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Thread: Email virus?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Email virus?

    Hi there - excuse me if this has been asked before, but here goes. I am running Outlook Express 6. I have a router, Norton Antivirus and PC Doctor - yes I just learned about PC Doctor on your site, but didn't know before. Periodically I run a free virus scan with Trend Micro, also. All my programs are regularly updated, and I don't open suspicious e-mails. I'm not real computer savvy, but thought that would be enough. Anyhow, every one of these programs says my computer is clean. However, it appears I am sending e-mails out to people I don't know (getting the undeliverable ones back), and they are advertising girly stuff and pharmaceuticals. Something has crawled into my computer and I can't find it. Any ideas, anyone? Thanks................

  2. #2
    This doesn't necessarily mean that your computer has a virus. There is a possibility that someone is spoofing your email address (http://minerva.stkate.edu/ithelpguid...ddressSpoofing). If this is the case there is little you can do. However, I would also rule out the possibility that you have a virus also. I am not familiar with the online virus scan tool you mentioned so I can comment on its good/bad points. You may like to try another virus scanner and see if you get any different results. Nortons is a good one if you have the cash to spare or alternatively http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1 these guys produce AVG which produce a trial version you can test out before you buy.

    Hope this helps

  3. #3
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    Yes, it did help, thanks. AVg shows no infections, so I guess I am a victim of e-mail spoofing. GRRR. At least now I don't have to worry about some virus galloping thru my machine - 3 virus checkers showing negative viruses is a pretty good indication of that. Thanks again.

  4. #4
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi manxypop and welcome to AO.

    Please get these, UPDATE THEM and then reboot into SAFE MODE and run them.

    A-Squared
    http://www.emisoft.com/en/software/free/

    EWIDO
    http://www.ewido.net/en/

    AdAware SE
    http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download

    SpyBot Search & Destroy
    http://safer-networking.org/en/index.html

    What has probably happened is that someone who has you in their address book has become infected. The malware reads their address book and "spoofs" the sender identity with one of these addresses whilst using their computer to send the garbage.

    If you are in their address book, they are probably in yours? you might like to copy the advice and links and send them to your contacts, if there are not too many?



    EDIT: sorry, forgot to mention, all this stuff is free to private users. EWIDO has an interactive scan that works for 14 days, but you can update and run it on demand for free after that

  5. #5
    The Doctor Und3ertak3r's Avatar
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    t appears I am sending e-mails out to people I don't know (getting the undeliverable ones back)
    Please follow through on the above advice from nihil..

    realise one of the common vectors for malware and spam is the "Returned undelivered" email.
    The listed source address may exist, or could be a spoofed.
    But how did they get your email addy?
    Do your friends send you those wonderfull chain emails (you know the type "forward this message to as many as possable or suffer 3 million years of bad luck" or what ever), and you may or may not forward this stuff on..
    Regardless, those emails will be forwarded to someone with one of the many email/spam virus/worm, and these worms dont look at the victems address book.. It extracts the address's from the emails themselves.. some are realy good.. they pick 2 addresses at random and set one as To and the other as From.. cool huh?
    This is how you can be recieving bad emails from people you dont know.. and not be infected..
    But you could be the one Infected and sending as well.. that is why you need to follow the above advice..

    ..

    I hate the chain mail.. I would say I never forward the crap, I wont though.. but if it is forwared the body is stripped out and it and or the relivent Attachment are sent to whome ever.. and certainly with out the forward to 1 million starving Serbs notice.

    "Consumer technology now exceeds the average persons ability to comprehend how to use it..give up hope of them being able to understand how it works." - Me http://www.cybercrypt.co.nr

  6. #6
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    HI manxypop,
    Besides doing the above tricks what you can do is to add the yours email address in the address book.If there is some malware doing all that stuff and is sending the mails to the addresses in your address book then it may probably mail you too.That way you can trace the mail header.ya i agree that even if it is using ur account to send those mails the ip of mailer will be logged

  7. #7
    i read sumwhere that sum worms use your address book and send mails to all your contacts in a way of self propogation of the worm....it looks quite like ur case....and then u mite get error messages of post not send fr sum invalid addresses in ur mails...

    it also said that u cud make a phony address in ur address book so that u get an error once the worm tries to use it......error messages u already have

    them remove the worm......but ur av doesnt recognise any worm rite.....so probably u shud try the av scan in safe mode....most of viruses r irremovable in normal but removable in safe mode

    or try an online trend micro scan

    or u cud try ad - aware or spybot to search fr malware wich will probably address ur pharmaceuticals advertisements

    this mite not be the answer but u can try

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