Pork wah

[Weedon]

Yeah I know that's not how you spell it but WHY do I get strange Emails.

I get what I think is the usual spam everybody gets but over the last few weeks I have been getting a few strange Emails that say something like "undelivered mail, if you want to see the message follow the link" and then a long computer speak file name.
A couple of days ago I got one from [email protected] saying "the sample file you sent contains a new virus version of buppa.k please update your virus scanner with the attached data file" but I never sent them anything.Its got a paperclip symbol which I think stands for an attachment but I don't like opening attachments because I read somewhere that is how a virus gets into your system.
Sometimes I seem to get what appear to be replies to things they say I sent for, and to get their message I have to open a file.
I never do and simply delete them.
Would somebody with even a modicum of knowledge of the internet kindly tell me what is happening. Am I being paranoid about computer invasion?

[Russethouse]

Well I have only got a modicum of knowledge but it sounds as if you are getting spam and possibly some of them contain viruses.
Have a look at the FAQ at the top of the forum for suggestions as to what computer software (free) you should be running to make sure you do not have problems.

Good Luck


Gay
http://www.quimperclub.org/

[Dreamers]

Like you, I too am receiving numerous 'odd' E mails, some with just one or two words - plus attachment. I just delete them all without opening attachments. Some I have tried returning to the ISP , complaining about misuse of their service but have never received a response from them.,they often come back 'undelivered'. So I am not sure what the answer is !!?

[Quillan]

I agree with the others, they are virus's or worms.

I have never used 'free' AV software so I can't comment on it's quality but as an ex-proffesional IT consultant I would only use a bought product from the point of view that if it's up to date and there is a problem which is down to a bad virus definition file you can sue them, very handy when you have a multi million pound system.

I personally use Mcafee mainly because we ran trials against it and it's competitors a couple of years back which resulted in it coming up best because of it's good integration with MS products and the speed in which they 'catch' new virus's/worms and send updates out, often several days before the other vendors.

One of the best things is that it 'bolts' in to Outlook so everything is scanned as it is downloaded. I set mine up to return the email automatically with a copy to [email protected] (xxxx being the sending ISP) along with a copy of the header so they can trace it back to the source.

So in the end my recomendation is, buy a good AV product that bolts into your email and scans both the email and attachments after all just because it has no file attached it does not mean the email does not contain a virus.

Chris

http://www.chambresdhote.com

[Paul_Gyn]

Up to a few weeks ago the viruses I was getting were of the, - subject : and then an attachment, all of which I bin without opening.

The last week or so has seen a shift to mails purporting to come from my ISP informing me about viruses I allegedly have and inviting me to click on the link for further details or click and then add the following code. These seem plausible enough until you look at the spelling which would disgrace a 4 year-old, AND because I have 4 ISPs I have identical ones apparently from all 4 of them! these too, get binned without opening them.

Anyone seen any variations on these?


paul