Help me outta E-mail purgatory

Richard · Aug 26, 2003

now Pete...

That is an EXCELLENT idea!!

Tomorrows project

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Alan L. · Aug 26, 2003

I suspect you have a virus. Everytime something like that has happened to me its been a virus. Anti-virus has to be absolutely up to date to catch it, and if its McAfee it might not catch it anyway.

I would download the latest definitions and do a full system scan. You can also use one of the freebee internet scans such as House Call, as it should already be up to date.

Richard · Aug 27, 2003

( I suspect you have a virus. Everytime something like that has happened to me its been a virus. Anti-virus has to be absolutely up to date to catch it, and if its McAfee it might not catch it anyway.

I would download the latest definitions and do a full system scan. You can also use one of the freebee internet scans such as House Call, as it should already be up to date. )

Been there, done that. In addition, went to their (Symantic) website and did an online scan...(figureing that to be the MOST up to date).

All came back clean. I talked to bellsouth this morning and he gave me their "spam site" to forward this to and their people there woudl look into it.

Im not getting any hopes up and if this my "trash" email, I dont mind it TOO much other than it's annoyances. But I must admit that I'm enjoying sending them all on to bellsouth. (I've had issues with them and had to finally fire them as carrier of my local land lines to finally fix that which they were inept to fix).

Richard

SteveZ · Aug 27, 2003

Richard -

If you have scanned your computer with an updated anti-virus program and it didn't find anything, your machine should be clean.

What you are seeing is the backlash of the latest viruses that are spreading. Most recent viruses use a technique known as "spoofing". When a virus infects a computer, it locates all e-mail addresses it can find on the computer. This includes addressbooks and even web pages the person has visited that are stored in the browser's cache.

When the virus tries to spread by sending out e-mail messages, it inserts one of the e-mail addresses it found as a false sender address. This makes it harder to find where the messages are coming from. Somewhere, someone's computer is infected with a virus. The virus found your e-mail address on their computer and is inserting it as the false sender's address. When an e-mail system receives one of those e-mail messages and it finds a virus, or the message can't be delivered for one reason or another, the system automatically sends a notice to the sender address. Since your e-mail address has been inserted (spoofed) you get the error messages instead of the actual sender.

I maintain part of the website at our university and have a link to my e-mail on all pages I handle. As a result, I am receiving several hundred messages with viruses and about one hundred bogus error messages each day.

Delete the error messages, and DO NOT open any attachments they may have. Make sure your anti-virus software is updated. If you use Windows XP, NT or 2000, make sure you have all the current updates installed. There is a recent update specifically for protecting computers from the recent viruses that spread without using e-mail..................Steve

fenneran · Aug 27, 2003

This has happened to me a couple of times (an I am an IT geek too!).

Most likely, some spammer is using your address as the "sender". He doesn't have to log in as you, have your password or anything like that, just use your address as the "return" address. Just like I could mail a letter an put your address in the corner instead of mine. So when the receiving post office, just like the USPS, can't deliver it, it send it back to the "sender". In this case, it's you. Not much you can do but delete them as they come in. If it is a "junk" address, set up a rule to delete everything that comes in unless the sender is on your address list. That should cut most of them out.

Hope that helps.

-Frank

Richard · Aug 27, 2003

Steve..

Thank you so much for the explanation. I think what you described EXACTLY fits my experience.

I called bellsouth today and they gave me their website to forward these to, something like "spam(at) bellsouth" or similar.

Anyway, I've enjoyed sending them all these today, though I wonder if when they show up on someone's desk, that person is kicked back reading things on the internet like TBN? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Thanks again

Richard

Richard · Aug 27, 2003

Frank..

( set up a rule to delete everything that comes in unless the sender is on your address list )

Tidbits like that are priceless. NEVER would have crossed my mind.

Thank you

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif <-- you "IT type"

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif <--my type

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif <--me now

frank_f15 · Aug 28, 2003

i don't beleive You have the virus , i think someone that has u in their address book has the virus. think it is thr sobig virus. it randomly selects an e mail address from somes address book(you) and send a plethoa of emails to all kinds of people, and they come back as undeliverable to you, just as if u sent them. same thing happened to me last week, only not so many. stopped after a few days. ikeep norton running all the time, and did a scan and my computer was ok. check nortons web site for a better explaination of that virus.

rozett · Aug 31, 2003

Richard, I might be considered one of those 'propeller heads' after 30 years as an engineer and manager in the computer industry. So here is my take...

Once you have scanned your machine and found no virus, there are two other possibilities....

either another computer that IS infected has your email in their address book (as previously mentioned) or your email has been 'stolen' by a spammer (more likely). Actually, this recently happend to my daughter.

Spammers constantly troll the internet for valid email addresses. That is one way that they build their mail lists. Spammers also always forge the FROM: and TO: addresses that you see when you open one of their emails. Often, they will use one of the addresses from their list as the FROM: address. The email servers at ISPs will then bounce emails back to your account for accounts that are closed, expired, mailbox full, etc. Those are the messgaes that you are seeing.

The best advice that you've gotten so far is to contact your ISP. Make sure they know what is going on with your account. That may prevent your email from being 'blacklisted' as a spammer. One of my ISPs provides spam filters using the blacklists. Normally, this flood of messages will stop as the spammers change their forged addresses regularly.... in an effort to foil spam filters. If your ISP porvides spam filters, use them. Anything that gets thropugh their filters can be filtered by setting 'rules' in your email program.

Richard · Aug 31, 2003

Hi Propeller head and thank you for the thoughs/comments.
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What I did was call Bellsouth. Long story made longer, /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif, he told me to forward them to their "anti spam desk" and they'd do what ever they do.

I gleefully started to forward them and as I did so, continued to put them on my block sender list.

They seem to be dramatically subsiding. I am NOT having a bunch of them land in my delete box, so their subsiding is a function of me NOT receiving them.

I'm intrigued to know if Bellsouth is ACTUALLY slowing them down for me /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

After some of the junk I've had to put up with them for simple stuff (like a double billing and spending probably 10 HOURS over course of a week on phone with them , only to be "disconnected", or told after 3 hours on SINGULAR phone call "sorry, I can't help you"...)

My opinion of them is not very high.

BUT, be that as it may, the facts remain, the flood of these has greatly subsided.

Probably the spammers moving on (as opposed to Bellsouth getting their act together) /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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