E-Mail Greeting Card

[DjM]

There is a new E-Mail greeting card making the rounds lately and getting a lot of attention.

Symantec Security Response is aware of a widespread e-card (electronic greeting card) that appears to have the characteristics of a worm.

Permissioned Media, runs a Web site called FriendGreetings.com, which lets one person send another person an electronic greeting card. The friendly facilitation seems simple
and harmless, but it has a rather insidious side.

When you receive a greeting from FriendGreetings.com, the message says
that someone sent you the greeting and that to read it, you must click
a URL that takes you to the Web site hosting the greeting. When you
click the URL, you're prompted to install an ActiveX control before
you view the greeting. As the greeting-card recipient, you would
probably assume that you must install the ActiveX control to view the
greeting; however, that's not the case. Instead, FriendGreetings.com
has designed the ActiveX control, complete with an End User License
Agreement (EULA), to interact with your mail client software and
harvest information about your email contacts. After the ActiveX
control obtains your private contact list information, it sends a
similar greeting card to everyone in your contact list, probably
unbeknownst to you!

Just a heads-up.

Cheers:

[DjM]

There is a new E-Mail greeting card making the rounds lately and getting a lot of attention.

Symantec Security Response is aware of a widespread e-card (electronic greeting card) that appears to have the characteristics of a worm.

Permissioned Media, runs a Web site called FriendGreetings.com, which lets one person send another person an electronic greeting card. The friendly facilitation seems simple
and harmless, but it has a rather insidious side.

When you receive a greeting from FriendGreetings.com, the message says
that someone sent you the greeting and that to read it, you must click
a URL that takes you to the Web site hosting the greeting. When you
click the URL, you're prompted to install an ActiveX control before
you view the greeting. As the greeting-card recipient, you would
probably assume that you must install the ActiveX control to view the
greeting; however, that's not the case. Instead, FriendGreetings.com
has designed the ActiveX control, complete with an End User License
Agreement (EULA), to interact with your mail client software and
harvest information about your email contacts. After the ActiveX
control obtains your private contact list information, it sends a
similar greeting card to everyone in your contact list, probably
unbeknownst to you!

Just a heads-up.

Cheers:

[Striek]

Imagine someone recieved a card suggesting an adulterous romantic engagement. It is recieved, and then forwarded to the recipients entire address book. Wouldn't that be great.

My solution to email viruses? First of all, I do not use Outlook or Messenger, but Eudora. Second, I do not keep an address book as part of my email program. It is a textfile. Therefore I have never been responsible for spreading an email virus.

Is this virus legal? What legal restitution is there for this? It is still a virus, however every user who spreads it has agreed to it. I imagine FriendGreetings.com looked into this first. Who's fault is it then?

[Striek]

Imagine someone recieved a card suggesting an adulterous romantic engagement. It is recieved, and then forwarded to the recipients entire address book. Wouldn't that be great.

My solution to email viruses? First of all, I do not use Outlook or Messenger, but Eudora. Second, I do not keep an address book as part of my email program. It is a textfile. Therefore I have never been responsible for spreading an email virus.

Is this virus legal? What legal restitution is there for this? It is still a virus, however every user who spreads it has agreed to it. I imagine FriendGreetings.com looked into this first. Who's fault is it then?

[DjM]

The "End User License Agreement", seems to be the key. As soon as you click the old "I Accept" button, you just gave the company permission. Cheap trick!

Cheers:

[DjM]

The "End User License Agreement", seems to be the key. As soon as you click the old "I Accept" button, you just gave the company permission. Cheap trick!

Cheers:

[Tiger Shark]

It's not a virus but a rather PITA marketing scam. Clicking the accept on the EULA gives them permission to send a similar card to everyone in your address book.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, (the moron user authorized it...... :mad: ), as a sysadmin it would piss me off if I had to watch my bandwidth be chewed up by this unadulterated and childish crap..... they are supposed to be working for god's sake!!!!!!

Rant over...... :D

[Tiger Shark]

It's not a virus but a rather PITA marketing scam. Clicking the accept on the EULA gives them permission to send a similar card to everyone in your address book.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, (the moron user authorized it...... :mad: ), as a sysadmin it would piss me off if I had to watch my bandwidth be chewed up by this unadulterated and childish crap..... they are supposed to be working for god's sake!!!!!!

Rant over...... :D

[Palemoon]

This smacks again about the need to reform EULA's all to often they are used in ways a users may not understand for the benefit and profit of some oie in the sky dot com want to be but never will get there, and or marketing company just doing what they want to do best shove things in your face you do not want. I have a rule if I visit a site I've never been to before I never agree to any auto download. Second my root email is never in question hell everything is sent to Hotmail all 465 messages per week I delete one message to keep the account active and everyone that sends gets an email box full response...dah M$ opted me into their partners that have nothing I want.
It is a marketing Virus plan simple forget the term like they deserve a term even.

[Palemoon]

This smacks again about the need to reform EULA's all to often they are used in ways a users may not understand for the benefit and profit of some oie in the sky dot com want to be but never will get there, and or marketing company just doing what they want to do best shove things in your face you do not want. I have a rule if I visit a site I've never been to before I never agree to any auto download. Second my root email is never in question hell everything is sent to Hotmail all 465 messages per week I delete one message to keep the account active and everyone that sends gets an email box full response...dah M$ opted me into their partners that have nothing I want.
It is a marketing Virus plan simple forget the term like they deserve a term even.