zombie email problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Milo
  • Start date Start date
M

Milo

In the last few days, I'm getting bouncebacks in my inbox
from people I never wrote to. I've gotten about 7 of
them. Some have attachments that I wouldn't dare open.
Some have subject lines like "hi" which is a sure sign of
trouble.

Appears my computer is being a zombie. I've downloaded
the latest Symantec updates and no virus is found. I've
downloaded the latest Lavasoft AdAware6 and run that and
it keeps happening.

Any idea how to determine where the problem on my computer
is and kill it? Short of reloading my operating system
and all my software again? Do such notes actually go
THROUGH Outlook somehow and - worst of all - maybe contain
my salutation with phone number? Much thanks.
 
It's likely not your computer. Many viruses (including this latest one) pull
addresses from infected computers. So if Sally's infected and Sally has both
your address and my address somewhere on her system, the virus might send
you an email from me or me an email from you. Or it might send you an email
from you. It's just a spoof and likely nothing is wrong with your machine.

As long as you have the latest AV updates and are careful double clicking on
attachments, you're probably just fine. If you want a double check, go to
www.trend.com and look for the online virus scanner. It's sometimes a good
idea to scan your system with two different types of AV software, but I'd
guess that you're well protected.

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***
 
That IS interesting and somewhat comforting. I do wonder,
though, should I be concerned about the fact that some are
bouncing back to me instead of them? Or would that be
normal for this?

Seems like a big design flaw somewhere that email can go
out with any address other than that of the sender!
 
with this virus (most viruses actually) this is normal behavior.

Most SMTP servers accept mail with any From address as long as the sender is
authenticated. There are a number of legitimate reasons to send with a
different From address so most servers allow it. However, in this case, the
virus has it's own SMTP engine, so ISPs can't stop it by requiring you to
use a specific from address.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
 
I like the ones from an illegal enterprise that thank me for my order will ship soon. Privacy really is a good thing.
 
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