Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?

Subject: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: maldenny
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 02:24 PM

I recently had about 20 "email bounced back by firewall" messages in my bulk email folder, all from people I have never emailed. Does this necessarily mean my PC has a worm? How do I find out and what can I do about it? I regularly use Ad-aware and Spybot search and destroy. Any help wouls be appreciated.

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 03:14 PM

Ad-Aware and Spybot are both good things to have and use, but they are intended to look into spyware, rather than viruses or worms. Do you have an antivirus program, like Norton or McAfee? If not, I suggest you do so. Those two are commercial programs which will cost you, but fairly good A-V programs are to be had for free.

I have Norton Internet Security, which provides a firewall, and a spam control system, and virus diagnosis and cleanup, and more. I swear by it.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 03:18 PM

More likely that someone you know (with your address in their address book) has an infection. Mass mail viruses will often use addresses taken from the address book on the machine they're infecting as the return address.

I have firewall and antivirus (Norton) running permanently and do regular adware checks too, so when I get bounced email like that my first thought is always that someone else has the virus.

If you have antivirus software running, this is the most likely. If you don't, it wouldn't hurt to get hold of one (there are free scanners available) and check your machine out to be sure.

Mick

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 04:27 PM

And be sure to ask for advice on an appropriate tech support forum rather than one devoted to music.

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 04:57 PM

Quite a few people make a habit of forwarding "cute" email to all their friends. Every email address that appears in the "To," "From," or "CC" box on an email, at any of the "forwards," can be easily read by anyone who happens upon it. By the time one of these has been forwarded a few times, including the original message and all the intermediate "forwards," I've seen single emails containing close to 100 easily "harvested" email addresses.

If any ONE person in that bunch is infected with a SPAM distributing infection, nearly everyone in the list likely will begin receiving SPAM email. With a good filter at your ISP (internet service provider), and/or with a filter on your own computer, most of the obvious SPAM addressed to you is likely to be "bounced," so seeing that something isn't getting to you is usually a "good thing" - so far as the health of your computer is concerned.

If this might be what happened to you, your problem isn't likely to be anything on your computer. Your problem is having "friends" who are IDIOTS. (Or maybe - to give them the fullest of benefit for any doubt - just ignorant of common email courtesy.)

If you MUST SEND an email to more than one recipient, you send it to yourself, with ALL other intended recipients as "BCC" (Blind Carbon Copy) so that their address appears ONLY ON THE COPY THEY RECEIVE, and NOBODY gets the email addresses of anyone else you send it to.

If you think you have a friend who's guilty but might be at least as trainable as the average chicken, you may want to inform them that they've done a no-no. If they persist, just block their address and get a new friend.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Dec 07 - 06:03 PM

Free AVG anti-virus is an excellent tool as are Spybot S&D and Adware. My experience with Norton is that it is invasive and interferes with some of my programs ans soft ware. To me, IT is the virus! McAfee is only a little less obnoxious. PC Pitstop is another freebie that will analyze and tune up your machine. Having said all that, I have to tell you I also dislike Win 2000 and XP and really miss Win 98 so you might say "What does he know?". It's just my preference, my opinion. Find what works best for you but by all means, protect your machine from the man-made vermin that is out there. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: GUEST,goodlife
Date: 25 Dec 07 - 08:14 AM

This problem is no fault of your computor it is probably caused by someone who uses a special program to send out several hundred spam e-mails at once they don't want to fill their computor with all their bounced e-mails so they fill in a return address it could be any bonavide address it also makes identifying the sender harder to locate
hope this helps you

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 25 Dec 07 - 05:20 PM

I had free AVG which was OK until I started getting Trojans every time I logged onto the internet so I upgraded to the anti-virus with firewall since when I've had no bother (touch wood!)

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 29 Dec 07 - 01:43 AM

While a good AntiVirus program is absolutely necessary, and popup blockers, spyware removers (like Ad-Aware and Spybot) are needed on a regular basis, there has been some decrease in activity for these kinds of malware. This is partly because enough people have, update, and run AV and AS programs that those forms have become more difficult to exploit. It is largely because other methods have been found to be more PROFITABLE.

In the currently most common kinds of "infections," there is very good evidence that the perpetrators are organized, professional, and highly skilled criminals. It is extremely difficult for an ordinary user even to detect that some of the malware in fairly widespread use is even on an individual computer, since "modern techniques" attempt to get you, via "phishing," to click something that directly or indirectly installs "an ordinary program" with no viral content on your machine. Since, by clicking, you effectively give permission for the "program" to be installed, no malware control program can do much to prevent it.

You are the "master" of your computer, and the anti-malware program must permit you to install any program you want to. The program cannot read your mind to know that you were tricked into clicking rather than knowingly intending to install.

The program - intentionally - may lie dormant so as to not affect normal operation of the computer until the installer - a "botmaster" - calls on it to launch a criminal activity that proceeds without your knowledge as a background process on your machine. Or it may just quietly gather your personal information for transmission - in short and "undetectable" messages to the criminal(s). These programs are only "useful" if they do NOT AFFECT your normal use of your computer, so that you don't suspect that they are there.

A recent summary of malware activity in 2007 is at What Will Go Wrong In 2008.

This is somewhat superficial summary, but is suggested reading for anyone who hasn't stayed up to date on current threats.

For reference: the top page of the "professional" blog where the article appears is at the Red Tape Chronicles.

1. You MUST HAVE, UPDATE, and RUN a good AntiVirus.

2. You SHOULD HAVE effective popup and phishing blockers.

3. You MUST NOT BE STUPID.

For next year, #3 becomes #1, although the other's can't be ignored.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: danensis
Date: 29 Dec 07 - 10:54 AM

Its probably also worthwhile using a browser like firefox with add-ons like Adblock and Noscript which tell you when a site is trying to run a script on your computer.

Even better use an OS like Linux which doesn't allow anyone but you to run processes on your machine,

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: maldenny
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 02:08 PM

Thanks to all who replied - you've set my mind at rest for now.

Sorry, Malcolm, if my posting offended - I see Mudcat as an online community of friends, one of whom will usually have an answer to a problem, even if only peripherally to do with traditional music. Friends who do not have to reply if they think a posting is inappropriate. Now, about my athlete's foot..!

Subject: RE: Tech: How do I know if my PC has a worm?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 02:41 PM

Incoming email that's blocked usually means that defenses are in place and are working. That's a "good thing" in most cases.

If you find messages in your Sent Mail box that you didn't send, you should suspect a very big problem<sup>1

1</sup> - unless you have a cat that likes to walk around on your keyboard and you tend to leave programs open while the computer is unattended. This could produce a single unintended sent message. Malware usually will send many.

Cat(s) - yes.
Unattended at our house - NEVER! (because of the multiple cats).

John