Replies

One of the unnoticed problems with these viruses, but one that affects me quite strongly is the spoofing of the From: address.

I run a web-based retail business. It's a small one, but I have a lot of customers. Most of those customers have my email address in their Outlook address book.

So, if one of these customers gets infected, viruses go out with my email address spoofed into the sender's line. That's when the fun starts.

Since most people don't understand spoofing, I get emails complaining that I sent out a virus. It happens so often that I have a boilerplate response I send out, explaining the whole spoofing thing.

I have a notice on every index page on my site also, explaining how this nonsense works and that I will never send anyone an email with any attachment...period.

Still, not everyone who gets a spoofed virus message seeming to be from me is a customer....most are others in the customer's address book.

I don't know how much this all costs me in lost business...there's no way to track it.

I can commiserate with you. Though I don't have a web based business, this is the very reason that I keep the important parts of my business out of the computer. I once gave my e-mail address to my female relations. It was a disaster. They sent me every virus and chain letter that was on the net. The security of e-mail and the invention of a way to screen out this evil, will make some programmer(s) a lot of money. If its not hacked.

Spoofing return addresses should be illegal; in fact I believe it is now. The first internet provider that figures out a way not to forward email wih false return addresses will win a lot of new customers. Most of the false address used in spam are completely bogus and lead nowhere.