Computer question: emails and viruses

[Puffy2]

How come occasionally I get an email that says "I" have sent an email (from my email address) that was infected with a virus...when I NEVER (and no one else here either) sent an email to the supposed "receipent" of this email??

Are these scams to get you to download "fixes" that are in themselves viruses?

Occasionally we run programs that detect viruses in our system - and of course, nothing shows up.

You would think people would have better things to do with their time.

 

[Tina]

The best thing to do is to have an anti-virus program (such as Norton) that scans your email as it comes in. Sometimes a virus can come into your email box (unknowingly) and re-email itself to others in your address book. Scanning your mail will stop them in their tracks.

 

[BethR]

Sounds like the Klez virus at work, Puffy. I too have gotten these e-mails. And DD was getting them from her account at school which she NEVER uses.
Klez is a sneaky little bugger that can pick up e-mail addresses from ANYTHING onthe infected computer that has e-mail addresses in it and put any of those addresses in the "To" or "From" box in an e-mail.
So if your e-mail addy is on anything on an infected computer, the Klez virus could be put it in the "From" box in an e-mail and it will look like YOU sent the virus to someone you don't even know (another addy from the infected computer.)
Hope that that makes sense. And don't worry about it. You are not responsible. As long as your virus protection is up to date and you scan often, that is the best that you can do.
Hope that this helps.

 

[gina2000]

I went through a spoofing nightmare with klez. Finally changed my e-mail address and didn't give it to the person I suspected had the virus.

He drove everyone crazy until he took care of it.

 

[Michelle]

You don't have to be infected with a virus for an e-mailer to "spoof" an e-mail to make it look like it was sent from you. That happens to me all the time with various work accounts and I do NOT have any viruses. It's annoying but there's not much you can do about it. Just be sure your virus protection is up to date and everything is scanned that comes into and goes out of your computer.