Messin' with HooBoy's mail

[jackhammer91406]

For the fourth time this week I have received email from people on this site who weren't aware that they were sending mail. in each case, the size of the message sent was in the range of 120-140k. I think someone must be messin with the mail. I thought that when a message was forwarded from the MC, it was preceeded with a header from the MC. But these last cases haven't had the header. What's most frustrating is that the size of the message would indicate that maybe they were pics, but nothing shows up in the message except the sender's email address. So for you tech guys out there, (hey Deej) what do you think this is? I remember Bruno posting that someone was using his email, and while I didn't get the great invitation Lucky got (in fact didn't get anything from Bruno...didn't he read ANY of my big apple thread? and doesn't he know how much I spent on guys in NYC???...) I got to thinking about whether someone could get addresses and send bogus mail. Previously, I have gotten several from someone here who's mail address at aol ends in 90068 but nothing ever shows up in the message and when I try to reply, it comes back unknown.

?????????

:( :(

[VaHawk]

Hey jh, it's called SPAM! I get a lot of it from yahoo, and any other site that I correspond thru or get correspondence from. I would advise you to just delete such messages immediately, especially if they come with attachments.

[jackhammer91406]

VaHawk,

That's what i thought too except that the mails come from guys that I know from this site. I recognize their emails. When I reply to them, they don't know about any emails. So how does a spammer get the email address of the guys from this site. i guess that's really my question.

BTW, I DO delete them, but since they come from guys that I know, I open them first .

thanks for the reply.

[Boston Guy]

Some computer viruses use email to spread themselves. They will often do this by sending out what look like innocent emails to all of the people in someone's address book. When those people open up the email, their computer gets infected and then the virus sends emails to their friends.

In many cases, the emails will look like a regular email coming from someone you know with an attachment. I'm not sure if this is what is happening to you, but it's certainly possible given your description of what you are receiving.

 

I advise:

 

[ol]

[li]Keep your antivirus software up to date.

[li]Be very wary of opening emails you aren't sure of, especially ones with attachments.

[li]Never, ever open SPAM.

[li]Never, ever download attachments unless you know what they are. Don't assume that an attachment from someone you know is legit unless you have some kind of confirmation. For example, if someone here sends an email that says "Hey, great pic!", I don't think I'd open it. If, however, you got an email from someone here who you trusted and the email said "Hey, Jack, here's a great pic for you. It's Joe, that guy we were discussing last week and you said you really liked. I found it and thought of you." -- well, there's enough specificity in the email that a virus most likely wouldn't be able to replicate it in a way that would sound sensible to you, so you could be reasonably sure it came from a human and had a legit attachment.

[li]When sending pics or other attachments yourself, include enough info in the note to allow your recipient a certain comfort level. Don't just say "cool file" and send it out. If I received an email like that from my best friend, I wouldn't open the attachment without sending another email to him asking him to confirm that he had sent me a file and that I should open it.

[/ol]

 

HTH,

BG

[Will]

Yes, it sounds like a new virus that infected the system I use just a few days ago. It invades your e-mail addresses and sends messages to everyone on the list, unknown to you. The give-away, apparently, is in the subject. If it says, "Re: Movies" or "Re: Research," don't open it. And upgrade your antivirus software, as BG suggests. In fact, do everything BG suggests (in all cases, of course, but here I'm speaking only of e-mail viruses...).

[jackhammer91406]

Anti virus for Yahoo

 

BG,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have had Norton on my other email account for some time. but I went into the program today and noticed that it does not support aol, yahoo, or hotmail. Are there any programs available online that would work on yahoo? I use yahoo for my "play online" email and short of setting up another account through my isp using netscape, I don't know what else to do.

Thanks for your time and the helpful hints.

 

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

Jack,

 

You've received good advice. Someone you know (or someone THEY know) has a virus and likely doesn't know it. The virus is using their address, or any address in their address book, to send out spam that is most likely a virus.

 

The more pernicious virus programs not only use the address book as return addresses, they also forward those addresses to a central repository to be spread and used elsewhere because to a spammer there is nothing more useful than a known-to-be-valid address.

