note. I'm quite content with myself and my opinions and Brendy may well be all you say he is. And frankly, I don't care about his language. The way he treated people in these threads for simply having an opinion was way out of line. It just doesn't matter how correct you are, you don't have the right to slam others for simply disagreeing with how you stated your case. I personally don't care about the language, I don't care about the spat between Susan and Brendy, I only commented and take issue with his treatment of anyone who "gets in his way".

PAH

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 03:14 PM

Just to bring the thread one step nearer a consensus on which it might fizzle out... No argument with you on the Sorcha/Sarah bit, PAH - couldn't see what the point was there.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Aug 01 - 07:39 PM

Well I started this thread (actually the previous one) thinking I would not contribute but I now feel I ahve to.

I do not like organised religion, and I've said so publicly on this forum, and Praise and I had a very civilised PM discussion and she has never sent me any unsolicited stuff since.

But she is absolutely entitled to keep whoever's address she likes in her addressbook (and no, the USA does not have the same data protection as Europe which is why EU data prpcessors are barred from sending data tot he USA for processing unless a safe harbour is created).

She seems to have been trying to be helpful, and it seems to ahve been unintentional that she communicated with brendy. We all know, I think, what we think of the children who say "never speak to me again".

Frankly, whatever the provocation (pretty much) Brendy's posts seem to me to be wholly unpardonable, and very largely (if not, perhaps, completely) unjustified.

If anyone does really want to attack the purveyors of organised religion - save it for when they are busy trying to tell people what they can read, what they can do with thier bodies and killing those who try to help in the exercise of those freedoms. Save it for when they are torturing children, emotionally and physically, to teach them "right from wrong". Save it also for teh mullahs and the religious bombers. Save it to help the Afghans. Save it for the maniacs on both sides in and near Israel. DOn't waste your indignation on someone who sent you an intendedly helpful email by mistake.

Praise, I don't like organised religion, but on this issue you're pretty nearly right. Brendy, you're pretty nearly wrong and the way you handled yourself was totally wrong.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Ralphie
Date: 04 Aug 01 - 06:24 PM

Only ever having had 5 PM's in the 9 Months I've been a member...I'm wondering what I've done wrong ??
Ralphie

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: catspaw49
Date: 04 Aug 01 - 06:59 PM

Let's all write to Ralphie!!!

Sounds like a plan to me!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Ralphie
Date: 04 Aug 01 - 07:04 PM

Oh Gawd !!....What have I started now ?
LOL R xx

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Jeri
Date: 04 Aug 01 - 07:14 PM

Brendy said WYSIWYG sent him a file called Backstreet Boys logg.doc.vbs that was infected with the Sircam worm.

It seems like a file called *.doc.vbs would be infected with a number of old worms. Since Susan has an up-to-date antivirus program, she would have to have disabled it to get the virus. It would have mass mailed itself, but it didn't.
It would have sent its own message, not attach to one Susan sent, but apparently, this one attached to the same clean Virus Alert message we all got.

As for Sircam:
Susan would have had to get infected with Sircam without noticing.
Sircam attaches to files ending in .doc, but it would change it to an .exe file, not a .vbs file
It normally would have changed the e-mail title to be the same as the attachment, but it didn't.
It would have sent it's own message, not attach to one Susan sent, but that's what Brendy said it did.
It would have e-mailed itself to more than one person in her address book, and it didn't.

I personally think the liklihood of any of this actually having happened to be pretty darned slim.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 05 Aug 01 - 06:39 AM

Let me just check if I understand this Jeri.

Your theory is that (working on the Sherlock Holmes basis that once you have discarded the impossible what is left must be the truth no matter how improbable) that there are three possibilities: -

1. Brendy is making it up (that is to say, he got no such email, or it wasn't infected); or
2. Someone "spoofed" WYSIWIG's address, and sent Brendy (accidentally or intendedly) an email purporting to be from WYSIWYG (which may or may not have been infected); or
3. WYSIWYG intentionally sent an infected email to Brendy..
.
.

Is that a correct understanding of your post above?

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Aug 01 - 09:06 AM

Richard, I've tried to be as objective as possible, but realise there's still a good deal of opinion in the following. Hopefully, I've made the opinions obfious. If you want me to clarify whether I believe something is fact or opinion, please let me know.

RB: 1. Brendy is making it up (that is to say, he got no such email, or it wasn't infected)

Brendy either could be making it up or could be confused in some way. There's a chance he got WYSIWYG's e-mail mixed up with another one.

RB: 2. Someone "spoofed" WYSIWIG's address, and sent Brendy (accidentally or intendedly) an email purporting to be from WYSIWYG (which may or may not have been infected)

I believe Brendy DID get some e-mail from WYSIWYG. If he got all the information he posted from that particular e-mail, some of it would have been difficult to spoof. If Brendy received a copy of the same mass-mailed message WYSIWYG sent to all of us in her address book, the worm wouldn't have been in only his copy. He may have posted the information from that message and received a separate spoofed message with the infected attachment.

RB:3. WYSIWYG intentionally sent an infected email to Brendy..

It's a possiblility. She would have to disable her anti-virus software, receive an infected file and then manipulate the worm without becoming infected. This is my opinion, but I don't think WYSIWYG has the technical expertise, lack of fear of infection, larcenous nature, motivation, and lack of concern for the consequences required to do that.

The only proof of what really occurred would be the e-mail Brendy received with the infected attachment. Without that, this is all speculation.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Bernard
Date: 05 Aug 01 - 09:24 AM

I've already had an email conversation with Susan and explained to her how it is possible for a spoof to be achieved.

Clearly I'm not going to make the information public, particularly as it is virtually untraceable and frighteningly easy to do.

Certainly Susan's system was NOT infected when she sent that email, or any other that I have received from her; she is responsible enough not to risk sending infected mail.

It would be best to let the whole thing 'die', as nothing worthwhile is to be achieved by perpetuating it.

This kind of thing is one reason why my visits to Mudcat are very rare these days.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Aug 01 - 10:01 AM

Just one last word (aren't they all), lest it appear I'm being too hard on Brendy.

Based on what Brendy said in the previous thread, I believe he was much more upset about getting any e-mail from WYSIWYG.
He may very well have never opened the infected message
If a message was spoofed to appear to come from WYSIWYG, and a virus intentionally attached, he may never have read it, never have investigated it, and probably would have believed it HAD come from WYSIWYG.
If it were me, I'd take him out of my address book.

And now, barring any questions about what I meant by something, I will now f*ck off, before someone else suggests it.

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Aug 01 - 12:46 AM

Just found these:

Click

Click

Looks like there is some maliciousness in WYSIWYG, after all.

I can see where brendy is coming from on this, and his mode of expressing his annoyance at her intrusion is his own business.
I am reminded of the Richard Harris "song", "There are too many saviors on my cross"

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: bobbi
Date: 09 Aug 01 - 01:18 AM

Gosh... I was hoping this had died! Come on you guys... I have been inviting everyone I know to come here, telling them what a great place it is.. The last thing I want them to read is this "Fued Thing" between two MUDCATTERS.. One of you is suppose to be a Christian.. (Right Praise?) Then it is up to you to set the example of LOVE. I don't want to see Mudcat get divided over this. This is an enjoyable and fun site... "Can't we all just get along?" (Rodney King to the LAPD) 'Nuff said!

b

Subject: RE: BS: The last thing I want to read (2)
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 09 Aug 01 - 01:34 AM

Guest-I think posting that was maybe not a good idea, it is just making this whole thing carry on.Please understand I am not taking sides on this, I don't really know either of the people involved, but Max has asked us not to use his site for personal arguments.