Malware/virus problem with email

cwas · cwas #1 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 12:37 PM

We have a MacBook Pro and an IPad. A couple people from my wife's email contacts have reported getting emails from her that she didn't send. She uses the IPad for her email 95% of the time. Occasionally shell use the MacBook Pro. Is this a problem that could be coming from the IPad or is it the computer? I'm currently downloading and running Clamx and iantivirus on the computer. How do I check the IPad if I need to?

schweb · schweb #2 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 12:40 PM

Has nothing to do with a virus. Either her email account was compromised, she should change her password, or someone is just spoofing her address.

BrianLachoreVPI · BrianLachoreVPI #3 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 12:46 PM

This is becoming a relatively frequent problem - fundamentally - someone has your wife's e-mail password. She needs to change her passwords immediately - as in drop whatever she's doing and change them right this second.

Edit: Ugh. That's what I get for taking a work phone call before clicking post.

2nd Edit: Since they're sending to her contacts - it's almost certain that hey have her password - and not an address spoof.

IvanLasston · IvanLasston #4 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 04:17 PM

If they are sending to her contacts then it might be that her account is compromised - but I've also seen where they somehow spoofed the email off of an older email list. That is - my brother's email was sending out spam - but when we looked at the email list that it was sent to, it was some really old addresses (like friends from college where they were using the college address, not the latest personal address i.e. wustl.edu not gmail.com)

Anyway - it seems there was some way to spoof/bounce emails to some email list that was sent out earlier in time? The easier answer is to change the password to something strong, and see if the spam stops.

class77 · class77 #5 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 06:43 PM

Does she by any chance use GMail? They were hacked recently and I know that I got a "Hello My Friend" e-mail supposedly from him. When I told him about it, he said that it was the hackers

schweb · schweb #6 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by class77

Does she by any chance use GMail? They were hacked recently and I know that I got a "Hello My Friend" e-mail supposedly from him. When I told him about it, he said that it was the hackers

Gmail was not hacked. Some people had really weak passwords that were easily guessed. That's a complete difference and is not a Gmail problem.

cwas · cwas #7 (**permalink**)

06-22-2011, 10:30 PM

Thanks for your help. She changed the password. Hopefully that takes care of it.

class77 · class77 #8 (**permalink**)

06-24-2011, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schweb

Gmail was not hacked. Some people had really weak passwords that were easily guessed. That's a complete difference and is not a Gmail problem.

Sorry Scweb, didn't research it, just quoted the friend whose account was compromised.

hw96Lgb · hw96Lgb #9 (**permalink**)

06-24-2011, 02:46 PM

Getting strong passwords is vital. This video shows why.

schweb #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 27, 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 13,213 Mac Specs: MacBook Pro \| LED Cinema Display \| iPhone 4 \| iPad 2	06-22-2011, 12:40 PM Has nothing to do with a virus. Either her email account was compromised, she should change her password, or someone is just spoofing her address. schweb \| community leader flickr » facebook » twitter » tumblr » google+ » about.me Mac-Forums: On Twitter \| On Facebook \| On Flickr
	QUOTE Thanks

class77 #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 13, 2009 Posts: 357 Mac Specs: 25" iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iPhone 4	06-22-2011, 06:43 PM Does she by any chance use GMail? They were hacked recently and I know that I got a "Hello My Friend" e-mail supposedly from him. When I told him about it, he said that it was the hackers  24" iMac, 3.06GHz C2D, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 10.6.8  2011 Mac mini, 2.7Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, 750 GB HDD, 10.7.3  iPad3 64GB, iPad2 32 GB  iPhone 4, 32GB  Airport Extreme 5
	QUOTE Thanks

hw96Lgb #9 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 04, 2010 Posts: 296	06-24-2011, 02:46 PM Getting strong passwords is vital. This video shows why. The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. -Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Father of Modern Rocketry
	QUOTE Thanks

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cwas #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 22, 2011 Posts: 2	06-22-2011, 12:37 PM We have a MacBook Pro and an IPad. A couple people from my wife's email contacts have reported getting emails from her that she didn't send. She uses the IPad for her email 95% of the time. Occasionally shell use the MacBook Pro. Is this a problem that could be coming from the IPad or is it the computer? I'm currently downloading and running Clamx and iantivirus on the computer. How do I check the IPad if I need to?
	QUOTE Thanks

IvanLasston #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 26, 2010 Location: Rocky Mountain High, Colorado Posts: 2,116 Mac Specs: 1.8 GHz i7 MBA 11" OSX 10.8.2	06-22-2011, 04:17 PM If they are sending to her contacts then it might be that her account is compromised - but I've also seen where they somehow spoofed the email off of an older email list. That is - my brother's email was sending out spam - but when we looked at the email list that it was sent to, it was some really old addresses (like friends from college where they were using the college address, not the latest personal address i.e. wustl.edu not gmail.com) Anyway - it seems there was some way to spoof/bounce emails to some email list that was sent out earlier in time? The easier answer is to change the password to something strong, and see if the spam stops.
	QUOTE Thanks

cwas #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 22, 2011 Posts: 2	06-22-2011, 10:30 PM Thanks for your help. She changed the password. Hopefully that takes care of it.
	QUOTE Thanks

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