Oct. 5, 2005

Hi, All!

This Week: Strange looking E-mails

Hello Robert;

We want to thank you again for fixing this computer for us. Really appreciate it. You said if we had any other problems, let you know, well, here goes. I hope you can understand my explaining, I'm not so great at it.

I have been getting mail to my box that is not my mail !!! People I never heard of before and to a Kris @ my e-mail address. I have talked to my provider. They have not a clue. So I still get them and I DON'T open them. I'm afraid of a virus. So I bounce them back and block them. it still comes. Right now I have 2 messages, not open of course, and they have no name or subject. ????? So I can't return them. Is it best to delete?

Thanks a lot for any help.

Dee & Thomas

Dee and Thomas;

You are doing the correct thing with those emails. They may or may not contain a virus but there is no reason to take a chance. I would not return them, as most likely there is not a valid address on the email, and if there is, you have just confirmed your email address to the spammer.

Spammers and hackers have gotten very creative in sending out their kind of trouble--putting different names in the address or from lines, taking someone else's name and using that to help spread their viruses, or worst, trying to get your private data. We got an email the other day that was from our email address to our email address, and yes, it did have a virus in it. I was able to scan it and delete the virus to avoid any damage but it is possible to overlook one. So if you don't know the sender or it looks strange, delete it and close your email program to make sure it is gone. Most email programs will not remove any email until they have been shut down. Then run your antivirus program to make sure nothing as been left on your machine.

'Til next week,

ComputerFAQ#261

Robert

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