IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I am running windows XP business on a network @ work thru a server environment. Recently we experienced a problem with the server sending out spam, and I was told that my work station may have been the problem because I had several web sites that I was on and left open overnight. My question is that a problem? I have done this for years.

The short answer is “no” and this sounds like either a misunderstanding or a tech who is making up stories.

While it is possible to get a malware infection from an open browser window, having a web page open all night makes no difference one way or another.

If your network is sending out spam then one of your computers is infected with malware. If it’s the server then you have a serious problem.

You’ll need to engage a competent technician to audit your network, determine exactly where the spam is coming from and remove any virus infections.

It is good practice though to turn your computer off at night, if only to save money, reduce your energy consumption and minimise your carbon footprint.

I have a problem with spammers using my domain name to send out their spam. They must forge the “From” address so that the spam looks like it comes from my domain, when it could in fact be coming from any PC in the world. In many cases, the “From” address that the spammer uses isn’t quite right anyway, eg. instead of myname@mydomain.com.au, it might be gobbledigook@mydomain.com.au.

The problems are:

1) My domain sometimes gets blacklisted which makes it impossible for me to send my own email to my own customers

2) I get the occasional complaint from people who think I’ve actually sent them the spam

3) And most annoyingly, my inbox is frequently full of literally hundreds of  ”Postmaster” auto-responses, because many (possibly most) of the email addresses that the spammer sends to are not legitimate addresses, but because my domain is in the “From” or “Reply To” field,  I’m the bunny who ends up with all the automated “Your email could not be delivered” errors!

This seems to happen in waves – it won’t happen for ages, and then I will be bombarded for a couple of days by this nuisance.

Is there any way of preventing this from happening?

Spammers use a number of ways to avoid detection and one of them is to hijack someone else’s email address or domain as the return address. 

The frustrating thing is there’s little you can do about the problem and it is a really irritating problem that affects many people who own domains.

One thing you should check is how your website is hosted. Spam checkers shouldn’t disqualify your address because of this and it sounds like you are using shared hosting where the provider isn’t doing all they can to discourage spammers from using their service.

You may find changing hosting services will fix the blacklist problem

I am getting large amounts of email that purports to be responses from me sending out spam which I didn’t send.  

Do you have any service or program I can use to cleanse my system as I suspect there may be a hidden program using my computer to send out spam. I do have Mcafee and its up to date but always says I’m virus free.

You almost certainly aren’t infected with a virus. What’s happening is somebody else’s computer is and it is sending out spam email with your email as the return address.

The only real way to block this is to set up an email rule that automatically bins unwanted messagesbut the downside with that is you won’t be told when a legitimate email isn’t delivered.

Generally the best advice is to simply live with it and delete the rubbish as it arrives. Usually we find this problem passes after a while.

We keep getting emails trying to sell us Viagra and also many wanting us to establish personal contact with the sender.
I have checked and discovered that it is useless trying to prevent them by entering the sender’s name on a “banned” list, because every sender uses a different “home” name every time.
Is there any way we can stop this useless lot of emails – we are both in our late 70’s and need Viagra like we need another hole in our heads.

To be quite honest I don’t think anyone needs the sort of quantities of Viagra these people try to sell.

Spam is a boring, tiresome thing which irritates many computer users. The problem is the spammers are pretty good at getting around most barriers. Once you’re on their lists, it can be pretty hard to get off.

The first defense is to turn on spam filtering on your computer. Most email programs have a built in spam checker. The exception to this is Outlook Express, the built in email program of Windows XP.

You aren’t limited to the built in spam checkers, there are many free and paid for spam filters your can add to your computer. One of our old favourites is Mailwasher which comes in both free and paid for versions.

The next step is to ask your ISP about spam filtering. Many will have a free service while others may charge an additional few dollars a month. Give them a call and ask.

In the extreme, you may want to consider getting another email account. Your ISP will offer multiple email addresses, again some are free while others charge. Or you could get a free email account through Gmail, Yahoo!or Hotmail, although some of these services have their own spam problems.

We have further details on spam avoidance on our PC Rescue website. Our experience is that you usually have to use a combination of tools to keep the spam levels down. Try experimenting with them to see what works for you.