Did someone take over my computer?

[Huck]

I got a message saying that an email I sent was undeliverable. I didn't
send any email to this party. I have received several such messages. Is it
possible that my computer has some sort of virus that is sending messages
from my computer? If that is possible, how can I learn about it and what
can I do?



The message I got was the following:



Subject: Sale Cialis USD28 Ambieen

Your message

To: (e-mail address removed)
Subject: Sale C1ALIiS USD28, AMBIEEN US22
Sent: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 12:39:34 -0500

did not reach the following recipient(s):

(e-mail address removed) on Fri, 24 Nov 2006 12:50:19 -0500
The recipient name is not recognized
The MTS-ID of the original message is: c=us;a= ;p=petals
decorativ;l=PDAMSX550611241750V8KDPDJA
MSEXCH:IMSetals Decorative AccentsDADAMSX55 0 (000C05A6) Unknown
Recipient

 

[Alias]

I got a message saying that an email I sent was undeliverable. I didn't
send any email to this party. I have received several such messages. Is it
possible that my computer has some sort of virus that is sending messages
from my computer? If that is possible, how can I learn about it and what
can I do?

I get ten of those a day or more. Someone either has your email in their
address book and has been compromised or, more probably, you signed up
at some web site and they sold your email address. Or, you post here on
Usenet using your real email address instead of a spoofed one. Or, you
have a web site with your email address on it. There are many
possibilities but your computer having been taken over is not likely.
That said, it can't hurt to run your anti virus, anti spyware/malware
programs in Safe Mode to just to be sure.

Alias

 

[LVTravel]

More likely your email address has been "hijacked" by some
of the more unscrupulous persons out there and is sending
email with your email address as the return. Unfortunately
not anything you can do about it. You should still run
good, fully updated antivirus and spyware scanners on your
computer in safe mode.

If the email address you put in your newsgroup account
([email protected]) is your actual account
information you will also now be bombarded with spam since
many people search the newsgroups for real email addresses.
You will notice that my email address is not included in my
post since I am not (e-mail address removed). Many people here will
provide a real email address and modify it with obviously
removable characters (like I did to yours above) to prevent
the scanners from getting the real address.

 

[Guest]

It is all possible, did you check for viruses and you have an up2date AV
installed and functioining okay.
If your password for your E-mail Account is weak and easy to be guessed and
you left your e-mail on Chat rooms, Forums for hackers and spammers to pick
up, or somebody know your e-mail and passowrd and using your E-mail to spam
people.
This E-mail looks like asking the person to buy something, so the best is to
tell your ISP if you create your e-mail Account with them and try to log now
to your E-mail and change your Account Details and Password to a stronger
Password nobody can guess, just you who can remember it and don't shout loud
when you would like to memorise it when typing it to login.

Your E-mail Provider will look where the hoops, points, the spoofed IPs
address and try to block/blacklist them to not issue/ send e-mail by your
e-mail address, at least give the spammer a hard time and sleepless nights to
think about exit??.
That if they support such a thing.
HTH.
Please let us know.
Regs,
nass

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Your email address may have been "harvested" from somewhere on the Internet
(usually newsgroups.) Spammers then set up to send their billions of emails
as if they were you. Some of these emails get through to the destination
email address but a lot get bounced back to the sender (in this case you.)


It has been recommended not to post newsgroups threads without "disguising"
your email address. This should eliminate the email "harvesting" tools from
picking up your email address.