identificaton help of virus???? | FerrariChat

identificaton help of virus????

Discussion in 'Technology' started by JeremyJon, May 10, 2012.

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  1. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    i need some advise, on how to deal with what appears to be a virus?
    my hotmail (live.ca) email account has apparently emailed out to people on my address list, some spam (some kind of financial money making thing)
    it did it during the daytime, when my computer wasnt even on, nor me at home
    i checked my account now, and it doesn't show and sent messages

    i run MS security essentials frequently, and have my firewall security settings on always, when i'm not online my connection is closed, my wifi is turned off at all times, and when i'm not using the computer it is turned off

    how do i identify this thing?? and how do i deal with it??

    thanks in advance :)
     
  2. 458beast

    458beast Formula Junior

    Oct 12, 2011
    479
    rainy
    Full Name:
    Will
  3. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
  4. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
    Full Name:
    Dave
    You might also consider switching from Hotmail to at least Gmail or something
    a little less targeted by hackers. Hotmail has been around for AGES, like AOL,
    and just because of its longevity has long been the more major target. Not
    that ANY email is "safe" - but Hotmail has a long reputation for such exploits,
    just like Internet Explorer.

    Jedi
     
  5. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    good point....i've had this particular email account for quite a long time, and never a problem

    i would like to retain it....what can i do to 'beef up' security of this existing account??
     
  6. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    just changed things on that account, and interestingly, hotmail has prompted me to turn on HTTPS
    never heard of this....is it a good idea?
     
  7. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
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    Dave
    YES!!! TURN THAT ON!!!
     
  8. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    i take by that very emphatic and enthusiastic reply, that i should :)

    okay, so i have....i had to look up what it is :eek:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Secure
     
  9. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
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    Dave
    Just adds a pretty major layer of security to your email experience.

    I'd still consider migrating away from such a big target as Hotmail/Internet Explorer though.

    Jedi
     
  10. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    understood, and i will
    thank you :)
     
  11. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    hey guys, well on this subject...what else is good basics for security online

    personally (maybe repeated from above), i use MS security essentials, and update/scan every other day with it, my firewall settings are medium/high, i use IE right now (i had some problems with last FIrefox iteration running)

    what are some other good ideas??
     
  12. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
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    Dave
    Google Chrome Browser + AVG Free Virus/Link scan. All free. All good. All better than IE

    :)

    Jedi
     
  13. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    funny...i used to use the free AVG until it stopped support, then was recommended to me kaspersky (sp?) for a year, then was recommended to me that MS security essentials was better than either?

    is google chrome more secure than IE now? i read up on it a little while ago, but several reviews commented on problems still unresolved with it
     
  14. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
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    Dave
    Really, I think they're ALL vulnerable to threats. AVG does still FULLY support their
    free version - not sure where you got they weren't - ALL the computers in my office
    and all the laptops run it - works very well, is free, is non-invasive (Unlike Norton :eek:).

    I really think ANY browser other than Internet Explorer would be wise - I like Chrome
    because it's so lean - Firefox used to be lean, but now is as bloated as iTunes :p:p

    Just think about it from a hackers perspective: 100% of all Windows machines bought
    new come with IE installed... that clearly makes IE the most exploited browser, as
    history has shown. Same with Hotmail (included when you register IE) and Outlook Express
    (the default email client in Windows).

    For browsers, there are many: Chrome, Opera, Safari (yuck :p), Firefox, Dolphin, and a
    host of others - none of which is quite the target IE is.

    For email, you have Gmail (I use it - no issues ever in years), Thunderbird, and others.
    Again, not as prevalent and less prone to attack.

    There are no "easy answers" other than FIREWALL, and ANTIVIRUS/LINK-SCAN (AVG on
    all our machines work great).

    Jedi
     
  15. Surfah

    Surfah F1 Rookie

    Dec 20, 2011
    3,135
    ^what Jedi said. Google chrome incongnito, malawarebytes and ccleaner ftw. I use ms security essentials but and gmail. My sisters yahoo account and my friends aol account both got compromised like yours with everyone in address book spammed with Viagra and cialis ads.
     
  16. yoda

    yoda F1 Rookie

    Sep 27, 2004
    2,598
    UT
    Double check your proxy settings in IE. Open up IE, go to Tools-->Internet Options-->Connections Tab --> then click on Lan Settings. Unless your ISP or network has something out of the ordinary setup you should make sure you have no proxy settings set or turned on.
     
  17. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    ^^ just checked, no proxy settings on, thx :)
     
  18. frefan

    frefan F1 Veteran

    Apr 21, 2004
    7,370
    Its very possible your computer didn't send the email. Only thing that is needed is your email address and password to send mail on your behalf. You'd have to examine the mail header to see if it really came from your IP.

    You being home or not doesn't matter.

    Its normal for messages to NOT appear in your sent folder.

    Firewall settings are also irrelevant if your computer is in fact infected, as it probably allows all traffic out anyway.

    On Trend Micro's website look for an link called Housecall. It allows you to run a scan without installing a fat app on your computer. Its a good idea to run a scan from several different AV vendors as they use different logic & virus definitions -- sometime one will pick something up while others will not.

    As far as general security practices, I like ccleaner, and noscript (firefox), and of course not using admin rights when logging on.

    disclosure -- I write AV for a living, and whitehat hacking, fwiw.
     
  19. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    ^^ i got ccleaner, and it didn't come up with anything...i just loaded trend micro house call, and it scanned with nothing either

    will this continue to happen further from that account, or by changing password etc, should it stop now?? (it's happened just the once that i know of)
     
  20. frefan

    frefan F1 Veteran

    Apr 21, 2004
    7,370
    ccleaner isn't a virus scanner so I wouldn't expect it to find anything. But its a useful tool to clean up areas where viruses tend to start (temporary internet files).

    definitely change your email password, then see if it happens again.

    virus scanners are a bit like a medical exam, just because it didn't find anything doesn't mean you don't have anything. It just means they didn't find anything. Most new viruses don't appear on their radar until many infections are reported. Try scanning again in a week or two.

    It sounds like your machine isn't infected. Email can be very misleading.
     
  21. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    ccleaner indeed isnt for virus, but it has cleaned out some stuff that i never asked for, temp files, etc, so i use it regular too....i changed the email password and security questions before, so check....i've run my updated MS security essentials full scan, AVG scan, and now House call....so i'm hopeful this fixes things...i'm not doing to badly, as that has never happened to me before (that i'm aware of?) in several years, only this once, so hopefully never again :D

    thanks guys for the feedback, really appreciated :)
     

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