Yahoo! says goodbye to hi and hello

Yahoo! has announced it will reject messages with certain subject lines to combat delays incurred due to the MyDoom virus.

In an advisory to Yahoo! Groups members, the company said it would be rejecting emails based on a Symantec security advisory on the MyDoom worm.

"Due to a recent outbreak of computer viruses being transmitted via email messages, Yahoo! Groups is experiencing delays in delivering group messages," read the advisory. "To improve performance, and to help reduce the spread of viruses, Yahoo! Groups has had to temporarily reject some messages."

"We can assure you that this is only a temporary measure and hope to restore message delivery to normal as soon as possible," read the advisory.

Yahoo! Groups will reject messages with the following subject lines: test, hi, hello, Mail Delivery System, Mail Transaction Failed, Server Report, Status Error.

Yahoo! was unable to comment prior to publication of this article.

James Pearce writes for ZDNet Australia