That E-mail Promising Pics of Osama Being Captured....

Matt Welch | June 3, 2005

... is a virus.

Comments

|6.3.05 @ 12:34PM|#

I knew it. It's not an election year-there's no way they caught him.

R C Dean|6.3.05 @ 12:36PM|#

Whoda thunk it?

|6.3.05 @ 12:38PM|#

It is funny that the BBC says that the message talks about CNN and the BBC. But the message does not mention the BBC. It talks about CNN and a military pay channel. I've never heard of a military pay channel.

Anyhow, Yahoo deleted the attachment for me. Not that I would have opened any email from a stranger that does not talk about how they would know me or have my email address.

|6.3.05 @ 12:40PM|#

This reminds me: some scumsucker has spoofed the email address I use here; he hasn't hacked into my Hotmail but he's sending out virus-laden spam that is supposedly from me. I learned of this when I got a bunch of "returned" mail that I never sent. Then, a couple of regular Reason posters wrote me to ask about mail I 'sent' them so I want to state here: if any of y'all get an e-mail from me with ANY sort of file attachment, I did NOT send it, so do NOT open the attachment. In fact, just delete it altogether.

|6.3.05 @ 12:46PM|#

if any of y'all get an e-mail from me with ANY sort of file attachment, I did NOT send it, so do NOT open the attachment. In fact, just delete it altogether.

Rethinking that full-color, nude, self-portrait photo essay on herb gardening that you sent to everyone in your address book that one drunken night?



(I'm just messing with you, Jennifer.)

Captain Spaulding|6.3.05 @ 12:46PM|#

Jennifer,

Many viruses grab an address from the infected person's address book and spoof that as the from address. That way, that person (in this case, you) get the grief from the recipients. The infected person is apparently someone who has regular Reason folk (including you) in his address book.

|6.3.05 @ 12:54PM|#

Captain-
I'm semi-illiterate when it comes to computers so I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. I don't have any Reason posters in my address book, and none of my real-world friends got any spam from 'me.' Are you saying this started because somebody hacked into one of my friends' address books and got my e-mail from there?

|6.3.05 @ 1:02PM|#

One of your friends got the virus. The virus chose your address out the address book, and is sending out messages that appear to be from you.

|6.3.05 @ 1:03PM|#

Joe-
Got it. Thanks.

|6.3.05 @ 1:04PM|#

email virus - just another reason to own a Mac.

|6.3.05 @ 1:10PM|#

Thanks Joe, I always wondered how that works.

So the virus didn't actually enter my computer when that happened way back when, it entered the computer of a friend and chose my address huh!

Jen,
So the chick doing the gardening is you?

|6.3.05 @ 1:19PM|#

Kwais-
Drool over the size of my melons.

Serious question for the computer literate: you guys are saying my being spoofed had nothing to do with posting on Hit and Run? So the fact that a couple of recipients were Reason posters who recognized my address was just a coincidence?

|6.3.05 @ 1:27PM|#

A lot of these email viruses/spams might not even need to infect a H&R reader's computer to result in the behavior you're seeing.

Look at the comments -- our names are links to our email addresses. Spammers "harvest" these email addresses off the web page. Since the same email addresses are often found on these pages, the spammers assume we have some kind of relationship (which we do). So when sending spam to me, they might spoof the "From:" address to be Jennifer's, on the assumption that it would help the email sneak through my spam filter or mental junk filter. And if the email was send to a bad address, then Jennifer would get a bounce-back email complaining.

Basically, you can't trust the "From:" addresses on any emails you get. And it's going to get worse.

|6.3.05 @ 1:28PM|#

Oh yeah, and while using a Mac may help you avoid actual viruses, it won't prevent spammers from using your email address as a "From:" address. Definitely obnoxious.

|6.3.05 @ 1:30PM|#

Of course, you don't need to put your real e-mail address down.

|6.3.05 @ 1:33PM|#

No, you don't have to use your real email, but I've had some very enjoyable correspondences with posters (and a couple of lurkers) which I would NOT have had if I used a fake address.

|6.3.05 @ 1:49PM|#

Jennifer, all it takes is for someone, somewhere on the internet to both have your address in their book and to be infected with the email virus. It may have nothing at all to do with Hit & Run, but it's much more likely that the infected computer is owned by someone who reads the board. Since this board doesn't work like an email list (where I could add you to my address book without even realizing it simply by responding to one of your posts), and several other H&R posters received a virus from "you", the infected computer is likely to be owned by someone from H&R who has contacted you and the other recipients via email in the past.

|6.3.05 @ 1:54PM|#

OK, now I'm hurt that I haven't recieved a fake email from Jennifer.

|6.3.05 @ 1:57PM|#

Kwais-
You've received REAL e-mails from me. Aren't those even better? If nothing else, you can open them without your computer crashing.

|6.3.05 @ 1:58PM|#

One has to wonder if this is the first virus that will predominantly appeal to (and thus, target) war hawks.

Interesting, to say the very least.

|6.3.05 @ 2:11PM|#

Gary-
I don't think so. I'm quite dovish on the war, but I still hope they get that son of a bitch.

|6.3.05 @ 2:19PM|#

Jenn,
yep, it was an attempt at humor. There would be nothing pleasing about getting a false email from anyone. And of course I like getting real emails from you.

The joke was a variation off of the old Ziggy joke; "there has to be a better way to pass the day than to sit by the phone hoping for a wrong number call!"

|6.3.05 @ 2:47PM|#

"...is a virus."

...if you use Microsoft Outlook running on Windows.

|6.4.05 @ 12:01AM|#

Don't worry, Jennifer, if I ever got an email from you I'd delete it immediately anyway.




j/k ;-)

|6.4.05 @ 5:07PM|#

..if you use Microsoft Outlook running on Windows. - rich

Yehbut:

I have OE installed on my machine, but I don't use it much for mail. I have a few addys with free web-based email sites, like the one I use for my H&R registration. I read most mail by going on the web, and if I really want the info on my box, I'll forward it to myself. My ISP provides a web-portal for reading my mail, and with their virus blocking tools and my Outlook settings, you would be wise to tell me ahead of time if you were sending an attachment, or it will almost certainly be blocked.

The image and script-blocking choices in Firefox also make opening iffy mail safer. Script kiddies don't always embed malware in HTML or image files, but it has been known to happen.

I know that some of the changes H&R has made in its posting interface were done to hamper those who would try to "scrape" e-mail addresses from the site. Unfortunately, any addys collected before the upgrades could still be floating around the interwebs.

Kevin

|6.4.05 @ 5:24PM|#

I don't want to get a computer virus. That's why I always wash my hands after touching a computer.

|6.4.05 @ 5:54PM|#

Crimethink-
A wise choice, because if I ever DID send you an e-mail, I'd do my best to make sure it's infected.

So there!