OT: Email Problems/Misuse of Company Name

[Guest guest]

I have been getting messages returned undeliverable and they are

from " xxxxxxx.@... " - someone is mass mailing junk

email using my company name. I called my domain host and they said

someone is " spoofing " my email by using my company name and

basically there is nothing I can do about it.

It's bad enough when we receive junk email, but when someone takes

our company name and is able to do this with very potentially

harmful effects it's just devistating to me.

Please, please know that I am not sending you all junk mail if you

are getting any! I will continue to see if I can track the persons

down and if possible pursue legal action, my guess is these may

originate overseas and there is nothing I can do about it. But I

shall try. I would hate to have to change a company name after

almost six years in business but if I have to I will. For as long

as I live I will never be able to understand how sick some people

can be.

The " Real " Nature's Apprentice

[Guest guest]

,

This has happened to me too. I've received email in my personal

email account from my business email address containing a virus. If

I received it, I bet others have. Although they are not using my

company name, I guess they are since that is my email address.

Is it true there is nothing to be done about it??

I contacted Earthlink (my isp) and had a difficult time explaining

to them what was happening.

Sagescript Institute, LLC

Microbiology Assays, Health Education

http://www.sagescript.com

> I have been getting messages returned undeliverable and they are

> from " xxxxxxx.@n... " - someone is mass mailing junk

> email using my company name. I called my domain host and they

said

> someone is " spoofing " my email by using my company name and

> basically there is nothing I can do about it.

[Guest guest]

,

The response I sent to was based on my understanding that she was

getting email at a valid email address that claimed to be from the same

domain. So if her email address is @..., the

email claimed to be from someone@..., where this email

address isn't valid.

In your case, it sounds like both email addresses are valid, and both are

from different domains? Is the yahoo address shown in your post your

personal email address, while you're getting email from your valid

sagescript.com email address?

In this case, both your addresses are in someone's contact list, and that

someone is infected with the virus. It MAY be your machine or your work

machine, but that's probably not the case. Still, do you have anti-virus

software installed, and are your definition files up to date?

Many viruses propagate themselves by going through the infected machine's

contact list. They will pick two email addresses at random, and send a

virus infected email to one address, listing the other as the " from "

address. Say I have an infected machine and in my contact list I have my

parent's email address (parent@...) and my daughter's

(daughter@...). The virus may send the virus infected email to

parent@... in such a way as to make it seem that the email came

from daughter@.... My email address is never mentioned.

I'm surprised the Earthlink support rep found it so hard to understand what

you were saying. This has become an incredibly common problem. Though most

ISPs, including Earthlink really don't seem to get it. For example. most

ISPs, if they catch that the email is infected, will inform the 'sender'

that they sent an infected email. In this example, my parent's ISP will

inform my daughter that she sent an infected email, yet the email wasn't

sent from her machine, it was sent from mine. In these cases, the infected

email is almost never sent from the " from " address, yet the ISPs continue to

inform the wrong party!

If you received an infected email from your work address, others may have

also, but the other infected email sent out could also have been " from " any

of the other email addresses in the infected machine's contact list,

including your personal address. ANY address in that list is fair game for

receiving an infected email or for being listed as the " from " address.

There is nothing you can do about this except keep your machine protected.

If you examined the headers, you can see that the email didn't come from

where it said it came from, and in some cases you may be able to determine

where it did come from, but all you'll be able to do is tell the person

whose machine is infected that they are infected. That would be worthwhile

IF you can determine who it is from the headers. You can't always.

If you're concerned about it, post a disclaimer on your company page about

bogus emails. I'm beginning to wonder if it might be good practice for all

websites to have such a disclaimer, since not everyone understands how

email viruses work.

Diane

GreenFireHerbs.com

" Never say 'can't' when there's a 'How About This' still to be tried! "

-----Original Message-----

From:

,

This has happened to me too. I've received email in my personal

email account from my business email address containing a virus.

[Guest guest]

,

The response I sent to was based on my understanding that she was

getting email at a valid email address that claimed to be from the same

domain. So if her email address is @..., the

email claimed to be from someone@..., where this email

address isn't valid.

In your case, it sounds like both email addresses are valid, and both are

from different domains? Is the yahoo address shown in your post your

personal email address, while you're getting email from your valid

sagescript.com email address?

In this case, both your addresses are in someone's contact list, and that

someone is infected with the virus. It MAY be your machine or your work

machine, but that's probably not the case. Still, do you have anti-virus

software installed, and are your definition files up to date?

Many viruses propagate themselves by going through the infected machine's

contact list. They will pick two email addresses at random, and send a

virus infected email to one address, listing the other as the " from "

address. Say I have an infected machine and in my contact list I have my

parent's email address (parent@...) and my daughter's

(daughter@...). The virus may send the virus infected email to

parent@... in such a way as to make it seem that the email came

from daughter@.... My email address is never mentioned.

I'm surprised the Earthlink support rep found it so hard to understand what

you were saying. This has become an incredibly common problem. Though most

ISPs, including Earthlink really don't seem to get it. For example. most

ISPs, if they catch that the email is infected, will inform the 'sender'

that they sent an infected email. In this example, my parent's ISP will

inform my daughter that she sent an infected email, yet the email wasn't

sent from her machine, it was sent from mine. In these cases, the infected

email is almost never sent from the " from " address, yet the ISPs continue to

inform the wrong party!

If you received an infected email from your work address, others may have

also, but the other infected email sent out could also have been " from " any

of the other email addresses in the infected machine's contact list,

including your personal address. ANY address in that list is fair game for

receiving an infected email or for being listed as the " from " address.

There is nothing you can do about this except keep your machine protected.

If you examined the headers, you can see that the email didn't come from

where it said it came from, and in some cases you may be able to determine

where it did come from, but all you'll be able to do is tell the person

whose machine is infected that they are infected. That would be worthwhile

IF you can determine who it is from the headers. You can't always.

If you're concerned about it, post a disclaimer on your company page about

bogus emails. I'm beginning to wonder if it might be good practice for all

websites to have such a disclaimer, since not everyone understands how

email viruses work.

Diane

GreenFireHerbs.com

" Never say 'can't' when there's a 'How About This' still to be tried! "

-----Original Message-----

From:

,

This has happened to me too. I've received email in my personal

email account from my business email address containing a virus.