DOD bars use of HTML e-mail, Outlook Web Access

FCW.com ^ | 12/22/06 | Bob Brewin

[js1138]

Somebody please help me out . . . what is HTML-based e-mail, exactly? Technical response ok.

I first assumed it referred to browser based email -- things like hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail, and, of course, the Outlook web client.

But there's some discussion of HTML embedded in the messages -- in other words, everything other than text.

[Myrddin]

Somebody please help me out . . . what is HTML-based e-mail, exactly? Technical response ok.

HTML mail adds MIME headers to the standard RFC822 mail. Adding the Content-type: text/html tells the e-mail client that the section past the headers is HTML and can be ingested and rendered. "text/plain" signal ordinary textual mail. A type of "multipart/mixed" signals multiple sections that can be of different MIME types.

[1rudeboy]

My mom uses Hotmail (please spare the laughter), am I going to be wiping her computer clean in the near future?

[KoRn]

Outlook Web Access is very insecure.

It only uses basic HTML Authentication, which is just lame. Usernames and passwords are sent in clear text, easily readable by a packet sniffer on the network. They need to implement encryption to correct this, which should be fairly easy to do.

[MikefromOhio]

Nah...

Just make sure her virus definitions are up to date and are updated daily. Be sure to schedule at least a weekly scan of the hard drive and tell her not to open spam or unknown attachments.

That's all you can do.

Isn't Windows grand?

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Coincidentally this has been observed-
"Quake cuts off much of Asia Internet"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758946/posts

Those pesky Asians have been known to get themselves walled off every now and again for toying with the "features" that Iggle defends.

[roaddog727]

HTML= Hyper Text Markup Language.

Whenever you see a post on FR that is other than plain text, they are using HTML commands, like bolding their text, Highliting, underlining....etc.

[MikefromOhio]

That was the quake off of Taiwan?

interesting...

[null and void]

11:25 AM

[JRios1968]

Pacific?

[JRios1968]

Taiwan??

Oh, wait!

[roaddog727]

This was just implemented on our systems as of 1 Dec.

It sucks. you can no longer bold, or change your text color to indicate emphasis.

As to OWA, what they are saying is not quite accurate. You CAN use OWA if you access your e-mail account with your CAC card. But this is a royal pain in the keester, especially if the remote desktop/laptop you are using does not have a CAC card reader attached/enabled.

Oh well, may as well just unplug ALL DOD networks from the Internet........

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Check this out-
"Enhancing its ability to serve customers on a global basis, Verizon Business made a number of strategic investments in undersea network cables. The company joined a consortium of international carriers to build the first next-generation, multi-terabit, optical undersea cable system linking the U.S. and the mainland of China. Verizon Business is the only U.S.-based carrier in the consortium, which includes China Telecom, China Netcom, China Unicom, Korea Telecom and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom."

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061227/nyw027.html?.v=81

Could be that converged networks supporting grid computing may be a little much for a Windoze mentality.

[MikefromOhio]

Oh well, may as well just unplug ALL DOD networks from the Internet........

That happened during Red Worm....

[RockinRight]

The question is why?

[Minutemen]

Bump

[Salo]

I just *hate* it when _that_ happens. ;-)

It sucks. you can no longer bold, or change your text color to indicate emphasis.

[null and void]

PST

[null and void]

LOL!

[Salo]

Wild guess, but the ChiComs have been punking out some DOD systems lately (Navy War College and some others, IIRC). It may be someone has figured out the next vector.