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Dr. DDS · Dec 20, 2006, 08:08 PM

I received this e-mail:

"Mensagem não autorizada = ( unautorized message)
----------------------------------------
Vírus encontrado no email de entrada = (virus found in incoming mail)
Found the Generic Malware.a!zip trojan !!!

----------------------------------------
Para: [email protected] "

But i never sent an e-mail to [email protected].
Is this a possible infection??
I'm using 10.4.8 with all the security updates.

cybergoober · Dec 20, 2006, 08:16 PM

Your email address was likely spoofed.

Dr. DDS · Dec 20, 2006, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by cybergoober

Your email address was likely spoofed.

Sorry about my english, what's spoofed??

Chuckit · Dec 20, 2006, 08:25 PM

Somebody made it look like they were sending e-mail from your address, but they really weren't. It's fairly common nowadays.

Dr. DDS · Dec 20, 2006, 08:32 PM

So, i don't have to worry??

ghporter · Dec 20, 2006, 08:39 PM

Not a bit. This happens when your email address winds up in the public eye. It's one reason people want "disposable" addresses; if the spammers and virus writers "harvest" such addresses, you can dump them without losing anything-and if you use GMail and do the "[email protected]" trick, (where "Spam-source" is some identifier you choose to tell you something about where you use it) you can identify who leaked/sold your address.

Sleep soundly; you're safe.

Macola · Dec 21, 2006, 11:18 AM

What's also possible (and more likely) is that one of your friends using a PC has a virus. A common behavior for such viruses is to infect the Outlook address book and send e-mails with random "to" and "from" addresses. That's how the virus spreads.

So if your friend has your address in Outlook, that would explain the message you received, which is generated by a virus scanning program on an Internet provider.

ghporter · Dec 21, 2006, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by Macola

A common behavior for such viruses is to infect the Outlook address book and send e-mails with random "to" and "from" addresses. That's how the virus spreads.

I'd use the term "mines the Outlook (and/or Outlook Express) address book" instead of "infects," since the data in that address book is available through a number of routes. But you're right in that this is a possibility. However, I think it more likely that his address was simply harvested somewhere online-unless he starts getting a ton of these messages, of course.

hemant · Dec 21, 2006, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

... and if you use GMail and do the "[email protected]" trick, (where "Spam-source" is some identifier you choose to tell you something about where you use it) you can identify who leaked/sold your address.

Sleep soundly; you're safe.

I think that should be "[email protected]" they call it plus addressing.

Dr. DDS · Dec 21, 2006, 04:21 PM

How this gmail.spam works??

thanks for all the replies.

real · Dec 21, 2006, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by Macola

What's also possible (and more likely) is that one of your friends using a PC has a virus. A common behavior for such viruses is to infect the Outlook address book and send e-mails with random "to" and "from" addresses. That's how the virus spreads.

So if your friend has your address in Outlook, that would explain the message you received, which is generated by a virus scanning program on an Internet provider.

I have the same problem when I send an e-mail to my wifes father(on a PC) after I do that the spam floods in. BOOOOO!