I finally got another one of those spams that is bad and won't decode the attached gif file, so I was finally able to look at it and see what is going on.
Best of what I can tell, it is just spam. Looks to be what is happening is, to get around smarter spam filters, they have taken to sending no email message at all (well, no HTML message), and instead making the GIF the spam payload. It is a GIF of what would have been their HTML spam (think screen shot). The GIF is incomplete, so Emailer can't decode it. The names are random characters to keep filters from being able to track a single name (or series of names). I don't know if the GIF is incomplete because the spammer has crappy software (most likely) or because something else is interfering. But I do know it isn't just Emailer that can't decode it (other tools failed as well). But the simple answer is, ignore them, and delete them. No one should waste any more time wondering what they are. They are junk email, so just throw them away and ignore the error log reporting them. Alas, what upsets me about this (besides having to constantly clear the error log), is if spammers have moved to this, and it catches on (which it looks like it is), then soon we can all add GIF files to the list of unacceptable file attachments. It was no loss when .EXE and other junk was blocked, but .ZIP is a problem (and is now blocked by some servers because of a virus), and now .GIF may get chopped (and they will just move to .JPG when it does). Between spammers and virus writers, the scum of the earth are rapidly making email a useless tool. Alas, the only thing this can possibly lead to is someone coming up with a "better" way, and that will always end up costing the users money. No one comes up with a free "better" way any more (mostly because, anything free can be co-opted by the very same people you are trying to cut out in the first place). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
