I'd appreciate any feedback.....
> Do you or someone you know use Microsoft Internet Explorer Mail 2.0, 3.0
> or 3.01?
>
> Are you concerned with Security? And No, I am Not talking about the
> recent security patch that popped up last week. I am talking
> specifically about anyone using the E mail program that comes with
> Internet Explorer.
>
> Over the weekend, I found some Very Very disturbing files, they keep
> track of every single file ever sent to you, sent from you, or deleted
> by you. Regardless if it was deleted or not !
>
> You know how you hear about computer confiscation's by the FBI or such
> and such Dept. to find files and information about a person... well most
> anyone who might be concerned with even minimal amounts of security
> would at least DELETE the files. In MSIE Internet Mail you have a nice
> little feature that allows you to create folders for putting all your e
> mail into for future reference. But after a while, just about everyone
> becomes concerned either with the content or quantity of these folders,
> and begins to delete these e-mails out of these folders. Like Windows95,
> these files go into another folder called "DELETED", you simply then
> delete the contents of the deleted folder and all is gone right!
> WRONG!!!, what ? you don't believe me? Well Check For Yourself!
>
> For those of you running Windows95,
> 1. Click on "View" at the top of the program
>
> 2. Go to the last item, "Options" click that one
>
> 3. There are 2 tabs, on the View tab, make sure "Show all file types" is
> selected and check that "Display the full MS-DOS path in the title bar"
> and "Include description bar for right and left panes" are also selected
>
> 4. Click OK 5. Now, in the left pane, expand your System Hard-drive
> (For99% of us it will be the "C" drive) then expand the folder "Program
> Files"
>
> 6. Find the folder "Internet Explorer" and expand (click the + 1
> time) that folder
>
> 7. Under Internet Explorer is another Folder called
> "Internet Mail and News" expand that one.
>
> 8. Under that file you should
> see the name of your account, however you configured it. Expand it. Then
> expand the last file, "Mail" click on that 1 time.
>
> 9. Now, in the right
> pane you see the contents of the Mail folder, you will hopefully
> recognize your Internet Mail program files by their names.
>
> 10.WARNING--- I am only going to show you how to view the file for now,
> PLEASE do not change a file at this time, you will corrupt the file and
> not be able to return to your e-mail program, I'll tell you how to fix
> it in a minute.
>
> 11. OK, now you see the files in the right pane, we will
> only be concerned with a few files for the moment * Deleted Items.idx
> note the extensions, idx and .mbx * Deleted items.mbx * Inbox.idx *
> Inbox.mbx * Outbox.idx * Outbox.mbx * Sent Items.idx * Sent Items.mbx
> 1.Notice the difference in size between the two files... the "idx" file is
> always smaller than the "mbx" file
>
> 2. I do not know what the "idx"
> extension stands for but felt safe in assuming the other was for
> "Mailbox"
>
> 3. Now, The idx file is directly associated with the amount of
> files in your folder, so if you have a lot of e-mails in a folder it is
> going to have a couple hundred Kb in it, and if you don't have but 1 or
> 2 the number will be significantly less, maybe as low as 1 or 2 kb
>
> 4.For those of you who have been running a lot of e-mail through your
> account, and had MSIE up and running for quite sometime, look at your
> inbox.mbx, mine had grown to 29MB! That's what caused me to look in the
> first place, I kept trying to find out "What in the heck am I storing in
> these files? Why is my inbox empty and this .mbx file shows such a high
> number???" So I kept hackin... I decided to try a text viewer (Most of
> you have WordPad) I right clicked the Inbox.mbx file and choose "Open
> With" a dialog box pops up - WARNING, you must make sure the "Always use
> this program to open this file" Is NOT Checked!
>
> 5. Depending on the size
> of the file, it may take a while for it to cough up the file, I was
> really expecting to see a gobbly goop hex ridden file with
> indecipherable language all over it. But to my Amazement, up popped a
> file beginning at the very day I changed from Netscape, September 8th
> 1996 all the way to March 8th 1997.
>
> 6. Inside was the complete record of
> every e-mail I had received, over 1000 e-mails and absolutely every one
> I deleted prior to this point, I Was Mad ! ! ! ! !
>
> 7. This is true for each and every .mbx file you have!
>
> 8. WARNING I tried many times to just
> simply highlight the information, delete it and then save it. I Could
> Not Do It Without Corrupting The File, MAKE SURE after viewing the file
> you exit WITHOUT saving changes.
>
> 9. Are we Mad Yet!!!
>
> 10. There are 2
> ways I used to fix this is the following: *
>
> #1 print out all the e-mails
> you want to keep or copy the folders you want to keep into a temporary
> folder (by copy folders, I mean the 2 idx/mbx files with the folder
> names you recognize) *
>
> #2 Uninstall the Internet Mail and News program
> from the Add/Remove Programs from Control Panel *
>
> #3 Verify that the
> files have been Deleted after step #2 *
>
> #4 Reinstall Internet Mail and
> News as was done Originally *
>
> #5 After it is reinstalled, up and running
> and you have recreated the folders you wanted, go back into Explorer,
> and Copy the New files. Idx/mbx for the Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items
> and put those copies into a safe place. * Every so often, you can go to
> your safe place and click "copy" and then go back to the Mail folder and
> paste into the folder Over-Writing the Nasty Spy Folder with a good
> clean non Incriminating file.
>
> I know this is a lot to read, and for many they might say "Who Cares!"
> but to those of us who know better, this just makes us mad! and gives us
> proof that Big Brother really does want to know about our every move,
> and our every thought.
>
> I know Microsoft will not be pleased that this is now known, but this
> is not right. There is no justification for this kind of intrusion.
>
> I'm not real comfortable giving out my e-mail address, simply because I
> am becoming an engineer for Microsoft, Ironic isn't it. And all this so
> I could become closer to the inside... well I got my first hint of the
> inside, and It looks like were in for a battle people.
>
> Information Is King.
>
>
-- TANSTAAFL!!!Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ President retroman@tpk.net Northstar Technologies Agent Lorrey@ThePentagon.com Inventor of the Lorrey Drive Silo_1013@ThePentagon.com
Website: http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/ Now Featuring: Mikey's Animatronic Factory http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/animations.htm My Own Nuclear Espionage Agency (MONEA) MIKEYMAS(tm): The New Internet Holiday Transhumans of New Hampshire (>HNH) ------------------------------------------------------------ Transhumanist, Inventor, Webmaster, Ski Guide, Entrepreneur, Artist, Outdoorsman, Libertarian, Arms Exporter-see below. ------------------------------------------------------------ #!/usr/local/bin/perl-0777---export-a-crypto-system-sig-RC4-3-lines-PERL @k=unpack('C*',pack('H*',shift));for(@t=@s=0..255){$y=($k[$_%@k]+$s[$x=$_ ]+$y)%256;&S}$x=$y=0;for(unpack('C*',<>)){$x++;$y=($s[$x%=256]+$y)%256; &S;print pack(C,$_^=$s[($s[$x]+$s[$y])%256])}sub S{@s[$x,$y]=@s[$y,$x]}