 

Virus scanning generally isn't email specific. It generally scans files on your computer regardless of source.

 

The attachments definitely sound like a virus. As was said, if you receive an attachment from someone that wasn't expected, don't open it until you've verified with them that they actually sent it.

 

Spam and email viruses are big news items today. The last report I saw said that they account for as much as 60% of email flowing through servers. EVERYONE is looking for ways to stop the flow, but it's so freaking easy to create and difficult to track down it's a tough job to do.

[Will]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

That's exactly the kind of virus we had earlier this week. It invades your e-mail; it scans all the addresses; it then sends exactly the same message it sent to you to everybody in your address book. So not only do you receive e-mail messages, you are sending (or have sent, by now) an e-mail message to everybody on your list; and they, in turn, have forwarded on the message. You have to get the virus out of your system, because it will simply keep on doing that.

[+ Lucky]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

I have received several emails lately without any message at all. One today was headlined "Please Try Again" and was from someone here that I had private messaged before. Since there was no message, I deleted it. I wouldn't know what to try again. Another email was from escort Marco, but I didn't even open that one since I had no idea who he is. The email address is not widely spammed because I only use it here, but lately it seems that someone has sold it to marketers...

[axebahia]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

So far my Norton program is catching these viruses, but they seem to be increased in number recently. Each time they come from what looks like an IM from within this site because the sender uses my name here, plus my ISP address. How would the sender get my email address? Is there no way to fix the problem? I worry about what might happen if my Norton fails one of these days.

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>> Is there no way to fix the problem?

 

There's nothing from the site's end to fix.

 

If YOU send email from the site to another member, it arrives "from" your e-mail address. You have no way to get the recipient's address. They, however, have yours. Since most email programs default to adding incoming addresses to your address book, they can build up quite a collection unwittingly.

 

IF THEY REPLY to a message you send from this site, or if they send you mail from the site, the recipient of the message (you) will receive their email address. The same address book scenario replays itself on your end.

 

Most viruses spread by exploiting the address book.

 

It's just like an STD. Everyone you've ever contacted in e-mail is exposed to everyone you've ever communicated with, and everyone who has ever contacted you exposes you to everyone they've been in contact with, intentionally or otherwise.

 

Given the rather small and interconnected "community" we have here, it would take only ONE infected computer to start spreading the gift throughout the community. Again, just like any STD.

 

The ONLY way to stem the flow is to have everyone using protection. (There's that STD analogy, again.) But as in interpersonal situations, we can't count on everyone using protection. So we have to educate ourselves about how best to protect ourselves.

 

The analogy may be getting old here, but it applies 100%.

 

Practice safe® Hex, dudes. (Sorry. Geek joke.) Use an anti-virus program and update your virus definitions weekly.

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>The email address

>is not widely spammed because I only use it here, but lately

>it seems that someone has sold it to marketers...

 

Have you EVER used it for communication with ANYONE who posts here?

 

If so, it may be (likely is) in their address book and a virus that someone else has may have "shared" the address with its Maker.

[axebahia]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>If YOU send email from the site to another member, it arrives

>"from" your e-mail address. You have no way to get the

>recipient's address. They, however, have yours. Since most

>email programs default to adding incoming addresses to your

>address book, they can build up quite a collection

>unwittingly.

 

But my point is that I never send emails here, only IM. I am a bit surprised that the IM process is not better insulated than the EM processs.

[jackhammer91406]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

Well guys,

I appreciate the responses to my OP and the follow up post about an anti virus program for Yahoo. It appears that there isn't one so I guess I will have to set up an account for jackhammer with my isp and use that from now on. I assume that once I establish that, I can update my profile here with the new email and that should take care of it?

 

x(

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>But my point is that I never send emails here, only IM. I am

>a bit surprised that the IM process is not better insulated

>than the EM processs.

 

Since we don't have IM here, I'm going to assume you're talking about your personal inbox. Here's how that works:

 

You can choose to participate, or not. (User menu, above.) If you choose to participate, anyone can click on the icon next to your posts. To my knowledge, that is the only entry point.

