email viruses

I recently got an email from someone (I don't even know) that said I have been sending them a virus. Now this message went to a mail service that I use called MY Mail and I did not get it in my regular email. I think it went to My Mail because the person that sent this email used profanity. I use NAV and keep it updated. How could this happen?

 

Also the subject on this email was something like IE6.0 patch.

 

It's called e-mail spoofing.

This is how Symantec explains it:

"Some variants of this worm (this is about Klez, but it could be some other virus) use a technique known as "spoofing." If so, the worm randomly selects an address that it finds on an infected computer. It uses this address as the "From" address that it uses when it performs its mass-mailing routine. Numerous cases have been reported in which users of uninfected computers received complaints that they sent an infected message to someone else

Because this worm does use a randomly chosen address that it finds on an infected computer as the "From:" address, numerous cases have been reported in which users of uninfected computers receive complaints that they have sent an infected message to someone else.

For example, Linda Anderson is using a computer that is infected with [email protected]; Linda is not using a antivirus program or does not have current virus definitions.
When [email protected] performs its emailing routine, it finds the email address of Harold Logan.
It inserts Harold's email address into the "From:" line of an infected email that it then sends to Janet Bishop. Janet then contacts Harold and complains that he sent her infected email, but when Harold scans his computer, Norton AntiVirus does not find anything--as would be expected--because his computer is not infected."

Hope that explains it.

Cheers,

 

Thanks it clears things up for me.

 

You're welcome!

 

The question I have is concerning this issue of somebody else who has gotten my email address and is randomly sending out these viruses with my name on it. How do I stop it? I am constantly getting returned mail notices and even getting the hoax messages myself! I run Stinger constantly after I see them but that is not helping. I read about the Microsoft update to Outlook that can fix it, but the list of attachments that I can no longer recieve seems so lengthy and confusing. I still want to be able to open attachments from friends and they advise that this fix can make it difficult. Please...any ideas? This is so annoying!