No mail for Alisons, Alberts, Algernons...

2011-04-01

Helen Martin

Virus Bulletin, UK

Editor: Helen Martin

Abstract

McAfee glitch prevents addresses starting with the letter 'A' from receiving mail.

McAfee customers whose email address begins with the letter ‘A’ may have found their inboxes unexpectedly quiet earlier this month when a flawed update script in the MX Logic managed email filtering service (acquired by McAfee in 2009) prevented them from receiving mail. According to McAfee, temporary account verification issues were experienced by users with non-alphanumeric email addresses and aliases up to the letter ‘A’. The issue was identified and fixed within 12 hours.

This is not the first time an innocent letter has caused problems and red faces for a security firm – in 2003, Trend Micro quarantined the letter ‘P’, when a bug in an update for email security product eManager quarantined all incoming mail containing the letter ‘P’ (see VB, June 2003, p.3).

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