ned
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 02:13 PM |
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harvesting email addresses?
Just got a u2u from joel saying that he'd received an email from my locostbuilders email address with a virus.
Of course I haven't sent such a message, but just to advise others to beware someone might be pinching email addresses of your profiles..
Chris,
is it worth blocking seeing email addresses to guests so you have to be a registered user to see them. i know it iosn't much of a deterrant,
butmight help a little.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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simonH
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 02:28 PM |
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this is netsky virus
this is not a harvest. the virus (it is actualy a worm but ho hum) will look on your machine find any lists of email addresses then send its self to
all of them and will spoof the adreess header (pretend to be from some one in the list). so that you may get bouncbacks from people whom you have not
send mails to. !!! hope that is sort of clear
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phelpsa
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 02:29 PM |
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Yesterday I recieved 15 e-mails with viruses attatched. Luckily viruscan caught them, most of them were from gecho@[something].com and
irvingboyle@lineone.net.
Adam
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Fozzie
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 02:46 PM |
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Ned,
from my understanding of the latest virus's, if someone has got it, then their contacts and email address's are pinched by the nature of
the virus itself. So therefore the 'from' line is spoofed by the virus.
Again, from my understanding, someone who has the virus, knows you (being in their email/contact address book), and is 'worming' its way
through their address book.
Whilst all of these virus's are spreading so prolificly, instead of updating the virus definitions (Norton) once a week, do it daily, before
starting to look at emails. This last week, Norton has 'updated' at least 3 times. Schedule complete computer scans daily, (ideally before
shutting down), and don't open any attachments unless you are expecting them, or saved them and done a virus file scan on them!
I have checked my habit of doing this by using the 'free scan' offered by Trend, and my system is clean, so it does work! So although its
a bind to do each time we start , and shut down our computers, its a well worth exercise to do.
Of course, as usual, this is in my most humble opinion.
ATB fozzie
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ned
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 03:14 PM |
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I know i don't have a virus and would be suprised if anyone else had my email address in their address book as no one from this list emails me,
its all u2u, posting messages or msn.
we've had loads of issues at work where we've had addresses harvested from an online directory.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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Fozzie
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 posted on 26/3/04 at 03:29 PM |
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No Ned, Iwasn't suggesting for one minute, that you had the virus! Thats not the way these latest little bu**ers work!
ATB fozzie
[Edited on 26/3/04 by Fozzie]
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JoelP
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 08:12 PM |
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hotmail stopped it anyway, but as i wasnt expecting anything from ned i u2u'd him before i opened the email. Then i opened it anyway! but i
never look at attachments anyway, as its usually lists of crap jokes!
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Peteff
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 08:40 PM |
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I have my hotmail set to only accept mails from addresses on my contacts list so everything else is deleted. I also use fsmail.net , 2 different
accounts and one of them gets at least 3 virus messages a day. The ones arriving at the moment have attachments with them and are either 35 or 41kb in
size. I also noticed that a lot of them are coming from ntlworld addresses at the moment.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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JoelP
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 09:57 PM |
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i had it like that in the past, but i deleted my contacts list to avoid passing stuff on unwittingly! i can think of little more embarrasing than
passing on disease to all and sundry...
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Fozzie
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 10:28 PM |
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Joel,
If you have not got a virus, you cannot pass it on!
Most of these virus's/worms are spoofing the 'from' address's. Making it seem as the emails are from legimate ISP addresses,
thats how and why people are getting caught out.
If in doubt delete it!
Scenario:-
If someone you have emailed in the past has put you in their address book and they get a virus/worm, that worm will send itself to all in that persons
address book, spoofing the 'from' address to any (and all) one else in that address book, to make it look as though it has come from that
particular contact, so, if there are 10 contacts in the address book, thats 10 times (a lot!!!) Some of these worms, I think in particular NetskyB,
can create its own SMTP! Scary!
Hope this helps explain it a bit more
ATB fozzie
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