I DIDN’T SEND YOU A VIRUS
 
E-mail borne viruses are clogging up the Internet, slowing down e-mail delivery, and devouring untold amounts of human productivity, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, not taking into consideration dangerous "worms" that can destroy hardware and software and compromise security and privacy. That's another story.  Today's e-mail viruses have the ability to "spoof" the "From" and "Subject" fields of an e-mail message which prevents you from knowing who really sent you the virus.
 
 Familiar names are now a dangerous decoy, luring you into a false sense of security and tempting you to open virus infected e-mail. Because the "From Field" is "Spoofed," You may be falsely accused of spreading a virus and also receive numerous e-mails you did not request.
  
What takes place?
1. An e-mail with a virus attached is sent:
  • To someone who does not have Anti-Virus Software on their computer.
  • To someone who has Anti Virus Software on their computer but who has not updated by downloading the latest virus definitions and installing them.
  • To someone prior to the Anti Virus Software companies creating the "cure" for a recently released virus
2. The infected e-mail is open (or viewed through the preview pane) and "infects" the recipient's computer. The virus then:
  • Creates an e-mail message (not detectable in the outbox) on the newly infected computer
  • Pulls an e-mail address at random out of the e-mail address book of the newly infected computer and puts it in the "From Field"of the newly created e-mail message ("Spoofs" the "From Field")
  • Puts some text in the subject field.
  • Attaches a copy of the virus to the newly created e-mail message.
  • Sends the e-mail with the virus attached to many of the addresses in the address book of the newly-infected computer
 
Results:
1. The virus is received by those to whom it is sent and the above cycle begins again as stated above.
 
2. Those who receive the virus may think that the virus was sent by the "Spoofed" e-mail address in the "From Field." Remember, the person in the from field DID NOT SEND THE VIRUS.
 
3. Some of the virus protection software on the computers to which the new virused e-mail message was sent detects the virus and is set (a setting in the Anti Virus Software) to send a response to the e-mail address in the "From Field" when it detects (and fixes, deletes, or quarantines) a virus.
 
When this happens, the e-mail that states "a virus has been sent by you" is being sent to someone WHO DID NOT SEND THE VIRUS (misdirected because of the "Spoofed From Field"). This is one reason why you may be receiving e-mail messages that say you have sent a virus, and you know you did not. You did not send a virus but your e-mail address was the e-mail address that appeared in the "From Field" of an e-mail message with a virus attached.
 
You may also receive e-mail from auto responders when you did not send an e-mail to generate the response. The reason this is happening is because someone who has your e-mail address in their e-mail address book has been infected by a virus and your name was selected at random and placed in the "From" field of the e-mail launched from their infected computer. The e-mail sent from their computer triggered the response which is being sent not to the person who sent the e-mail, but to the person in the "From" field.
 
If your e-mail address is in the e-mail address books of others, there is a good chance that someday your e-mail address will appear in the "From" field of an infected e-mail sent from someone else's computer and some of the recipients who do not understand the nature of today's e-mail viruses will think you sent them a virus. You can also count on receiving lots of e-mail you didn't ask for, many generated by servers detecting viruses and auto responders.
 
There is nothing you can do to prevent the above, but you can protect yourself. What can you do?
 
1. Keep your virus protection software updated with the latest virus definitions. Put the software in "automatic" so when new virus definitions are available, the software company's servers will detect the next time you are online and update your computer automatically, notifying you of the update after the update is complete.
 
2. Run a complete virus scan if you ever suspect that you have a virus and on a regular basis as well.
 
3. Don't open attachments unless you are expecting them and then you may want to check with the sender before you open the attachment just to make sure they sent it to you.
 
4. Realize that using the preview pane option may make you more susceptible to actually being infected by one of the many viruses you will inevitably receive (and have already been receiving). This is just a caution as the preview pane is a very convenient way to sort through large volumes of e-mail and should you opt to use it, just understand the potential for infection and the need to keep your anti virus software up to date. You might also consider creating a folder for attachments in your e-mail software and a rule which filters any e-mail with an attachment into the attachment folder. Use the preview pain in your Inbox folder and turn off the preview pane in your attachment folder. Your ability to have the preview pane availability set differently in different folders is a function of the version of the e-mail software you are using.
 
5. Turn off the feature in your anti virus software that automatically sends out an e-mail to the e-mail address in the from folder of a virused e-mail.that feature is sending the notification to the wrong purpose. For all practical purposes, you will not be able to tell from whom the virused e-mail originated.
 
6. Consider an e-mail product such as InternetCrusade's eMailPlus which helps eliminate viruses at the server before they reach your computer. For information on how to reach them contact me.
 
7. Inform your clients of the information provided in this article so they don't someday think you sent them a virus. If your e-mail address is in the e-mail address books of others, there is a good chance that someday your e-mail address will appear in the "From" field of an infected e-mail and some of the recipients who do not understand the nature of today's e-mail viruses will think you sent them a virus.
 
Computer viruses are a fact of life, but there is much you can do to minimize their risk to you and your productivity.