From: fork-admin@xent.com  Mon Aug 26 15:32:06 2002
Return-Path: <fork-admin@xent.com>
Delivered-To: yyyy@localhost.netnoteinc.com
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1])
	by phobos.labs.netnoteinc.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 291E04415F
	for <jm@localhost>; Mon, 26 Aug 2002 10:26:12 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from phobos [127.0.0.1]
	by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0)
	for jm@localhost (single-drop); Mon, 26 Aug 2002 15:26:12 +0100 (IST)
Received: from xent.com ([64.161.22.236]) by dogma.slashnull.org
    (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g7OFZXZ07798 for <jm@jmason.org>;
    Sat, 24 Aug 2002 16:35:34 +0100
Received: from lair.xent.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by xent.com (Postfix)
    with ESMTP id 2BA432940DA; Sat, 24 Aug 2002 08:33:09 -0700 (PDT)
Delivered-To: fork@example.com
Received: from mail2.panix.com (mail2.panix.com [166.84.1.73]) by xent.com
    (Postfix) with ESMTP id D8F952940BF for <fork@xent.com>; Sat,
    24 Aug 2002 08:32:22 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from 159-98.nyc.dsl.access.net (159-98.nyc.dsl.access.net
    [166.84.159.98]) by mail2.panix.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 972AC91F0 for
    <fork@xent.com>; Sat, 24 Aug 2002 11:34:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Lucas Gonze <lgonze@panix.com>
X-X-Sender: lgonze@localhost.localdomain
Cc: FoRK <fork@example.com>
Subject: Re: The case for spam
In-Reply-To: <F199JycMIRpE6qCJTyt00005abe@hotmail.com>
Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0208241111100.17440-100000@localhost.localdomain>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Sender: fork-admin@xent.com
Errors-To: fork-admin@xent.com
X-Beenthere: fork@example.com
X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11
Precedence: bulk
List-Help: <mailto:fork-request@xent.com?subject=help>
List-Post: <mailto:fork@example.com>
List-Subscribe: <http://xent.com/mailman/listinfo/fork>, <mailto:fork-request@xent.com?subject=subscribe>
List-Id: Friends of Rohit Khare <fork.xent.com>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://xent.com/mailman/listinfo/fork>,
    <mailto:fork-request@xent.com?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://xent.com/pipermail/fork/>
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 11:26:34 -0400 (EDT)
X-Pyzor: Reported 0 times.
X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-4.3 required=7.0
	tests=IN_REP_TO,KNOWN_MAILING_LIST,MISSING_HEADERS,
	      SPAM_PHRASE_13_21,USER_AGENT_PINE
	version=2.40-cvs
X-Spam-Level: 

Russell Turpin wrote:
> On the receiving side,
> my email client distinguishes between messages
> that are read, and messages that are not. I like
> to mark or save messages that are particularly
> interresting or important to me. And even if I
> make a point to delete "suspicious material"
> immediately upon reading it, even THAT might
> leave an interesting kind of trace on my machine.

You choose to have your email client do that.  You don't have to.  Short
of Palladium, you can do whatever you want with bytes you hold, including
reading messages and erasing the traces.  I'll buy a chocolate sundae for
anyone who can show otherwise.

An attacker might be able to verify that you *have* read a message (e.g.  
by seeing that you saved and edited a copy) but not that you *haven't*.  
If your email client was compromised you could put a packet sniffer on the
line before downloading mail.  If an attacker installed a packet sniffer
sniffer, you could run it in a spoofing VM.

The only exception to the rule that your machine belongs to you is --
maybe -- Palladium.

- Lucas


http://xent.com/mailman/listinfo/fork

