infected message source identification

[SMiller () unimin com]

We just intercepted an unusually large volume of MyDoom.O on our mail
server.  Looking over the Scanmail log, I see quite a few email addresses
that appear to be valid, and a large number that contain odd strings.  I
have seen this before, and have assumed that the program scrubbing the hard
drive for addresses is badly coded with the result that the "wrong"
substrings from files are being recorded.  While legitimate email addresses
may be held in common across large numbers of computers, especially within
an enterprise, the randomly recorded strings should be more unique.  Any
reports that someone has successfully tried to reverse-engineer the disk
scrubbing process to identify the compromised machine by finding
combinations of those strings?  Any thoughts (other than those impugning my
sanity for even considering such a thing;?)

Scott


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