[frankjohn]

My neighbor told me that he got a email sent to him from his e mail address.I said he must have given out his password for someone to do this.I told him to change his password pronto.My question is ? Am i correct or is there another way for someone to do this?

[Phantom010]

I'm not quite sure I follow you. Can you give us more details?

[frankjohn]

Thanks for the reply back Phantom: Lets say his email address is joeblow@aol.com when he receives his email he sees that a email has been sent to him from joeblow@aol.com. Its like if you want to send yourself a e mail. Does this help?

[Phantom010]

What type of message did he get? Was it spam?

[frankjohn]

Obseen sex [dirt]

[Phantom010]

To read: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/586...B4eB3JLpcFLZA5

A feature of the protocol that email is based upon is that the email message itself has a number of spaces (data fields) for information like the "intended recipient", "sender's email address" and the "return email address", "CC", "BCC", etc etc. within the email datagram (think of email like a picture postcard with spaces for the sender name and address as well as name and address of the person it is being sent to).

What someone has done (or rather set up a piece of software to do) is send a spam email to so many million email addresses with the sender's FROM email address set to be the same as the "intended recipient's" TO email address. This is done for two main reasons, partly to try to get past email spam filters that filter on known spammer's FROM addresses (or email domains) and partly to hook your interest in getting an email from yourself - which it achieved.

So the spammer is not sending spam email from your email account (that is - they are not hacking into your account and typing messages), but simply using your email address to send spam email to you. Just as if you had got a picture postcard through the post addressed to you with the offer of cheap Viagra but was signed with your name.


You can also try a program like MailWasher.

[frankjohn]

Very interesting :
; Thanks for your time Phantom

[Phantom010]

You're quite welcome!

[perfume]

Originally Posted by Phantom010

To read: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/586...B4eB3JLpcFLZA5

A feature of the protocol that email is based upon is that the email message itself has a number of spaces (data fields) for information like the "intended recipient", "sender's email address" and the "return email address", "CC", "BCC", etc etc. within the email datagram (think of email like a picture postcard with spaces for the sender name and address as well as name and address of the person it is being sent to).

What someone has done (or rather set up a piece of software to do) is send a spam email to so many million email addresses with the sender's FROM email address set to be the same as the "intended recipient's" TO email address. This is done for two main reasons, partly to try to get past email spam filters that filter on known spammer's FROM addresses (or email domains) and partly to hook your interest in getting an email from yourself - which it achieved.

So the spammer is not sending spam email from your email account (that is - they are not hacking into your account and typing messages), but simply using your email address to send spam email to you. Just as if you had got a picture postcard through the post addressed to you with the offer of cheap Viagra but was signed with your name.


You can also try a program like MailWasher.

Dear phantom010,
An excellent and educative post! The "option" to "train" for identifying spam in the security suite i have (KIS2009) is embedded! You have to download ( cut and paste or copy and paste) at least 50 "Non-spam" addresses (Genuine addresses) into the Anti-Spam filter provided! Hope this will be useful to those using KIS.

[gold_y]

guys i recieved a message from powerscrap the other day and well it was coming from power.com com saying i got the message because i use their account.well i don't and someone would have to put in my orkut id to use it , i checked the headers and it was from them so can headers be spoofed too??If yes then is there a way to distinguish between real and spoofed mail??

[frankjohn]

The internet {as we all know] is meant for good intentions but look @ the down hill it has taken>virus>hackers>you name it & i feel it will only get worse.

[blitzkreig]

Dear prfume,
How do I train my anti spam?