Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: bucsb!ckd@husc6.harvard.edu (Christopher Davis) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: VACATION & VALERT-L (was Re: VACATION Virus) Message-ID: <0006.8907201152.AA01476@ge.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 19 Jul 89 22:14:27 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 27 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu In article <> VIRUS-L@IBM1.CC.Lehigh.EDU writes: - - [Description of Vacation "virus" deleted] - - - - [Ed. It appears to me to be more a case of an infinite mail loop than - - anything that could be called a virus. I frequently get messages on - - VIRUS-L/comp.virus which are sent from a VACATION program (VMS or - - Unix). Since VIRUS-L is moderated, however, I merely delete the - - message. If the message goes out to the list, and the VACATION - - program replies, you have an endless cycle. Use any VACATION program - - very cautiously.] All the vacation programs I've ever seen only send one reply to any address; this is to prevent mail loops such as the one that we saw on VALERT-L not too long ago. [For those not on the list, what happened is that a VACATION program sent one--count 'em, one--reply to the list (a reply to a mis-sent subscription request, at that!). Then, some JANET site started bouncing mail back due to a full disk at one site--but was bouncing it to THE LIST ADDRESS. Needless to say, the resulting mail loop was rather horrendous, especially since the messages got bigger each time. --ckd] - -- /\ | / |\ @bu-pub.bu.edu | Christopher K. Davis, BU SMG '90 / |/ | \ %bu-pub.bu.edu@bu-it.bu.edu | uses standardDisclaimer; \ |\ | / | BITNET: smghy6c@buacca \/ | \ |/ @bucsb.UUCP or ...!bu-cs!bucsb!ckd if you gotta. --"Ignore the man behind the curtain and the address in the header." --ckd--