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Stopping "PattyMail" Email Bugs
An anonymous reader writes, "In the U.S. Congressional Inquiry into the HP spy scandal, it was revealed that HP used Web bugs to track the source of leaks. HP's Fred Adler considers them a useful investigative tool which HP will keep using. Since dubbed PattyMail after HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, Web bugs have been around for a while. But it turns out the vulnerability they represent is far worse than first thought. Microsoft Outlook won't have a patch until 2007. The company at the center of the scandal claims they've done nothing wrong. But could repressive governments use them to track down critics? Can anything be done to stop Web bugs?"
Sadly, no. Since HTML is a vital component of email, this sort of vulerability is inherent in the 'email' system, much like compromised cookies and overridden passwords. Some time in the future, we may have an email system that is simply composed of raw text which would be invulnerable to such exploits, but for now we can only dream.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
"Some time in the future, we may have an email system that is simply composed of raw text which would be invulnerable to such exploits, but for now we can only dream."
I've even heard that someone is working on a revolutionary OS that runs entirely in text mode, and uses command-line control, and is completely impervious to web bugs, Windows trojans, and other such infestations.
Where were you when the voynix came?
"The PROPER way to handle HTML postings is to cancel the article, then hire a hitman to kill the poster, his wife and kids, and fuck his dog and smash his computer into little bits. Anything more is just extremism."
- Paul Tomblin was talking about USENET when he said this, but he was right.
Can anything be done to stop Web bugs?
Funny you should ascii...
Running Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^H OSX and Linux in the home. (I don't have time for Solitaire any more.)