[TAG] email issue

[Rick Moen]

Quoting J.Bakshi (hizibizi at spymac.com):

> Thanks to both Rick Moen and Jimmy O'Regan for their explanation.
> Jimmy's answer is a bonus as he explained through a good practical
> example. I have just come to know *mixmaster*. Though haven't gone
> through its documentation yet, but *aptitude show mixmaster* shows
> that it can prevent the recipient knowing your email address.

Er, you _might_ have a use for mixmaster, but the preceding discussion 
didn't seem to suggest that, and I fear that you might be
misunderstanding its intended purpose.

Mixmaster is a client-server software tool for people running MTAs (SMTP
machines), and their users, with the client piece allowing the users to
issue pseudonymous e-mails, which the mixmaster daemon (server) piece then
remails on their behalf.  

It would be very strange to send your routine, normal outgoing mail
through Mixmaster, specifically because it would greatly obscure the
identity of the sender.  Further, and more to your original point, it
would do nothing to prevent you from also receiving spammer-and-malware 
generated junkmails at your real e-mail address, such as the garbage
mail you cited that had a couple of null interior headers.

As Ben knows, I've long been of the opinion that pretty much all "hide
from spammers" strategies (including, well, "preventing the recipient
knowing your address") are a dumb idea, really don't work worth a damn,
and interfere with legitimate Internet usage to a degree I find
unacceptable.  At least for those of us who control our own MTAs, there
_are_ effective countermeasures, that don't involve self-concealment in
any way.

-- 
Cheers,                   Now, it's time to hack the real world, and let other
Rick Moen                 people write Web sites about it.
rick at linuxmafia.com                                   -- Donald B. Marti