I was attacked by spam after posing a question here yesterday

[Thomas Marko]

Dear Newsgroupers

I posed a question yesterday in this newsgroup and gave my
normal e-mail-address.

Just a few minutes later it started: abut every five
minutes I get an e-mail that seems to come from microsoft
(tech support,security or other departments; the subject
sounds like a tech news advice; sender and subject always
change a bit) and contains next to some microsoft tech-
oriented text an exe-file containing a virus called SVEN_A.

It's a pity some sick people make fun out of this.

Hope you don't encounter the same problem!
Thomas

 

[Access]

Man I also had the same thing happen to me. I should have known not to use
a good email address but I didn't think it would be that bad. Over 30
viruses in 1 day. So I had to delete that email address and get a new one.
What a pain.

Be alert out there.

 

[Larry Linson]

Thats "sweN" which is "News" spelled backward because it extracts addresses
from saved newsgroup files on infected machines. Those are not "spam" by the
way because "spam" doesn't carry a virus/worm payload as those do. There are
several variants of this, and the payload is not always "sweN" -- sometimes
it is "automat" and sometimes a variant of "Gibe".

 

[Fredg]

Take a look at this site:
http://www.fingerlakesbmw.org/main/flmung.asp

for information about how to munge an email address.
Look at the example of my reply address in this post.

Use it only in newsgroups, as no one will be able to
send you a direct email.

 

[Guest]

that's what mung is!

Take a look at this site:
http://www.fingerlakesbmw.org/main/flmung.asp

for information about how to munge an email address.
Look at the example of my reply address in this post.

Use it only in newsgroups, as no one will be able to
send you a direct email.
--
Fred

Please reply only to this newsgroup.
I do not reply to personal e-mail.

 

[Christine]

Hi Fred,
Do you know if there is any way to delete a message off of
this newsgroup so that I do not get any more?
Thanks!
CH ---

 

[Larry Linson]

First, it is difficult to delete a message, because messages are held on
news servers all over the world, not just in some central repository.

Second, that would not keep you from getting the virus/worm messages,
because the addresses are extracted from saved messages on the hard drives
of virus-infected machines, and your message with your address is already
saved.

Make arrangements, if you can, with your mail server to respond to every
post with a message that a human can use to determine your new e-mail, but
that a spambot can't easily use to construct it. Then send a message to all
on your contact list about the _new_ e-mail address you have obtained and
why you did so. After a reasonable period of time, let the postmaster of the
mail server simplify his/her life by completely deleting the old e-mail.
It's "drastic action" but my postmaster thought the 25 - 100 MB of
virus/worm-laden e-mail I was getting was worth some "drastic action".

Sorry.