tech: virus or paranoia?

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Aug 06 - 09:48 PM

Gosh Robin, all the porn spam I get has a .ca return addy. Is that Soviet?

John

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 07 Aug 06 - 07:39 PM

The 'gibberish' spams tarted for me when the russian porn sites found my email... Mailwasher just tags them all - based on origin, and I just delete them all unread.

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Aug 06 - 04:35 PM

Mr Red.

If you're reading email in IE, and probably with most other browsers, there is a "languagish" setting at View | Encoding. In IE at least, it's usually set to "Autoselect." Sometimes when you visit a site that uses a "different" encoding the automatic feature turns on a different encoding (like Central European - DOS instead of Western European Windows). In automatic mode, the setting sometimes will stay wherever it flips to until individual characters that appear don't have a proper character in that encoding. "Proper" doesn't necessarily mean intelligible in this case.

You may just need to set back to a more common selection (in IE, Western European Windows is usually good). Leaving (or placing) a checkmark at the "Autoselect" entry is probably a good idea for most users.

(In IE, the autoselect goes in the order different encodings are listed, so you can drag them to a different order to make it less likely that one that causes a problem will be selected automagically.)

There's also a setting in IE at Tools | Internet Options on the "General" tab, Languages button. Your selection there could have been "bumped" to accomodate a different language than you normally use.

If either of these has been changed, your "strange characters" may be just from your browser trying to "do better" and not quite "getting it right."

John

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Aug 06 - 08:08 AM

It is too late.

If your ISP didn't reject the incoming e-mail then whoever sent the test knows the address is valid. Be prepared for more spam.

Any worthwhile organisation sending just "test" are not the kind you should be trusting. They would be idiots.

I had an e-mail from a job agency listing just about everyone on their list. They said it was a mistake - one month later the spam started. I use unique addresses for specific areas of e-mail so when I pointed-out to them it was how spammers get the addresses they basically ignored me. Truth is this was a virus designed to target organisations with large databases of addresses - but they could not bring themselves to admit it. I told them anyway - I was not fooled by their lies. That address is now closed.

I never had e-mails with strange characters until after I looked at my e-mail in Thailand - so there you have another security hole. Internet cafes.

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Aug 06 - 05:16 PM

When in doubt, delete.

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 06 Aug 06 - 05:08 PM

Thanks John

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 05:22 PM

GUEST Topsie

The AV guys and gals have to try to know all the holes in common computer systems, and make plugs for them.

At the same time, the guys and gals who build the common computer systems have to try to eliminate the holes (or at least move them around).

"Clinkers" like the one you're seeing are often the result of out-of-sequence patches for the same hole coming from two different places. Sometimes of course, they're just because "somebody goofed."

If you're using an up to date WinXP, you can look at Start|Settings|Control Panel and double-click on "Security Center" to make sure that Windows knows that you have an AV program and that it's supposed to use it instead of the built-in stuff. Occasionally (actualy rarely) a Windows security update will mess up the settings there.

(You should of course be set up to get the Windows and Office updates automatically if you're eligible.)

You could also try a manual update of your AV.

Probably, the problem will go away when you get another automatic AV update; but waiting can be annoying.

I recently got a recurring message saying that my Norton needed to be uninstalled and reinstalled. This was on a WinXP laptop that had been offline for at least a month, and was after a manual AV update and a Windows/Microsoft "catchup" update of about 40 MB. Norton, via support email, admitted they'd screwed up a "last update" and gave me a couple of filenames to create (with nothing in the files) that solved the problem. I did NOT get the same error on two other WinXP machines that got normal automatic updates from both Microsoft and Norton "in sequence."

Whenever there's any questionable happening, it is of course a good idea to run full scans with your AV, AntiSpyware, and whatever other security systems you have in place. If you don't have an AntiSpyware program or two, probably the best free ones are AdAware-SE and Spybot S&D, and you should get, update, and run them regularly.

John

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 09:09 AM

I have been getting 'test' emails recently - they just get deleted after a quick check in Mailwasher

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: s&r
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 06:17 AM

Just had a reply from SMD - it was one of their techs pressing the wrong button.....

Better safe than sorry I suppose. Thanks for suggestions all

Stu

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 05:37 AM

I have had several popups saying my McAfee is switched off or not installed properly, with a bit to click to reinstall or fix the problem. Instead of clicking on it I have checked the McAfee status and found it to be working as normal (at least it says it is).

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 01:32 AM

I get an email called "test" sometimes, and I simply delete it without looking further into the matter.

Subject: RE: tech: virus or paranoia?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 01:22 AM

An "interesting" exchange appeared within the past few days.

An independent spyware research outfit called eEye reported a MAJOR bug affecting all McAfee products. The company, eEye, reports that McAfee has developed a patch, but has made no apparent effort to inform users or to act in any serious way to distribute the patch.

McAfee released a bulletin on their website stating that they had "simultaneously" (with eEye) discovered the bug, and have a patch available; but it's unclear whether the patch is being distributed as part of automatic updates.

A third bulletin, from McAfee, says in effect "we didn't know about the bug, but we fixed it accidentally back in January."

I'm not sure I can figure out how a McAfee user would know if their programs have been fixed, but those who are "users" might want to start with the eWeek Report. (Links to the other stuff from there.)

John

Subject: RE: virus or paranoia?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 08:06 PM

If you hit the wrong key in a folk song , some call it jazz - Does that mean it was a jazz post ??

Subject: RE: virus or paranoia?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 06:52 PM

It sounds like some one hit the wrong key.

Subject: RE: virus or paranoia?
From: s&r
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 05:14 PM

have done - not by hitting reply. Wondered whether anyone else has had similar.

Stu

Subject: RE: virus or paranoia?
From: Jeri
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 05:01 PM

If you hit 'reply to' and send it, you may be replying to a person who spoofed (impersonated) them. E-mail their correct address, but don't reply to THAT message.

Subject: RE: virus or paranoia?
From: Peace
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 04:58 PM

Instead of opening the e-mail, why don't YOU emial SMD and ask if they sent it?

Subject: virus or paranoia?
From: s&r
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 04:45 PM

Just had an email from Sheet Music Direct addressed to a hotmail address (not mine) consisting of one word 'test'. I have dealt with Sheet Music Direct in the past. Is this some worm or virus? I have NAV up to date, and Spybot. Both read OK

Stu