posted on November 29, 2005 09:02:39 AM
Got this email :
Dear eBay Member,
The bid that has been entered in error for the item ( 7363074497 ) has been cancelled.
Regards,
eBay
DANG!!! I knew the minute I clicked it that it wasn't a valid ebay #. The link led to a website that my isp said couldn't be found (did ebay shut it down already or is that part of the spoof?) Think I have been infected? (I didn't enter any passwords, just clicked on the link)
posted on November 29, 2005 09:38:21 AM
Thanks Michael - I saw your response AFTER I posted. Am scanning now with Nortons and will check for Trojans when it's done.
I used to answer emails religiously - now I HATE them.
My sister (pixiamom) had her ebay id stolen last week and then was infected with a deadly virus that disabled her AV software and wiped most of her registy - she can't even do a system restore. She is a single-mom and ebay is her livliehood - why dont those a$$h***s prey on the BIG guys and leave us small folk alone??
BTW she was on vacation and posted an "away" notice in her store header and I guess that's how the bad guys figured they could get away with listing a 4X4 with her id. No more vacation notices for me!
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posted on November 29, 2005 09:44:01 AM
After you have performed the external scan at Trendmicro, if a trojan or virus is found, be sure to change your passwords at any site you have logged into since you clicked that link. That includes especially Vendio, Ebay, Paypal and any banks or financial institutions you do business with online.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
"We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job. That's what I'm telling you." —George W. Bush, Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 20, 2005
posted on November 29, 2005 10:36:03 AM
My SBC Yahoo DSL came with a great virus detection program. It deletes virus attachments before they get to my mailbox. I also have the dreaded spam guard on. I just enabled it because I'm sick of all the bogus emails.
You may also want to get into the habit of backing your files up. This way if you do have to start all over, you at least have the files you had before. I back up everything including my bookmarks once a week. It's a PIA, but it was worth it the two times I had to take my computer back to the factory settings.
Cheryl
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted on November 29, 2005 11:02:05 AM
Hi Neglus;
You know, you raise a very interesting question re the "vacation message"....much the same as not suspending your newspaper delivery while away; it red flags the ID.
The guile and resourcefulness of these scammers is simply astounding.
One thing to remember is to make sure your e-mail password is different than your eBay password and that both are alphanumeric, including if possible #^&*, etc.
This helps foil the most common type of "dictionary attack".
posted on November 29, 2005 11:29:35 AM
I use MSN Hotmail throuigh Verizon DSL & has Trend AV which automatically scans all incoming email. If there is a virus, I cant open the message.
posted on November 29, 2005 11:45:31 AM
I'm gonna keep saying this until someone finally says, "That's a brilliant idea, Fluffy! You saved me weeks of agony!"
Could be years yet before it happens.
Laptops are incredibly cheap. Get one (preferably a Mac) and use it for mail. Get rid of Outlook. Use Eudora, an astoundingly well-supported and easy-to-use non-Microsoft mail user agent that has both Mac and PC versions.
Look, friends. The baddies know that 99% of the PC-using world does all their stuff on one computer. They're just going to keep trying to disable you. It's not going to stop. You have to change the way you do things if you want this to go away.
posted on November 29, 2005 12:55:17 PM
DANG Well...Norton found some junk but not virus threats - have yet to do the housecall and the trojan search..but I think I'm ok.
I do use different passwords every which where..does anyone know if I have Firefox save passwords (this is a home computer) do the automatic sign-ins constitute a "key stroke" (in case there is a nasty key-stroke trojan)?
I do have a laptop and two extra desk-tops so I am not without computers if one is lost (this one is getting pretty sluggish with only 20 GB and 512 RAM)- but this one is MY FAVORITE!
I do have Norton's, SpyBot, ADaware, and I think AOL uses McAffee..thing is, even with spam blockers, if the email SAYS it's from ebay and you allow ebay emails, it's going to get through. Email virus scanners are not going to catch a link to a virus infected website because the virus is on the web-site and not in the email itself. This was not a virus attachment. All of you with spam-blockers and virus protected emails are NOT IMMUNE.
I am always SO careful about clicking on links but this once, when I was in a rush to get through all the "I will be sending payment", "Will you donate this card to my museum if it doesn't sell", "I missed this auction will you relist it", "I can get this postcard for $4 why do you have it listed for $7" emails, I clicked and THEN thought...TOOOOOOOOOO LATE!! SH#@%!&*%!!!!
My one after t-day Best Buy purchase was a portable 40 GB hard drive and I backed up all the only files I really care about (family photos) this weekend. It would be a pain to reformat (not sure where all the CD's are since this puter is 4 years old) but not the end of the world.
I wanted to sign on to my bank account today but think I'll wait until I have a clean bill of health.
Thanks all for help.
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posted on November 30, 2005 09:35:32 PM
I am never ever going to respond Ask Seller a Question from my email again! I hate to admit it, but EBay's My Messages seems to be my best bet from getting hacked again!
posted on December 1, 2005 09:39:01 PM
I keep telling you, never ever click the stupid links from the ebay ask a seller program. Always use your reply button on your e-mail server. If it is legite, your answer will go to the potential buyer. If it is not legite, it will either bounce or come up with some stupid like click the yellow button. Either way, you won't end up with a virus.
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Alive in 2005
posted on December 1, 2005 09:59:39 PM
Yo Stone - bad advice! REPLYING to the ASAQ isn't going to give you a virus. It's clicking on links IN THE EMAIL itself that does it and I fell for it. The "click the yellow button" business comes up when the user wants to hide his/her email address from the other party - the ONLY way to answer their question at that point is through ebay messaging system.
Pixiamom is right - the best place to handle it all IS ebay's message system BUT I can't stand to use it! The little window is too small for me to review what I have written and I inevitably use quotes and then have to go back and put in apostophes instead.
UPDATE: I didn't get a virus after all.
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