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Note to developers of anti-virus software: If your software is capable of scanning e-mail messages and identifying viruses, and if your software detects a virus that we know full well sends scads of messages with forged sender addresses picked up from web pages and address books, do not—I repeat, do not—send out messages like this:

Trinite SMTP Firewall V4.5 MR1a on vmailnt19 detected virus W32/Sobig.f@MM in attachment thank_you.pif from addressed to [address removed] , it was Deleted and Quarantined.

...or this:

A mail sent by you has been quarantined by the IT Dept in [named removed] due to the presence of a virus
The message was sent to marketing@qualceram-shires.com
with subject Re: Thank you! on date Wed, 3 Sep 2003 9:33:57 +0100

Please update your virus scanner before re-sending mails

IT Dept

...or this:

V I R U S A L E R T

Our viruschecker found the

W32/Sobig.f@MM

virus in your email to the following recipient:

-> atozadnet

Delivery of the email was stopped!

Please check your system for viruses, or ask your system administrator to do so.

Congratulations. You have identified the virus. Now use that information. Sending such messages, when through the magic of a basic if-then statement your software could be programmed not to do so if forged sender addresses are likely, is highly dorky. That is all.