Email Help.

**mark1319** · 25th June 2008, 18:20

Today I noticed that some emails have been sent to everyone in my contacts, this is the second time it's happened. The fact that people reply to it I then have to reply back saying it's some bo11ocks spam email.

Any clues as to how I can stop this happening please. I'm pretty sure I never opened anything as I just delete all the crap.

**Duncan** · 25th June 2008, 19:09

Your computer sending an e-mail to everyone in your address book is prety much a dead-cert that you have a virus!

**MysteryElite** · 25th June 2008, 19:11

Unless it is an online contacts list such as on gmail or hotmail? It that is the case it could be your email account has been hacked.

As Duncan said though, if it is a local contacts list then virus for sure

**mark1319** · 25th June 2008, 19:14

Will start a scan now

**Stevel** · 25th June 2008, 19:17

Not good.

Friend of the missus had an infected computer and we used to get an email off her almost every day with some crap on it.

Assume she must have sorted it now as they have stopped.

**mark1319** · 25th June 2008, 19:20

Only thing is the computer wasn't turned on when they were sent if that matters and the last time it happened was a while back.

**m8internet** · 25th June 2008, 19:21

Presumably you have email software in use and running all the time
If so, go the address book and add a contact with the name 0000 but with no email address

Equally, if you are using Outlook Express, do the same

When a virus attempts to connect to the address book the email will fail as the name 0000 is the first address and does not have an email address

**MysteryElite** · 25th June 2008, 19:26

Originally Posted by mark1319

Only thing is the computer wasn't turned on when they were sent if that matters and the last time it happened was a while back.

Is your email set up as an IMAP account? If so they could be stored on the mail server. If so I'd change the passwords on this sharpish.

One other thought - is your ISP PlusNet (or one of the related brands such as Force9)? If so their webmail was hacked about a year ago and if you had contacts stored online these were exposed, as were any of your own addresses that you had used to log on to their webmail.

**mark1319** · 25th June 2008, 20:07

I use hotmail(msn) and you say add 0000 as a contact, but it failed to send it one of my contacts, but sent it to the rest. I don't have a dedicated email software running that scans emails etc. Any that you can recommend.

I'm scanning for everything ATM so will see what comes out of that. Have changed my email password and deleted all emails and will change all my other password as well.

**m8internet** · 26th June 2008, 11:43

Originally Posted by mark1319

I use hotmail(msn) and you say add 0000 as a contact

The method I suggested only works on the local machine
It's no surprise any or all of your contacts is receiving spam with your email address in the headers, I stopped using hotmail years ago

I suggest you move to the email facilities provded by your ISP
Most have basic virus and spam protection built in now