Is there a way to beat this spam?

[Barbara Moulton]

Carl has started getting four or five e-mails a day, all hocking the RRBK stock.

They all come in from different individuals (Miriam Burns, Marina Meade, Saul Teage etc) and with subject titles like:

discharge
examiner-small scale
windsurfing
bedridden
available outsider
self centred Jesus

It looks like the spam software generates random names and subjects. It's only when you open up the e-mail that you see what it really is.

It's impossible to block. There is no one sender or subject. And when I tried to use Message Rules to block it, based on the initials RRBK being in the message, it didn't work. I think this is because the e-mail message itself is an image that has been cut and pasted into the e-mail.

Can anyone think of a way to beat this?

[Cecil Wallace]

Can anyone think of a way to beat this?
Because the senders' names and titles vary, I cannot think of anything to do, except maybe have your mail set up to send anything to a "junk" folder if the sender is not in your address book. That's what I do.
At least that way, you could review the incoming stuff and delete it.
I'm just thankful that I hardly ever receive spam at all.
My ISP has a lot of filters that block it.

Good luck. Maybe some computer guru on NazNet has a great idea on how to deal with it.

[Andrea Larabee]

Barabara,

These emails are very, very common. We recently started receiving them and get about 10 a day. Friends of our get about 50 a day. All we have figured out so far is to just delete them. We have not been able to track down if it is a virus or a worm. My husband and his computer guru friend don't think it is either. I guess it is just spam.

I'll keep you updated if we find out anymore info.

[Barb Bouldrey]

Barbara,

When this happened to us, a friend suggested we go to "Add and Remove Programs" to see if there were any programs there we did not install or recognize. He said that sometimes spyware installs itself when you visit a website and sends you spam.

Then, he suggested download Spybot, a free program and running it monthly.

My server isolates most junk mail for me to check out at my leisure, or it is automatically deleted after so many days.

If I start getting a lot of spam I run Spybot and it usually takes care of the problem. Once is a while a spam email gets through, but not often.

Barb

[Carsten Schermuly]

I use since years spamfilters, my eMail service GMX will offer to clients to modify personally and I can edit a white list (wanted eMails) and a black list (spam). But this is an incomplete solution.

What will pass, I get by Thunderbird (also a Mozilla product like FireFox). I can use several filters (as many as I want), the filters will save eMails, I define by sender, subject, text or by keywords etc in special folders. I can erect as many folders as I want to get an order - and after my will can Thunderbird empty such folders after every session or time steered (daily, weekly or so).

I use the filters also for other purposes, For example, I save in a special subfolder of my Inbox "all emails, sent from NazNet", in another folder "all eMails sent by MoMA - Museum for Modern Art New York" or "all eMails, sent by members of my family" and more.

It works really good.

I recommend to try Thunderbird -
and to play with its options around until you are satisfied.

http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/system-requirements.html

I guess, many NazNetters will use it - so we can talk about as often you like that.

I feel with you - such spam made me sick! ("enlarge", "Viagra", "Cialis" etc - now I filter after keywords - and can live in peace. Really. I do no more look in any of such dirty messages.) For years I was hunting for solutions - and for me Thunderbird is the best I got - because the filter functions.

[Carsten Schermuly]

The subfolders of my inbox
Once new messages arrived, the related folders will get little red signs - so I can know that without to open a folder. I can erect as many subfolders as I want, example "Familie = family" and a subfolder "gesendet = sent". So I save also "sent - eMails" in this folder, also filtered out by filters, I have defined. That means - all I talk with my family is saved in "family" (as inbox) and its subfolder "sent", I must not search after a "sent to a family member" message in the big main "sent - folder" - in this structure on bottom.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Look at the source code on the email, you should be able to see an img tag with a link to the source of the picture. You can try filtering based on the presence of part of the web address in the body of the message.

The problem I have with that approach is that my version of Outlook won't filter anything inside of html tags.

I think the answer, for those with NazMail is to go to the NazMail account and filter there.

The spam that is getting me is for various drugs. The text is in tables -- so the word doesn't show up, thus it gets past the filters. Again, I think NazMail will let me filter using html tags in the body as one of the criteria for filtering.

Anyway, hope this helps.

I found good advice at: http://www.overcomeemailoverload.com/advice/TopSpamFilters.html


Carl has started getting four or five e-mails a day, all hocking the RRBK stock.

They all come in from different individuals (Miriam Burns, Marina Meade, Saul Teage etc) and with subject titles like:

discharge
examiner-small scale
windsurfing
bedridden
available outsider
self centred Jesus

It looks like the spam software generates random names and subjects. It's only when you open up the e-mail that you see what it really is.

It's impossible to block. There is no one sender or subject. And when I tried to use Message Rules to block it, based on the initials RRBK being in the message, it didn't work. I think this is because the e-mail message itself is an image that has been cut and pasted into the e-mail.

Can anyone think of a way to beat this?

[Carsten Schermuly]

The problem I have with that approach is that my version of Outlook won't filter anything inside of html tags.Once I read this correct, it means in other words - Outlook is not the right eMail program, it has a bug. For what should someone use a program with a bug?

