how can i clear my outbox of virus messages

[Davewithavirus]

There is a virus trying to send dozens of messages from my Outlook program (I
know this because I get a Symantec window telling me it is scanning them for
viruses when they are sent). The only way I can get it to stop is by
disconnecting from the internet. Is there any way to tell Outlook to clear
and delete all messages in the outbox (there are none visible to me), or
clear all messages in some kind of queue?

I have run a full system scan with Norton, but I have found it to miss
viruses before. Any assistance would be appreciated.

 

[Milly Staples - MVP Outlook]

Has Norton told you that they are viruses or is this something that you are
just assuming?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Davewithavirus asked:

| There is a virus trying to send dozens of messages from my Outlook
| program (I know this because I get a Symantec window telling me it is
| scanning them for viruses when they are sent). The only way I can
| get it to stop is by disconnecting from the internet. Is there any
| way to tell Outlook to clear and delete all messages in the outbox
| (there are none visible to me), or clear all messages in some kind of
| queue?
|
| I have run a full system scan with Norton, but I have found it to miss
| viruses before. Any assistance would be appreciated.

 

[Davewithavirus]

Has Norton told you that they are viruses or is this something that you are
just assuming?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Davewithavirus asked:

| There is a virus trying to send dozens of messages from my Outlook
| program (I know this because I get a Symantec window telling me it is
| scanning them for viruses when they are sent). The only way I can
| get it to stop is by disconnecting from the internet. Is there any
| way to tell Outlook to clear and delete all messages in the outbox
| (there are none visible to me), or clear all messages in some kind of
| queue?
|
| I have run a full system scan with Norton, but I have found it to miss
| viruses before. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Thanks for noticing my post. Norton did NOT tell me they were viruses. I could see the message headers that were being sent by Outlook ... they looked like spam messages ... definitely nothing I am sending.

 

[DL]

If you suspect your sys is infected you might try online an scan via Trend
Micro or Kaspersky
You should also run malaware scans with several apps, e.g.
SpyBot/Adaware/WinDefender
Different apps because one catches what the other misses.
You can stop OL sending/receiving by selecting Offline mode

Has Norton told you that they are viruses or is this something that you are
just assuming?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Davewithavirus asked:

| There is a virus trying to send dozens of messages from my Outlook
| program (I know this because I get a Symantec window telling me it is
| scanning them for viruses when they are sent). The only way I can
| get it to stop is by disconnecting from the internet. Is there any
| way to tell Outlook to clear and delete all messages in the outbox
| (there are none visible to me), or clear all messages in some kind of
| queue?
|
| I have run a full system scan with Norton, but I have found it to miss
| viruses before. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Thanks for noticing my post. Norton did NOT tell me they were viruses.

I could see the message headers that were being sent by Outlook ... they
looked like spam messages ... definitely nothing I am sending.

 

[Davewithavirus]

If you suspect your sys is infected you might try online an scan via Trend
Micro or Kaspersky
You should also run malaware scans with several apps, e.g.
SpyBot/Adaware/WinDefender
Different apps because one catches what the other misses.
You can stop OL sending/receiving by selecting Offline mode

Has Norton told you that they are viruses or is this something that you are
just assuming?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Davewithavirus asked:

| There is a virus trying to send dozens of messages from my Outlook
| program (I know this because I get a Symantec window telling me it is
| scanning them for viruses when they are sent). The only way I can
| get it to stop is by disconnecting from the internet. Is there any
| way to tell Outlook to clear and delete all messages in the outbox
| (there are none visible to me), or clear all messages in some kind of
| queue?
|
| I have run a full system scan with Norton, but I have found it to miss
| viruses before. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Thanks for noticing my post. Norton did NOT tell me they were viruses.

I could see the message headers that were being sent by Outlook ... they
looked like spam messages ... definitely nothing I am sending.

Thanks for the tip. I ran Spybot, but it found nothing. I went back to my old Norton scans and found where it had "deleted" a virus called Trojan.Abwiz.F. However, this virus was spawned by a rootkit, so it kept remanufacturing it. Turning Outlook to offline did NOT help (it kept sending the messages as long as my internet connection was on). It was using my computer to forward spam messages.

I was able to remove the offending virus with a special download available
from Symantec for this specific virus. I learned that "deleting" a virus may
or may not clean the problem. From now on I will always go to the Symantec
website to read the details on the specific virus it found. Virus software
is a good tool (I always update my Norton software, and run complete scans on
a regular basis), but we cannot be too dependent on them. Viruses are just
too smart these days (I've had a virus disable Norton).