[axebahia]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>Since we don't have IM here, I'm going to assume you're

>talking about your personal inbox. Here's how that works:

 

I am confused. Is there no difference between the email system and the private mmessaging system? I thought the latter would give rise to a higher viral risk than the latter, but it appears that ther are conected. I noted this change to Daddy after the recent reforms. before that, there seemed to be a separation betwen the two.

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

Yes, you are very confused.

 

E-mail is delivered to your e-mail server and you read it with your e-mail software.

 

The private inbox never leaves this site and you read it through a web browser on this site.

 

The two are in no way connected.

[axebahia]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>E-mail is delivered to your e-mail server and you read it with

>your e-mail software.

>

>The private inbox never leaves this site and you read it

>through a web browser on this site.

>

>The two are in no way connected.

 

OK, but that's my point. I never use email to contact others on this site. I have from time to time used the private inbox. I do not have notices of messages in my inbox here sent to my email address, but I appear to be getting messages with viruses sent to my email address. Can you explain that? Your original answer about emailing is clearly not applicable. Houston, I think we have a problem.

[VaHawk]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

Well, I'm pretty sure we all picked up the virus here at PS 69. When you sent me a private, which you have done, it came directly to the email contact I have registered here, and I did not have to come here to access the browser to read the private inbox that is here.

 

I have had the problem ever since a poster here posted a web link that I clicked on. The virus will scan every email you use both thru the isp, yahoo, hotmail, whatever and pick up the email addresses of those you have ever emailed or have emailed you and just go on infecting them and theirs ad nauseum. Until you can find a way to get rid of the virus, you should just delete all such emails unopened.

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>Well, I'm pretty sure we all picked up the virus here at PS

>69. When you sent me a private, which you have done, it came

>directly to the email contact I have registered here, and I

>did not have to come here to access the browser to read the

>private inbox that is here.

 

Yes, that is a configuration option and it's one that many of us had turned on when the inbox notification flag was broken. The only way we knew we had private inbox messages waiting was to have them forwarded to email. You can go ahead and turn that off now, I think.

 

>I have had the problem ever since a poster here posted a web

>link that I clicked on.

 

Now, let me get this straight. You clicked on a link to a site that ISN'T this site, and since then you've had a virus, and the virus came from this site? I don't follow the logic.

 

Trust me, folks, I get LEGITIMATE mail from this site every day and I've yet to see one arrive with a virus payload.

[+ deej]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>OK, but that's my point. I never use email to contact others

>on this site.

 

My point is that you don't *have* to be using email. If you send a private inbox message and THEY have inbox messages forwarded to their email, you're exposed to their email environment.

 

>I have from time to time used the private

>inbox.

 

There ya go.

 

>Can you explain that?

 

You just did.

 

> Houston, I think we have a problem.

 

I don't. Partly because I haven't seen reports of this type of virus that attacks a Linux server. Virus authors go for the "big bang" so that means a Windows server. AND I HAVEN'T RECEIVED A VIRUS FROM THIS SITE EVEN WITH DAILY EMAILS.

 

If you wish to pursue it, though, take it over to Daddy's place. He's too busy right now to read these threads but he does from time to time read threads in his own forum.

[axebahia]

RE: Anti virus for Yahoo

 

>Yes, that is a configuration option and it's one that many of

>us had turned on when the inbox notification flag was broken.

>The only way we knew we had private inbox messages waiting was

>to have them forwarded to email. You can go ahead and turn

>that off now, I think.

 

Mine is off, but the messages bearing virus come in the same format as the notifications used to.

 

>Trust me, folks, I get LEGITIMATE mail from this site every

>day and I've yet to see one arrive with a virus payload.

 

Trust me folks. I don't use the mailbox much, but these viruses are coming quite frequently now. So far my Norton scanning of incoming emails has caught them all on my laptop and private ISP. The problem is that sometimes I download my emmail from another host, and the firewall there has been affected by a few viruses recently. I am just hoping that it is not these viruses.

 

Your advice in general is good, but I think it would be good if Daddy gave this a bit of a think. I have brought it to his attention without response when I furst noticed that after the changes, notices of private mail showed the ISP provider to the sender. That struck me as problematic and Eureka it hs proved to be a new proble,.