Possible scam to detect live e-mail address

Possible scam to detect live e-mail address
I received this today
Symantec AntiVirus found a virus in an attachment sent to Gary Bailey.

To ensure the recipient(s) are able to use the files you sent, perform a virus scan on your computer, clean any infected files, then resend this attachment.


Attachment: document.zip
Virus name: W32.Netsky.P@mm
Action taken: Clean failed : Quarantine succeeded :
File status: Infected

I suspect that someone is testing my e-mail for spamming or more sinister purposes

1) I run Av & firewall on my own system, which is up-to –date, my service provider runs AV on all my incoming mail. And has blocked and notified me of hundreds of e-mils it’s blocked with this virus.
2) I know nobody by the name of Gary Bailey, nor have I sent him any mail.
3) Three e-mailed a mail to myself with an attachment to test my service provider and whether their system detects any virus on anything I send.

Nothing being detected on either system so I can only come to conclusion somebody is fishing for live e-mails. So I won’t be responding to My Gary Bailey.
My advice is if you not sent any mail to such people don’t respond, because to do so will say it’s a live address.

To Mr Bailey I have your address and if you want to play games two can play at spamming and other things!

it's not spam Phil, it's the Netsky virus which has been around for a few months now.
It seems to go in fits and spurts, I will receive 20 in a day and then nothing for 3 or 4 days.

You're right to keep your AV up to scratch, but most people don't bother, or most people don't realise.
Shops will sell people AV but forget to mention anything about downloading the upgrades.

One of the good reasons for not keeping email addresses in your address book is that most viruses go straight to it and email themselves to all your friends. I print all mine out and keep it on the desk for when I need it, but I remember most of them that I use regularly.

As a point of interest, I now use AVG anti virus and it comes free on the net and I just can't fault it, nor the rest of my family who also use it

I’ve just dumped my Talk21.com email address, because of spam and also because BT have down graded their free service when they amalgamated with Yahoo. I can still look at my mail but I can’t pop it through Outlook. However, I couldn’t resist looking at my unopened mails, after one week I’d over 1000 emials and all spam.
I’ve got an anit-spam programme, however, the sheer volume of spam just locked up Outlook while it sorted out the spam.
What happens if someone steels your email address without you knowing and starts sending out spam without you knowing or worse still illegal porn etc? How would you know this has happened and what can you do about it if it has?
Does anyone know how you can closed an email account? Can’t find how to do this with my talk21.com account, I just don’t open it.

John, you can't close down your Talk21 account, it just keeps running. I'm surprised they haven't followed the route of Hotmail and Hushmail in that your account deactivates if you don't use it for X number of weeks.

Hushmail is a good protected account that is also FREE for the basic setup. This gives you anti-spam and also anti-virus. Bit of a pain to log into the account though, however, as it's POP3, you can link it into Outlook.

Hotmail is good if you want to make use of things like MSN Messenger (real time talk software).

There are lots of them out there, just have to do some looking and comparing.

Thanks Adrian, I pay ?17 or ?19 per month for my internet service through BT Openworld.com and they offer several email accounts so me and our lass have set a couple of accounts up with them. It’s just a bit annoying to loose my John.Conway name, apparently there are now thirty or forty John Conway’s with emails addresses.
By the way I run Zone labs fire wall and AVG anti-virus, wouldn’t be with out them, it’s suppressing just how many viruses it’s picked up especially when I was getting all the spam through my talk21.com account.

The Netsky virus is a bugger at the minute, but what I am finding is that I receive Email ellegedly from me saying that it has been checked an is virus free. Yet Norton removed a virus from it before it was let in!!!

One was supposedly from Symantec (providers of Norton) and when I phoned them no such person exists and the lady said just delete it, don't read it, don't reply to it.

The trouble with address lists is that if you get a virus soem will send that virus to all in your list and then it will accumulate new addresses from your outlook messages received and sedn to all those as well pretending to be from people in your address list.

These buggers want shooting.

rumour had it that 'these buggers' work for AV companies anyway......

keeping themselves in business, nice.

If you go to the Symantec site you can download the fixes for most, if not all,of the common viruses. Download them and put them on a CD, then, if you do get one and can't get on the net because it stops you from doing so, its always there, ready for use. I've had good cause to use this once and I picked the virus up off the microsoft update site would you believe, incredible!

Sorry for sounding thick, but what is SPAM?

Luncheon meat for Barbel!

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