ok, compy guys, what is up with my email and what can I do about it?

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,265
126
I have gotten a bunch of emails like this

An Internet e-mail message was sent to you from an outside source that contained an prohibited file type, but was removed for security purposes.
The message header is attached below. If you must use e-mail to receive business-related .exe files, there is a workaround. Please inform the sender of the Internet Message to create a password protected zip file as explained in the steps below. For assistance with this procedure, please contact your local helpdesk.

1. Go to Start...Programs...WinZip
2. Click [New]
3. For "File name", type desired file name for the new compressed
file
4. For "Create In". browse to desired location to save newly
compressed file
5. Click to check box next to "Add Dialog"
6. Click [OK]
7. For "Add from", browse to location of file(s) to compress 8. Select file(s) to be compressed 9. Click [Password]
9a. For "Password", type desired password
9b. Click [OK]
9c. For "Please reenter your password", retype your password
9d. Click [OK]
10. Click [Add]

Sender: "Mail Delivery Subsystem" <umce-owner@willow.olemiss.edu>
Date: 03/18/2004, 02:06:17 PM
Attachments: Message.pif"




Now the common thread to all these several emails is umce-owner@willow.olemiss.edu

I suspect I am in someone's database and a virus is mailing things out. What I don't know is why I am getting messages. My email addy never appears in any of these.

What's up with this?

 

Skyclad1uhm1

Lifer
Aug 10, 2001
11,383
87
91
Looks more like an infected person is sending them out with you as sender, and that that site is blocking them and sending the errors to you (as person who it claims to come from).
 

DanTMWTMP

Lifer
Oct 7, 2001
15,906
12
81
I get a ton of those....saying i sent an email containing a virus to another person....stupid ucsd email....i get crapload of spam as well ...
 

Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0
The address umce-owner sounds like a mailing list using ListServ or CREN or something similar. Someone (or perhaps multiple people) on the mailing list is infected and sending viruses. You are getting the msg b/c your somewhat wise admin blocks inbound file types that commonly contain viruses (such as exe, pif, scr, bat...) and automatically sends out this workaround.

Your admin is somewhat wise because his workaround matches the pattern of the latest wave of viruses - send the payload in a password-protected zip file so that rules-based filters can't see it.

I drop password-protected zips on sight now.

Anyway, not much you can do aside from looking up the mailing list and trying to unsubscribe.
 

marleymarl

Senior member
Oct 5, 2001
376
0
0
Sounds like the BAGLE virus..sends .pif's , .rar.s and zip, and some other files. you you were to 'run' those, you too would be infected and your machine turned into a spam machine.