Strange virus-laden email returned, but i didn't send it
Linux - SecurityThis forum is for all security related questions.
Questions, tips, system compromises, firewalls, etc. are all included here.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Strange virus-laden email returned, but i didn't send it
Hi all. I don't think this is dangerous, just a little puzzling. I couldn't find anything by searching the fora.
I just got a mailer-daemon returned email, returned because of a suspected virus, but i didn't send the email in the first place, or at least there's nothing in my outbox or sent folder to suggest that. I'm using evolution 1.4.4 with a university (warwick) email acount. I'm guessing either someone's found a vulnerability in evolution allowing them to pull off the kind of automatic email forwarding that causes havoc with MS outlook, or someones cracked into my webmail, or even simpler someone's managed to send an email that appears to be coming from me. Can anyone advise which, if any, seems likeliest? And what i might do about it?
Thanks a lot security boffins, i'm woefully ignorant in this area.
-bbp
The majority of recent viruses and worms on the net use mass-mailing engines which spoof (forge) the from header of the email. Could be myDoom/SCO.A making it's rounds, but rumour has it that when it scans the system for email addresses, it intentionally avoids email addresses that use the .edu suffix.
Nothing you can really do about it, that's kind of the point... you never know who's box is truly infected, so it makes sending hate mail to the sender pointless. In fact it's likely that the person in the From header (you) isn't even infected. So when the mail is bounced by their mail server, it automatically notifies the sender, which is actually the spoofed address instead of the infected system.
Thanks man, i thought it most likely it hadn't actually ever come near my box. I never got the original email, just the mailer daemon denial, and like you said, the person in the From header is often uninfected. If there's nothing i can do its all good, thanks for setting my mind at rest.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.