Spyware, viruses, &amp; security forum: I have been getting emails marked from friends

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

A possible point of interest..

by Carol~ - 9/12/12 10:40 AM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

hashiff..

While reading various news items today, I came across the below. Your post came to mind. It doesn't affect you directly, but it does indicate how pervasive the scam itself is. I thought it might be of interest.

FTC returns $2.3 million from online work-at-home scheme

The FTC Release: FTC Returns More than $2 Million to Buyers of the "Google Money Tree" Work-at-Home Scam

Carol

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Thanks for forwarding that article

by hashiff - 9/12/12 4:20 PM

In Reply to: A possible point of interest.. by Carol~

I did have the feeling that there was a scam involved but my main concern was with the possible security breach with my computer. I guess there are enough desperate people out there grasping at any straw that they hope might keep them afloat. That's why these schemes are so sucessful.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

It's Probably A Friend's Computer That's Infected, But....

by Grif Thomas - 9/10/12 4:00 PM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

...if you haven't checked your own machine, now is a good time to do so.. Please download BOTH of the freeware versions of the tools at the links below, install them, update them, then run full system scans using them.. Delete anything they find.

Malwareybtes
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

SuperAntispyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Generally, such email "work from home" SPAM messages are the result of a friend getting infected who has all your addresses. As such, you may not be the only person receiving the messages. All it takes is for you to forward a message to all of your friends and all those addresses are received at each of those computers.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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That sounds good

by hashiff - 9/10/12 8:34 PM

In Reply to: It's Probably A Friend's Computer That's Infected, But.... by Grif Thomas

I use Malware bytes and Super Antispyware on a regular basis and my computer, which is about 2 years old has never had any other real problem, so having a friend who is infected is not surprising as most of my friends are past 80 (as am I) and are not too computer literate and have never heard of malware or spyware and never scan their computers with even the simplest tools. I do thank you for your input. It is the only response that I got to my inquiry.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

spam emails from friends

by boris-strange - 9/14/12 6:47 PM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

Run your own anti-spyware and anti-virus checks to make sure your computer is clean. then contact your friends [if possible not by email but if you have to use it]and advise them of the situation and suggest they run the same checks also. Often the friends whose computer the spam has come from are not aware that their computer is infected by a virus doing this. all you can do to secure your computer is keep anti-virus and anti-spyware up to date on your own computer and be wary of opening links in any emails you recieve.
Hope this helps.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

ghost emails

by jnuss - 9/15/12 7:07 AM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

I and several of my internet acquaintences have had this same problem. It's been around a long time.
Before you invest a lot of time and money on spyware, you might try changing the password on your email
account(s). I've done that and the problem usually goes away. Good luck!

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

bogus emails and hacked accounts

by meanoldmom - 9/16/12 3:25 AM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

One way to know right away if someone has hacked your email account is to make sure you have another email account listed in your address book. Check it regularly, try not to use the same user name and definately do NOT use the same password. That way if someone gets in and starts sending bogus mail in your name you will see it. As recommended by the others, change your password immediately. Make the new one more difficult to guess. Scan your computer for malware. Notify friends if they are sending the mail or if your account has sent to them.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user hashiff

Spam

by CascaLonginus - 9/17/12 11:28 PM

In Reply to: I have been getting emails marked from friends by hashiff

I have found that when that happens, all you have to do, assuming your friend(s) use free online email, is tell them about the emails you are getting, and tell them to change their password. That should stop the emails from leaving their email. If that happens to you, then change your password. If you, or your friend(s) use outlook, or other computer based email, then scan computer with MBAM, and SUPERAntiSpyware as suggested in another post.

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