| Author |
Message |
    
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 784
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 6:37 am: |     |
Within the last week I have begun receiving 6-10 subjectless emails a day from a nameless source. I have run my Adaware, my SpyBOt, my Norton and still I receive these.
In an effort to block them I added "no name" to my spam list. (I can't figure out how to add it to my blocked senders list without a name.)
Do you all think I have been compromised....is it doomsday for my PC? |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 499
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 8:19 am: | |
No, you have not been compromised. If you'd like to do some scans, visit here:
http://www.trendmicro.com/home/default.asp
|
Bailey
Citizen
Username: Baileymac
Post Number: 55
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 8:40 am: | |
I've gotten a few of those in the past, very strange.
Can you block the server they came from?
Email spammers are good at what they do, unfortunately. I've even gotten email from my old email address from when I had DSL. When I tried to respond, it bounced back - no such address.
I don't think you've been compromised, but you can always get a new email address from yahoo or google for free. |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 785
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: | |
Wow - second reccommendation for www.trendmicro.com in 18 hours!
I will post my results... |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10426
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:21 am: | |
kmk, if you send me a copy of a mysterious email, I can analyze it for you. My email address is noglider@pobox.com
|
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 788
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:30 am: | |
Tom,
Thanks all the emails that I have gotten before have been deleted (twice).
Trend Micro found a few cookies and a seemingly low threat Trojan horse from an online game my kids played.
If I get another I will send it your way! |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 789
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:46 am: | |
Tom,
Thanks all the emails that I have gotten before have been deleted (twice).
Trend Micro found a few cookies and a seemingly low threat Trojan horse from an online game my kids played.
If I get another I will send it your way! |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 501
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 12:10 pm: | |
Uh oh - it seems we have the doppelganger trojan at work on kmk's machine. This is the one that automatically duplicates everything you do - very dangerous.
Uh oh - it seems we have the doppelganger trojan at work on kmk's machine. This is the one that automatically duplicates everything you do - very dangerous.
|
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 791
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 1:37 pm: | |
That one was human error I am afraid!
(Too many windows open with the same info or something.....) |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2758
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 7:52 pm: | |
I've gotten a bunch recently on one email address that are completely empty - no name, no subject, no content. Doesn't seem like SPAM (what's the point?) but what is it? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10441
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 8:03 pm: | |
They could be reaping email addresses by sending out to many and validating them by not getting return messages back.
But that's just a guess.
|
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 793
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 9:54 pm: | |
sac,
That's what I am getting.
Do you use comcast by any chance? |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 3374
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 9:57 pm: | |
Me too! I figured it was a virus from someone, but I'm on a Mac and it doesn't affect me.
|
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2759
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:52 pm: | |
Yes, the email address in question is a comcast address. I have several other non-Comcast addresses, but have never seen these on any of them.
Edited to add - Actually, in answer to your question, I don't use Comcast for my internet service. This address is shared within an organization and actually "belongs" to someone else. |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 795
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 8:56 am: | |
I have a Comcast address and use Comcast as our ISP. It is just a darn nuisance..... |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1358
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 9:03 am: | |
I get 90% of my spam on my comcast e-mail. It's the pits. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10455
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 10:16 am: | |
Switch to gmail! It has the best spam filter I've seen. And you can access it from anywhere.
|
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 1697
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 10:18 am: | |
There are a number of very easy to use and set up tools that you can get to eliminate (or at least significantly reduce) spam. I use a tool called Popfile (which is a bit geeky to set up, but there are similar, easier ones to use). It uses something called a Bayesian filter that learns what is and is not spam (you tell it over time). After a week or so with it, it was eliminating 98.3% of my spam. At this point, two years later, it is up to around 99.68%. This includes both false negatives (spam that gets through) and false positives (good mail tagged as spam). I think I'm down to about a 0.004% (yes, that's %) false positive rate.
It doesn't work on web mail, but any mail that gets downloaded can be filtered using tools like this. Some ISPs may offer something similar. It's well worth it.
If anyone's interested in this kind of stuff, and can't get enough info on their own, PL me.
[edited: this also works on viruses and other scams, like phishing] |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10460
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 10:47 am: | |
Mozilla Thunderbird, which is a replacement for Outlook Express, has a Bayesian filter built in. It's not geeky to set up.
I highly recommend Thunderbird for people who don't use webmail.
|
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1481
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 1:26 pm: | |
Since I use Apple's "Mail" app, I use it's built in filters, it learns what's junk pretty easily over time, and it's simple to set up your own rules for filtering, it catches almost everything.
Most of the spam gets automagically deleted, & that which doesn't gets put in one of my delete rules. |
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