Virus in Message from Webmaster

[jkats]

Paul:

I just opened my e-mail to find that my ISP (gwi.net) had blocked an e-mail containing a virus from "TDPRI Webmaster." The detail is as follows:

From: "Webmaster" <webmaster@tdpri.com>
Subject: Judith
Virus: W32/Bagle.fd!pwdzip

I had the e-mail removed from the ISP holding site without opeining it. I don't know if someone's hacked TDPRI, but I thought you'd want to know about it. Thanks.

Jim

[TDPRI]

Here's how viruses work.

They get into some TDPRI member's computer. Since every single member of the TDPRI has received email from webmaster@tdpri.com my email address in stored in all 10,000+ member's computers.

The virus picks up, at random, emails addresses from it's host computer's list of email addresses on that computer and sends itself out "from" the addresses on that computer.

The email from the virus pretends to be "from" some other computer. Otherwise you could simply do as you did and notify the sender of the virus that they have a virus. Virus writers are about a million times smarter than that.

So, that email was from one of the 10,000+ people here on the TDPRI but NOT from me, the TDPRI or our server.

That's just how computer viruses work.

[jlrich]

Today I received two emails that were addressed as a "renewal notice" from "webmaster@tdpri.com". Is this something new or is it the same as you mentioned here?

Thanks.

[TDPRI]

I think if you read those, they are specific renewal notices for ads you have in the Classifed section. Yes???

[jlrich]

Thanks Paul, I'm a little leary to open emails that are out of the ordinary, even if they do come from a familiar site.