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Spam from "LadyAdministrator"/"LadyROOT"

pete

Brassica Oleracea
Staff member
Administrator
I got this in my Private Message in-box for my test account:

Dear, ima_test_user;nezziesgappy;mronovitch;Shi-Ku Chishiki;LITOO!

A virus alert was noticed on your computer.
We highly recommend you to check your computer and perform online virus check at our site immediately: http://<LINKDELETED>ima_test_user;nezziesgappy;mronovitch;Shi-Ku Chishiki;LITOO
----------------------------------------------------
Sincerely, Forum Administration woodwindforum.com.
1. The only administrators on the WF are me, Ed Svoboda and Gandalfe.
2. This is spam. Do NOT click on the link in this PM.
3. This username has been banned, permanently.
4. There's also no way that we can tell what you have on your computer.
5. We don't send out this kind of spam.

If you did click on the link, I heartily recommend:

1. If you bought something, call your bank/credit card company to reverse the charges.
2. Uninstall anything that you might have installed from this website.
3. Get REAL antivirus and antispyware programs and scan your computer.

In real life, I'm a computer tech. For antivirus software that's free and works well, I recommend the following products:

ANTIVIRUS (free -- and don't install both):
* Microsoft Security Essentials (excellent for Vista and Windows 7)
* AVG Antivirus Free

ANTISPYWARE (free):
* Malwarebytes Antimalware
* Super AntiSpyware (30-day full trial)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I received that PM too (as did a bunch of people, I suppose) and I didn't click on the link. Thanks for taking care of it.

Perhaps I'll stop posting non-useful posts like this after my number of posts exceeds the number of prepared reeds that I typically carry in my case.
 
No worries.

The WF Staff is discussing some things we can do to try to prevent this from happening in the future. Stay tuned!
 
No worries.

The WF Staff is discussing some things we can do to try to prevent this from happening in the future. Stay tuned!

Pete,

I clicked on the link but did not click on anything while at the site. I closed my browser (Firefox), which I have configured to disallow persistent cookies unless I authorize them. I reopened my browser, cleared all unknown cookies and immediately scanned my PC with McAfee (full scan) and Spyware Blaster. No problems were detected and no purchases were made.

Do you suppose I need to take other remedial action?

Thanks.


ps There is no need to reply to my PM now that I have found this thread.
 
I'm not quite the techie that Pete is, but I keep up with PC security trends. One of the greatest risks right now for folks with Windows are un-patched applications like Adobe and Java. The recent Google / G-mail debacle was caused by a weakness in Adobe Reader and Acrobat. It actually stems from a bug in Microsoft's API (since patched), that third party software vendors relied on to build their interfaces.

There is a great piece of freeware out there called Secunia PSI (http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/). Basically, it is a scan engine that reviews all of your installed apps and compares them to a database of the latest releases. When it identifies an un-patched app, it not only tells you the install location, but it gives you a direct link to get updates. There is also a very helpful user forum for those that encounter difficulties.
 
I'm not quite the techie that Pete is, but I keep up with PC security trends. One of the greatest risks right now for folks with Windows are un-patched applications like Adobe and Java. The recent Google / G-mail debacle was caused by a weakness in Adobe Reader and Acrobat. It actually stems from a bug in Microsoft's API (since patched), that third party software vendors relied on to build their interfaces.

There is a great piece of freeware out there called Secunia PSI (http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/). Basically, it is a scan engine that reviews all of your installed apps and compares them to a database of the latest releases. When it identifies an un-patched app, it not only tells you the install location, but it gives you a direct link to get updates. There is also a very helpful user forum for those that encounter difficulties.
Secunia is a wonderful place, but they are a bit overly paranoid. However, I've not tried their scanner. Anything that identifies unpatched/out-of-date apps is a good thing.

Saxhound is correct that a lot of problems with viruses/malware in the recent past have taken advantage of problems in Adobe products (Reader and Flash are the two most popular) and Java. I just didn't want to write out that you really should do about 50 things to be as safe as possible (including "buy a Macintosh") :). The utilities I mentioned should keep you out of immediate harm's way.

In other words, I think LampLight should be OK.
 
Thank you pete and saxhound. I'll let you know if my identity gets stolen (or someone will :emoji_rage:).

But seriously: Thanks.
 
NOTE: I just banned a user named "LadyROOT". Same general idea as "LadyAdministrator".

The new user registration options I *just* put in place should take care of any future episodes.
 
That's more a question for Jim :).

Microsoft Security Essentials was released as a free sort-of competitor to free AV/AS packages like AVG, Avast!, etc.

In other words, yes :).

The latest version of Defender is from 2007. I'd say that's a bit outdated.
 
from: http://social.answers.microsoft.com...t/thread/5309cb8d-02e1-40e8-974f-0dcedb9ab9fd

Q: How is this different from Windows Defender?
A: Windows Defender detects and removes known spyware only. It is not designed to protect against the full breadth of malicious software, and specifically does not prevent viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malicious software from infecting your machine. The new no-cost solution will be a comprehensive anti-malware solution.

Q: Is Microsoft Security Essentials designed to replace Windows Defender?
A: No but if you are running Microsoft Security Essentials, you do not need to run Windows Defender. Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to disable Windows Defender in order to manage the PC’s real-time protection, including anti-virus, rootkits, Trojans and spyware.

Q: Does installing Microsoft Security Essentials disable Windows Defender
A: Microsoft Security Essentials should disable Windows Defender on Vista and Windows 7 and uninstall it from XP. In some cases, this does not happen automatically.
 
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