Porn virus targets spam stoppers (Don't look at the pictures, sonny!)

BBC News ^

[Happy2BMe]

Anti-spam organisations are coming under attack from a virus written to bombard their websites with junk data.

The Mimail-L Windows virus poses as an e-mail from a woman called Wendy who writes about a sexual encounter and offers readers nude photographs.

Opening the message's attachment rewards users with a virus that forwards itself to everyone in their e-mail address book.

It also turns infected machines into junk mail relays that can be used to forward thousands of messages to one of eight anti-spam websites.

Porn offer

Like most other viruses, Mimail-L is aimed at users of Microsoft Windows and its Outlook e-mail program.

The Mimail-L virus also tries to harm anti-spam websites by sending an e-mail to infected users claiming that their credit card has been debited to pay for a CD full of images of child pornography.

The fake message gives a billing address that people can complain to if their card has been wrongly debited. However, this e-mail address is for the Spamhaus Project which is fighting spam rather than a child porn peddler.

"So many Internet users are flooding us with complaints about these child porn CDs that we supposedly ordered for them," said Steve Linford, founder of the Spamhaus Project.

Mr Linford said he was co-operating with the police to find out who was behind the Mimail-L virus.

He suspects that it is the work of an irate spammer, irritated at the success Spamhaus and other organisations are having defeating junk mail messages.

"They are angry with us because we try to stop the spamming cycle," said Mr Linford.

Organisations such as Spamhaus find and circulate lists of known spam organisations that helps net service firms block junk messages before they make it on to the web.

"It's the third Mimail variation to come after us," said Mr Linford, "except this one is trying to do more."

Anti-virus firms said Mimail-L was not widespread but warned people to be on their guard and keep anti-virus software up to date.

Other variants of Mimail target other websites with junk data attacks. Previous versions of the virus tried to steal credit card information.

[Happy2BMe]

The wonders of modern pornography.

[templar]

I got 13 of these today. My e-mail automatically filters all photos out, so I just forwarded them (the text portion) to the abuse section of my ISP. The usual end result of my action is that my ISP bans all incomings from the offending origin if they don't take action themselves. Sometimes, when I get bombarded by multiple spams from a 'legitimate' source, I just look up the support contacts for the offending site and forward all of their spam back to them X 10. It usually results in an end to the spam.

[Sabertooth]

The wonders of modern pornography.

The wonders of MS Outlook. Why does anyone use it?

[alwayzright]

"Sometimes, when I get bombarded by multiple spams from a 'legitimate' source, I just look up the support contacts for the offending site and forward all of their spam back to them X 10. It usually results in an end to the spam."

That's pretty dangerous. It's impossible to tell if the address is the actual source address (it probably isn't), and there is no such thing as a 'legitimate' source. There's not a spammer alive that doesn't go through multiple relays. The law is fuzzy, but you could get in trouble doing this. I definitely would not risk it.

[Keith in Iowa]

>> It's impossible to tell if the address is the actual source address (it probably isn't) <<

That's not quite true - if you know how to read the heqaders, you can find out a lot about where an e-mail came from.

[templar]

I definitely would not risk it.

Probably the wiser course of action. I don't mind an occasional spam offering something legitimate that I am actually interested in (I bought my last life insurance policy from a 'spam' and saved a substantial amount over what I had been paying). I do get kinda frustrated when I get 15 spams a day from the same cmpany though, even if they are offering a legitimate product.

[Graybeard58]

That's pretty dangerous. It's impossible to tell if the address is the actual source address (it probably isn't), and there is no such thing as a 'legitimate' source. There's not a spammer alive that doesn't go through multiple relays. The law is fuzzy, but you could get in trouble doing this. I definitely would not risk it.

From personal experience I can say you are 100% right. I was getting spam from a modeling agency (How they knew I was that good looking, I don't know.) Anyway I wrote to them asking to be removed from their mailing list. After that they increased the volume. So I started sending multiple forwards to them of their own spam. (Hundreds)

I get a call from my provider threatening to cut off my DSL service. They said they got a complaint from the modeling agency that I was trying to deny them service.

I told them where to stuff their service and to discontinue it immediately. Then the guy started back tracking trying to get me to KEEP the service. It was Gallatin River Communications in Pekin, Illinois. They also provided my land line phone service and I told them to stuff that too.

We are a wireless family now with cable internet and my next step is to tell them to come and get those unsightly wires off my property.

[Old Professer]

They probably have an easement in perpetuity.

[Graybeard58]

They probably have an easement in perpetuity.

I know the utility company does for the pole that sits on my property and I don't have a problem with that. The phone company wires that lead directly to the back of my house will be removed.

Now that you have warned me of the possibility that they have an easement also, I will remove them myself. If anything is said I will claim it must have been some democrat vandal who did it.

[lilylangtree]

I've been getting this porn garbage for a number of weeks now. Wondered where they came from. I filter everything through mailwasher but a number of these garbage emails can't be bounced because they don't have a valid email address.

[Happy2BMe]

I use MailWasher Pro also. It's the best mail screener I've found - the viruses and porn doesn't even get a chance to hit your hard drive.

Stuff coming in without a return address is usually either porn or a virus. I don't allow any email through unless I recognize the sender - period!

[Jeff Gordon]

Could someone sterilize the pictures at issue and post them here so we would know what not to look at?

[Happy2BMe]

"Could someone sterilize the pictures at issue and post them here so we would know what not to look at?"

Not a problem . . .

[Happy2BMe]

"The wonders of MS Outlook. Why does anyone use it? "

Because it comes with your computer and is supplied by Miker$off?

[ErnBatavia]

(I bought my last life insurance policy from a 'spam' and saved a substantial amount over what I had been paying).

That's downright scary....you'll have to wait until you're dead to discover that you got hosed....but I guess only your heirs will have to wring their hands about "Templar" who bought a misty cloud over the internet.

[scott7278]

LOL!

[Happy2BMe]

"That's downright scary....you'll have to wait until you're dead to discover that you got hosed...."

OMG! The Ultimate Spam Scam - pay for even after you die!

[templar]

That's downright scary....you'll have to wait until you're dead to discover that you got hosed....

Nah, I checked the company out pretty well first. The offer came from an independant agent who gave me a choice of several companies and policies, I just took the one I thought was both best priced and most secure. It's term insurance anyway (till my daughter is grown), and I really don't plan to collect on it.

[MeekOneGOP]

ha! ha! Mornin' ! ...

[Yeti]

The wonders of MS Outlook. Why does anyone use it?

No kidding!!!

I like Eudora, personally.