[Carsten Schermuly]

Grafics in eMails from an unknown sender will not be shown.
The german phrase
"Das Nachladen von externen Grafiken wurde blockiert um Ihre Privatsphäre zu schützen."
means
"To load extern grafics was blocked to protect your privacy."
Not to see in this screenshot - a button on the same line on the right side, "load graphics" - once a recipient thinks, it is OK to get the blocked pictures.

As we know, to load a graphic could mean more than only to see an unwanted picture. A program on the server where the pictures are saved could nozte "Carsten Schermuly did load my graphics, so his eMail account is active" and more.

Thunderbird is better. Outlook is Microsoft - that says already all.

[Barbara Moulton]

Barbara,

When this happened to us, a friend suggested we go to "Add and Remove Programs" to see if there were any programs there we did not install or recognize. He said that sometimes spyware installs itself when you visit a website and sends you spam.

Then, he suggested download Spybot, a free program and running it monthly.

My server isolates most junk mail for me to check out at my leisure, or it is automatically deleted after so many days.

If I start getting a lot of spam I run Spybot and it usually takes care of the problem. Once is a while a spam email gets through, but not often.

Barb

I have spysweep and Freedom. Neither show anything.

[Barbara Moulton]

Look at the source code on the email, you should be able to see an img tag with a link to the source of the picture. You can try filtering based on the presence of part of the web address in the body of the message.

The problem I have with that approach is that my version of Outlook won't filter anything inside of html tags.

I think the answer, for those with NazMail is to go to the NazMail account and filter there.

The spam that is getting me is for various drugs. The text is in tables -- so the word doesn't show up, thus it gets past the filters. Again, I think NazMail will let me filter using html tags in the body as one of the criteria for filtering.

Anyway, hope this helps.

I found good advice at: http://www.overcomeemailoverload.com/advice/TopSpamFilters.html

Where do I find the source code for the e-mail?

I did find with Outlook that when I went to "create a rule using the message", it brought up an e-mail address of 'uuxes@123er.de'

I created a rule to keep messages from that address from being downloaded. WIll see what happens now.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Open the message, then right click on it and select view source.

That will let you see the actual html in the message.


Where do I find the source code for the e-mail?

I did find with Outlook that when I went to "create a rule using the message", it brought up an e-mail address of 'uuxes@123er.de'

I created a rule to keep messages from that address from being downloaded. WIll see what happens now.

[Carsten Schermuly]

Spysweep will find and delete spyware, but does not help against spam.
Freedom I do not know, after description on the Freedom - webpage, it should have an option "block all pictures".

[BobHunt]

not to change the subject but are you back home now? Did you have an enjoyable trip?

[Barbara Moulton]

not to change the subject but are you back home now? Did you have an enjoyable trip?

Yes, we had a great time. Weather was perfect in Tennessee. Car behaved itself and traffic was good there and back. Enjoyed the NazNet meeting, as well meeting another internet friend in Cincinnatti on the way down. (Someone I had known for about 10 years but had never met)

But much as I enjoy holidays, I love coming home.

A week away is about enough for me.

[Barbara Moulton]

Spysweep will find and delete spyware, but does not help against spam.
Freedom I do not know, after description on the Freedom - webpage, it should have an option "block all pictures".

I didn't think it was a spyware issue.

Freedom is provided with my internet service. It is a firewall, virus protector, spyware blocker all in one.

I am hoping I have solved the problem by finding the "real e-mail address" associated with the e-mails.

[Carsten Schermuly]

Things will be mixed (turned on head), I think - looking on software functions. Example - the funny Adobe Reader
includes a "Download Manager" (and more) - and nobody in this world needs to download any thing via Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader is a program to read a special text formatted file - nothing else - and not a tool to navigate across internet. For such things we run an internet browser.
After uninstall Adobe reader Six I found a handfull scriptures, that program had installed in Windows FONT folder without to say that.
What nice!
Scriptures, nobody can use - and they have been already present by system scriptures.

A firewall
should close a computers ports - and not scan incoming eMails for viruses or decide about "family protection". This do AntiVirs and other security software as a browser plug in or as an plug in for eMail readers. A firewall must not play music. Right - it does not. But once Adobe Reader includes a Download Manager - why a firewall should not play the role of a radio?
And so on.
RealPlayer does play music (streaming Video) - OK - but it contains also already tons of not needed other software - also graphic software and software for animations, different text editors, presentation programs similar like PowerPoint - and and and.
QuickTime - made to show MPEGs - is crazy in the same way. Automatic update etc.
For what?
Nobody needs that. Nobody. It is only good to make people buy larger harddrives, ha, ha!

Things are turned on head. Programs are overload and confusing.
It were the same to cook in a car instead of a kitchen - just because the car manufacturer will think, it were good to have a stove on back seats - because other car manufacturers were not able to do that.

As more programs will run on a harddrive as higher are security risks.
I delete all things I do not like to have - all of the office programs I cut - I only and only use Notepad.


Thunderbird can do all needed things related to eMail - and it does its jobs excellent.
I recommend to use Thunderbird.
Open Source software is all the times much better than a commercial product. Software authors, working for an Open Source project do not have a personally desire to lead someone in ice - to make him pay.