AND...not only all this, but according to www.truthorfiction.com (one of my favorite websites, for checking out email urban legends and such) the problem with FriendlyGreetings.com is not only true, but the email addresses are collected for a spammer sending out porn. Trisha "Lightning" Prescott On Tue, 19 Nov 2002, "Farquhar, Larry" wrote: Message Yep! We had a few users at work already receive these greeting cards and install the software - without reading the EULA. It's a sneaky way to propagate a virus, legally :( Larry Farquhar Team "Wyle E" http:\\www.happy-wanderers.com -----Original Message-----From: Team Tierra Buena [mailto:teamtierrabuena@earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 10:16 PMTo: listserv@azgeocaching.comSubject: [Az-Geocaching] [OT] Security Implications with Web Based Greeting Cards Off-topic, yes, but I think it's important to get the word out on this.   Have you ever clicked on an End-User License Agreement without bothering to read it? Me, too, but after reading this article I'll never let one slip by again.   Steve Team Tierra Buena 10/30/2002 Subject: Security Implications with Web Based 03:32 PM Greeting Cards Have you been receiving and sending a lot of Web based Greeting Cards? Ifyou do, as a co-worker told me today that he sends them to a lot of people,you may want to read this article.* SNEAK ATTACK THROUGH A LICENSE AGREEMENTHave you ever received a Web-based greeting card from a friend orrelative? They're common these days, and they seem to be taken forgranted, in that people trust the intent of someone who might sendthem a greeting card. People like to be greeted with kindness, sothey're inclined to look at and read the greeting card. It's one ofthe feel-good things that many people simply can't resist.Have you ever wondered why a company would spend its Internetresources delivering free greeting cards on behalf of people with whomit conducts no business otherwise? How does such an entity profit fromthose endeavors? What might its motives be?Last week, a user posted an interesting message to our HowTo forSecurity mailing list regarding one company that delivers Web-basedgreeting cards. That company, Permissioned Media, runs a Web sitecalled FriendGreetings.com, which lets one person send another personan electronic greeting card. The friendly facilitation seems simpleand harmless, but it has a rather insidious side.When you receive a greeting from FriendGreetings.com, the message saysthat someone sent you the greeting and that to read it, you must clicka URL that takes you to the Web site hosting the greeting. When youclick the URL, you're prompted to install an ActiveX control beforeyou view the greeting. As the greeting-card recipient, you wouldprobably assume that you must install the ActiveX control to view thegreeting; however, that's not the case. Instead, FriendGreetings.comhas designed the ActiveX control, complete with an End User LicenseAgreement (EULA), to interact with your mail client software andharvest information about your email contacts. After the ActiveXcontrol obtains your private contact list information, it sends asimilar greeting card to everyone in your contact list, probablyunbeknownst to you!If you took time to read the EULA from FriendGreetings.com, you'ddiscover that the EULA clearly states Permissioned Media's intentionto do just that. A section of the EULA reads, "As part of theinstallation process, Permissioned Media will access your MicrosoftOutlook contacts list and send an e-mail to persons on your contactslist inviting them to download FriendGreetings or related products."By accepting the EULA and installing the ActiveX control, you give thecompany permission to perform that activity.In essence, the greeting cards that FriendGreetings.com deliversresemble many worms that travel the Internet: They're parasitic,intrusive, devious, elusive, and most of all, probably unwanted. Evensome antivirus vendors issued warnings about the greeting card lastweek. However, we can't completely blame FriendGreetings.com for itsuse because, although the company counts on most users' acceptance ofthe unread EULA, the EULA does spell out some of its intention. Byagreeing to the EULA, users agree to the ActiveX control activity.Nevertheless, the lesson here should be obvious: When you encounter aEULA, don't take anything for granted. Read it word for word tounderstand exactly what you're accepting and think through what theconsequences of acceptance might be.Permissioned Media bills itself as a "behavioral marketing network"with more than 100 clients that advertise online. The company alsooperates Cool-Downloads.com. You can read Permissioned Media's EULA atthe URL below. Take note that it grants the company "the right to addadditional features or functions to the version of PerMedia youinstall, or to add new applications to PerMedia, at any time." Yikes!http://permissionedmedia.com/license.htmIf you've received a greeting card from FriendGreetings.com andinstalled the associated ActiveX control, you might want to remove itssoftware from your system. To find out how, be sure to read therelated news article, "Protect Your Contact List: Read the EULA!" inthis newsletter.http://www.secadministrator.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=27122Source: Windows & .NET Magazine Security UPDATE--brought to you bySecurityAdministrator, a print newsletter bringing you practical, how-toarticles about securing your Windows .NET Server, Windows 2000, andWindows NT systems. (Contributed by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor)    ** Confidential **The information in this email is confidential and may be proprietary or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and then delete or destroy the message along with any attachments. 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