Harold Fuchs wrote:
> I see that some experiments have been done to see if it possible to
> unsubscribe an address you don't "own" and that in at least some
> circumstances the experiments have been successful.
>
> Would someone please explain carefully and clearly
> a) What the circumstances are that allow this. In particular, is it
> *only* possible when the address being "unsubscribed" (the attacker)
> is having its messages forwarded to the person performing the
> procedure (the victim)? If not, what other possibilities are there?
>
You may have more than email account, buy normally only use one SMTP
server.  This means you can send any email from address, through that
one SMTP server.  I have done this, when sending mail on my personal
account, from my work computer.  Unfortunately it also means you can
impersonate someone else.  In our example, impersonation would be
necessary, in order to get the subscription ended.
> and
>
> b) What exactly is the procedure
>
> Also, if the explanation uses the term "mimic account", would the
> explainer please explain what this term means.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
I set up my gmail account to forward mail to Barbara and was able to do
so without her password.  This means anyone could forward mail to
someone else.  In return, Barbara created an account, using my address
as her from address, again without knowing my password.  This allowed
her to impersonate me.  So, if I had set up forwarding so that she
received list mail, she know can impersonate me to unsubscribe from the
list.  However, this does not completely stop someone who is determined
to harass someone in this manner.  It might only slow them down a bit.



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