Im confused as to how this email spoofing thing works. I get a lot of send backs in my yahoo account. I just delete them. Im running clean both at home and at work.

A cool website I found is www.majorgeeks.com They have a lot of spyware removers and virus checkers and such. They test all the software before putting a link to it to insure they dont have any hidden spyware.

 

The most common virus/spam today replicates itself by sending it's payload to people that you have in the address book of your email app.

Once launched, it will open up your address book and pick two names/addresses. One will be the TO address, the other will be used to "spoof" the FROM address in order to help cover it's tracks. So, when Jane gets an email advertising low mortgages, it looks like it came from you. That's produces the weird response from Jane asking you to stop sending her spam, or the email from Jane's ISP saying that "an email you sent could not be delivered because it contains a virus", or the weird email from Jane asking who you are - just 'cause you were both in the other person's address book doesn't mean that you know each other.

Now, if Jane actually opened the payload, she too is now infected and the replicator will start in through her address book. And, if you DID happen to know her and are in her address book, then you'll now be sending spam to all of her friends and family.

Quite the popular guy you've become.

The replicator in the virus/spam then continues through the infected computers address book sending mail FROM you TO everyone else, then FROM the next person in line TO everyone else, etc. It can generate a LOT of mail - if you have 10 people in your address book, then the replicator will generate 10! (factorial, or 10*9*8*7...) pieces of email - and then start over.

The replicators that I know of to date are all targeting Outlook address books under Windows. So, if you're running a different email reader, or are on a Mac/Linux/TRS-80 machine then you're pretty "safe" from being infected. But the best protection is to just not open email from peopole you don't know, and NEVER open an attachment unless you KNOW that someone is sending it to you.

 

Thanks Mark. Very informative. So I dont use Outlook. I only use my free box from Yahoo email. It does have an address book that the wife loads up with address. I keep getting the "mail delivery failure("my email name") emails in my box. The subject line is different than when I truely send mail and it cant deliver it so I assume that I am not actually sending anything out. So is it that people are using my email address as a spoofed sender or am I actually sending junk to people? I also get email for drugs and all kinds of junk that yahoo filters into the spam box, but sometimes one gets through to the inbox.

 

And this mail system is through the web, right? i.e., you send your email from within a web browser?

If so, then you're "virus safe" until someone figures out how to infect the Yahoo server.


No, you're not sending junk, you're in someone's address book that's infected. You're getting mail returned to you 'cause of the spoofing.


Welcome to the world of spam. Filters are good, but they're not human and take some help for them to learn.

A lot of the spam that's going around now is using tricks to get through filters. Things like adding spaces between keywords that filters look for will foil a filter. "v iagr a" or "vi - agr A" or "viA.g-ra" is different than "viagra". It's "easy" to code to recognize that and other variations, but it takes time for the smarter filters to be put in place.

 

I just down loaded Stinger and am going to download the Spybot program.
Thanks!

 

Most computer viruses rely on the recipients of e-mail clicking on or running an attachment. Netsky-V however, arrives as an email with no attachment.

Instead, Netsky-V uses a (recently fixed) bug in Microsoft software that allows users to be infected by simply viewing the email. The e-mail contains some hidden code, which downloads the virus from an already infected computer on the Internet.

 

Because this worm exploits IE, I think even web based e-mail is vulnerable

 

guys,

my wife's computer was infected w/ some serious virus and adware crap and she FINALLY fixed it.

she went to this site: www.computercops.biz

Basically the site works like this (this is from my recollection):

do some basic research on their site. kinda like our site. you know, if you do some reserach and post an intelligent question w/ evidence that you searched, you get a better, more thorough response

you download their software which analyzes stuff and then you must save the report. you cut/paste your report into a post.

the guys on the site figure out what the problem is (based on your report) and then they tell you EXACTLY how to fix it.

my wife had pulled her hair out for almost 2 weeks. they solved her problem within 2 days of her post. check it out here:

www.computercops.biz/postt43550.html

bob

 

My school has been PC centric ever since we got a feminazi computer tech and every new virus or worm shuts down every computer in the school...except for 4 of us who use Macs with OSX. It works. It's secure. In 12 years of using Macs I've had 0 viruses. And it doesn't feed the MS megalopoly.

And before you guys start flaming...I'm pretty handy at Windows and Macs and use them both regularly...But my money gets spent on Macs...because they work for me, not against me.

Y'all buy Toyotas because they work...and keep on workin'...shouldn't you expect the same from your computers?

 

It's because the normal delivery path of a virus package is through Outlook's open-ended virus-friendly API and addressbook scheme.

I'm a Mac & PC guy, but even though my email machines are all Windows, I've never had a virus attack - because I don't run Outlook... It's a lousy email app anyway.

 

What do you prefer Mark?
I have been using Outlook for several years, and really enjoy it.
Easy to use, and add pics or files, and it shows all HTML.
I am using Outllok Office XP right now.
About 5 years ago I was using Netscape Messenger which is also a good free program, then made the jump to Outlook.

Never got a virus in my mail, as Mcafee gets 'em, and all emails to me now get scrubbed first through the YotaTech server here which Scott has setup to strip any virus before it reaches those of us who use the server for email.

 

I've been glued to Eudora since about 1995.

Viruses don't/can't touch it's address book (there's no concept of internal scripting like in Outlook); the filtering makes sense (versus Outlook's rules), it inherently understands plain text mail (Outlook doesn't), and whole long list of other things that makes it easy to deal with a lot of mail/day.

We've talked about McAfee and friends before, but running Eudora is one reason why I can get away with not running _any_ virus protection.


I won't soapbox... If you like what you have now then you won't want to change, it's too much of a hassle to move your saved mail (actually, you probably wouldn't be able to) and the UI differences will give you a headache. It'd be the same way moving from any app like this to any other. It's a LOT more painful than say, switching browsers.