28 virus emails

[gomaos]

My private email account had 28 new emails, mainly from beautiful young girls wishing to meet me. All of them had attachments, none of which I opened. Instead i deleted all emails as soon as they were downloaded.

My question is:

Is this a random thing to happen, or have I been especially targeted by someone?

I also got an email from SAB saying they had deteced outgoing virus emails and offering me anti-virus-software.

I downloaded them, but they won't open...

I hope nobody got any virus emails from my account...

If so, it definitely wasn't me who sent them.

And to the stupid idiot who wants to crash my computer:

You are sick, man, and you know it.

Get some professional help!

[chief23]

Most people get spam, but others get alot more than normal (like my aunt).

Anyway what happens is people/programs troll the web searching for email addresses to spam, or you sign up for some dodgy offer/site and they spam you. Usually once you're on a few spamers lists they sell your email address to others and you will get more and more spam. Some companies give you the option to remove your address, some dont (usually the fraudsters). Some also give the option but only use it to verify your email as "valid" and send more spam.

It could also be (more than likely) you or your friends are infected with a virus/trojan/worm, that sends these virus/trojan/worm's to everyone in your address book. You usually get infected by opening one of these acidently. Quite common especially when the come in all sorts of fake bullshit. The most common, is one pretending to be from "Microsoft" saying that you need to install this security patch to stop hackers accessing your computer (dunno how many times my aunt fell for that one!). The last type of common one I see, is one that claims to be from the admin of an ISP/web site saying you have been infected or infecting people and to run this patch, usually this is someone who targets an ISP or web sites mailing list claiming to be the admin of that site, similar to "Mircosoft" example. However this type can often be confused with the legit virus scanner of the ISP that send auto-responses to your email if you (intentionally or not) send them a virus/trojan/worm.

Never open any attachment you are unsure of, even if it is from your friends (they could be infected), especially if it's from someone you dont know. Usually virus/trojans/worms are in the form of exe,com,bat,pif files or macros in word/excel/access files. This can take some getting used to, but once you know what to look for they are easy to spot. A good virus scanner will help, but will not stop most trojans and worms.

Often if you are infected with trojans and worms it is best to do a complete reformat of your operating system to remove them. Some of these lastest trojans use your computer as part of a virus/trojan war to do DOS (denial of service) attacks on various web sites, not mention record your keystrokes so they can access your passwords for banking or credit cards and whatever else.

Also when you forward emails on to others, it's always a good idea to delete all the info of the person who sent the message to you, and to use a "BCC" (blind carbon copy) if you are sending to more than one person. This stops spammers getting hold of your friends email addresses easily.

It's also wise to have a few email address (like the free hotmail ones) and use one for sites or offers that sound to good to be true. Other than that, if you can't get removed from the spammers mailing list (sometimes impossible) then you should consider a new email address (which might be a problem if its your business address or your main personal ISP address).

Chief

[gomaos]

The last type of common one I see, is one that claims to be from the admin of an ISP/web site saying you have been infected or infecting people and to run this patch, usually this is someone who targets an ISP or web sites mailing list claiming to be the admin of that site, similar to "Mircosoft" example

Well that's what's happened to me then.

I got an email from "staff@shaman-australis' which claimed to have an anti-virus-program in it's attachment. i tried to open it but it didn't open...

Of course I should have known since I never got an email from "staff" at shaman-australis before.

Now my computer goes slow as shit!

Damn it was running so well before...

Does anyone have a program to get rid of this crap?

Well the hackers won't get any bank accounts from me, since i don't even have internet banking...

[mescalito]

Do a search on worm removal tools....if ya puter will let ya

[psylogic]

spybot search and destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=home

[reshroomED]

Been using Bulletproof Software Spyware Remover, Nod32, and Sygate Personal firewall pro for well over 12 months now and couldn't recommend a better set of programs for security. They were put through their paces by accessing weirdo porn sites and downloading cracks etc. The worse that's actually made it into my pc in this time is a malicious cookie and these are immediately detected and deleted.

ed

[Thelema]

yeah i got an email from [email protected] too.

Can Torsten or someone confirm that this IS NOT from them please?

also another one today, even worse, saying that the account has been inactivated due to unauthorized access from [email protected]

man these virus's are geting more and more personalized! Next theyll be addressing me by my name!

[ 30. April 2004, 14:35: Message edited by: Thelema ]

[Torsten]

OK, firstly, gomaos, no one is targeting you. There are 3 components to getting increased virus/junk mail.

1) you keep your address publically visible (eg forums, business etc) and it is trawled by spammers and gets onto never ending mailinglists.

2) You have lots of friends who don't have virus software. A virus can then proliferate through the network over and over.

3) your address is on a domain that is housed on a server farm and the user listing got seen/hacked by spammers.

The best way to reduce virus attacks is to delete Microsoft Outlook. This won't stop the viruses from arriving, but most of them will be harmless.

Never open attachments unless you know the sender. I can't believe you actually clicked those attachments..... this is the oldest rule of safe computing.

Running a business without virus software can be the end of it. It is simply unacceptable for any business not to be screenign incoming and outgoing mail. Any private person not running virus software IMHO deserves to be infected... It's the real-world equivalent of entering a room full of friends knowing full well you have SARS. There is plenty of free software out there that is acceptable, especially if you don't run Outlook.

Thelema - that e-mail is not from me. My admin address is the same one that I use for EVERYTHING else. If in doubt just ask me and I will confirm. This critter has been around for a few weeks and it is a good one. It gets at people's weaknesses - like all good viruses do.

And the future is here already.... There are already plenty of viruses that use the username to address the victim. Which is why I am glad I don't use my first name as the username.

