What is funny is the fact I was discussing virus problems with another member, just minutes before this happened.
Keeper, you're right. If you don't recognize the sender of an e-mail, why, why, WHY would you ever want to read it, load in the images attached to it, or click the link embedded in it? Hello??
I'm running Linux on all my machines, so the silly Windows attachments present no problems for me. But I still have my e-mail client to hold off loading any images without my approval and I do it for two reasons.
It's possible to insert malicious code into the data attached to an image. If someone sends me an infected e-mail, my machine is safe. Linux does not auto-run anything, particularly not Windows .exe files. I never, and I do mean never, forward e-mails to anyone. If I were to forward an infected e-mail to a Windows user, I could infect their machine and never know what had happened.
Secondly, if the ACME Condom Store, Tire Center and Hair Care Salon sends a gazillion, spam e-mails out, they have no clue how many real recipients they might have. So, they insert the code to load an image into the body of the message. You get their e-mail and you load in the image. And therein lies the rub, because when you load the image, you make a request to their server for the image. When they see you have requested the image, they know they have a live address and then your address suddenly has marketing value.
Forwarding e-mails has another pitfall and it's the one that really sets my teeth on edge. When you visit a Web site, your request to view that site may be routed across several locations, before you finally land on the destination site. The same goes for e-mails. If I send Keeper an e-mail, it doesn't jump out of my computer and directly into his. The message might move across 6-8 (or more) mail servers, until his mail server finally sees it. If someone has managed to insert an e-mail scraper onto just one of those intermediate servers, that scraper is going to net my e-mail address and Keeper's e-mail address. If Keeper likes my e-mail and decides to forward it to 10 of his friends, we then have the possibility of another 6-8 (or more) server hops, per recipient. If there happens to be an e-mail scraper on just one of each route's servers, then there are another 10 scrapers that harvest Keeper's address, his recipient's address and all the other e-mail addresses in that massage. Remember who sent the original e-mail? That was me. Now my e-mail address has been harvested 11 times. If all ten of those recipient's decide to forward the message to 10 friends each, what happens then? Now think about the next reiteration. :suicide:
None of us like spam e-mails. But how many of you have more than one e-mail address? Now you get spam in 2 or 3 Inboxes. What a PITA, right? Want to trade places with me, as I have 24 (yes, two dozen) e-mail accounts. I get enough real mail to be time-consuming, but add in the nonsense and it's amazing. I run a spam filtering script on my POP servers that filters junk with DNS-based spam detection, checksum-based spam detection, Bayesian filters, blacklisting and online database checks. The Bayesian filtering allows me to "train" the script to identify junk mail from real mail. And I still eliminate 20-25 junk messages from my Inboxes, every hour. So if you get an e-mail from me that your friends just have to see, copy the damn thing into a new message. PUHLEEZE do not forward my address to anyone else. And I bet all your friends feel the same way.
A lot of e-mail problems would be immediately eliminated, if people would just use some common sense.
1. Do not let images load into your e-mail client. You have no way of knowing what's attached to those images.
2. Do not click on links enclosed in e-mails, even if they came from your best pal or a family member. You have no way of knowing if their computer is infected with a worm virus that is sending e-mails without their knowledge. Don't think it can happen? Google the phrase "Storm worm". Storm is scary, ingenious stuff.
3. Do not forward e-mails. Learn how to copy and paste message content into new messages.
4. Do not post your e-mail address to any Web sites. The old trick of typing yournameATyourdomain hasn't worked in years. The e-mail scrapers are smarter than you are, trust me.
It's not difficult to educate yourselves about potential problems and protect yourselves. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, either. I've said for years, the best anti-virus scheme is located between your ears.
(Keeper, I wasn't trying to pick on you, I just grabbed the first name I came across. Your post clearly indicates you have a better handle on spam problems than most people.)