There is a new batch of junkmail/virus crap hitting our domain today. It's the one that tries to lure (single) guys into making contact with pretty girls (picture and all). The picture varies and I can just see my dad opening every one of them The punishment follows soon after.

You guys think you've got it bad. I get about 50 real e-mails a day. Plus about 50 from various mailinglists (that i subscribe). So far so good.

But trying to actually find these real mails among the 250 odd junk/virus mails is getting harder and harder. I don't use filterware as I don't want to miss any real mails, but I might have to start soon.

I can't wait for the introduction of handshake e-mail systems!!!!!!! The end of spam.

[gomaos]

1. I've already got spybot search and destroy...

2.Never open attachments unless you know the sender. I can't believe you actually clicked those attachments..... this is the oldest rule of safe computing

as i mentioned in my first post of this thread, I didn't open any. All the ones with the "pretty ladies" I deleted as soon as they were downloaded.

I also haven't opened any attachments in the last weeks since i had read about this new virus not just from ppl I didn't know but also from friends...

The only one i fell for was the one from "[email protected]"...

too late I realized that I had never had one like this before. I opened the attachment because i thought it was anti-virus-software.

[ramon]

I got done the same way as you gomoas but supposedly coming from administration at com.au. I am afraid I fell for it as well.

But have updated my virus software and it doesn't seem to have infected me.

[Being]

Yep i got the "[email protected]" email.. was so distracted by the fact it was telling me i was sending virus's to my friends i clicked on the attachment. Norton Antivirus came up with trumpets blaring - it's a particularly nasty virus apparently -you may want to give your puter some medicine, gomaos..

[devance]

Being:

Yep i got the "[email protected]" email.. was so distracted by the fact it was telling me i was sending virus's to my friends i clicked on the attachment. Norton Antivirus came up with trumpets blaring - it's a particularly nasty virus apparently -you may want to give your puter some medicine, gomaos..

I use Norton too now, very good if the computer can function..

But turning off the norton firewall like I did because of slow surfing allowed a website to send a scripting message which I accidentally activated that downloaded 6 to 14 spyware programs and a virus in a matter of a few minutes. Had to reformat, this was the XP system. Turning off scripting when visiting dodgy sites is a good idea if not using the firewall because of slow surfing.. I use alot of expendable Email accounts so that spammers can whistle at the wind..

[planthelper]

my tip:

set up pc from scratch again (yep, reinstalling win. make sure dos deleted all files!!).

once online again get:

windows update's

avg (free virus & worm protection and removal).

12 Ghost wash (or any free internet eraser, download.com has got them!)

and a firewall like Zone Alarm or others.

just go to a search engine like yahoo and search for,

free internet eraser,

free internet wash,

free avg anty virus,

free fire wall,

registry first aid...

all the best,

wolfgang

[mescalito]

Yep got the com.au one today and pissed it off real quick.

Thanks for the tip on outlook too Torsten,do you use a web based system for your mail?

[Torsten]

Originally posted by mescalito:

do you use a web based system for your mail?

No. I use Mozilla and before that netscrape for mail. My business and contacts would only be half as good if I would have done it via webmail. In the last 7 years I have lost all mail that was on servers at least once... including hotmail, ZZN, hushmail and my own servers.

I have almost all my mail of the last 6 years on various CDs backed up and encrypted, so I can track back complaints, politics, swaps, sources, etc if needed. Not that I often get time to do so, but in urgent cases it is definitely possible. I recently did a clean out of my ~300 inbox folders and I am now down to just under 15,000 mails

Imagine trying to manage that with webmail.... and the agony when the server crashes.

My mail client is one of the most important resources of my ethnobotanical research.

[Andrew]

I got mail today from the "Westpac Bank" asking

me to give them all my details as they have been having trouble with fraud lately,lol.I have never been a customer of the westpac bank.

[gomaos]

I used spybot search and destroy and that got rid of the bad running, it found 8 problems...

but the robot still keeps sending emails into my outlook express, might have to delete it... last time i checked i had 70 new messages, didn't even bother downloading them, it won't let me delete them...

apart from that i'm ok...

[simon_marklar]

the best thing you can do is

STOP USING OUTLOOK AND INTERNET EXPLORER.

use mozilla (http://www.mozilla.com/) not only does it support the standards, emails that take advantage of outlooks crap security just dont work. and you get all these funky menu bars on some forums if they are written to support netscape extentions.

but immediatly get AVG anti virus : www.grisoft.com (unless you can find an illegal one one www.phoenix-torrents.com but i wouldnt do that, its illegal) and update it to the latest version. AdAware is a good thing to have too. but sometimes, after one of these infections, the Best thing you can do is simply format and re-install...

good luck will

%simon

[Torsten]

I do not comprehend why people use outlook. I mean, I can understand why they liked internet explorer for the last few years, as it was obviously the better browser since about late 2001, but that doesn't mean you have to put up with the poor security of outlook as well.

I am glad I stuck with netscape for the period of 2002/2003 as now internet explorer has once again been left wayyyyy behind by the mozilla engine. My upgrade from netscape was seamless and I know I've done my bit to stop the monopoly of microsoft.

3 years ago the usage of IE vs netsape was about 45% each, with the remaining 10% being various other browsers. By the end of 2003 my server was getting hit by 85% IE and 8% Mozilla (including netscape), with the rest again being various others. Netscape was dead and mozilla didn't look like it was going to survive for long. But the good news is that Mozilla number have been climbing steadily and with the new releases will probably regain a decent marketshare.

My point... it's no good just whining about big bad corporations. Everyone must do their bit to destabilise monopolies even if the product is a little less convenient or a little slower.