Rude Emails

[Jenga]

I have had my broadband for a year now and have never had any unscrupulous emails until this week when I have received two now. I have PC Norton which is going to expire in the next few days? Does anybody have an idea why suddenly I have received two dodgy emails? Is it because my PC Norton software is expiring? I am on Virgin broadband and was thinking of using the free software I can download from them instead of renewing my Norton. I just have to wait a few more days for that to finish.

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

You're starting to receive 'dodgy' emails for one of two reasons. Either a spammer has picked up your email address from somewhere on the web (perhaps because you've signed up to a site which provides mail addresses, knowingly or unknowingly, to spammers) or you've got the type of email address which is easily guessed at. (e.g. spammers will send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], etc, in the hope that some of the 'guessed' addresses are actually valid).

Actually, there's a third possibility. One of your 'friends' might have signed you up to something 'naughty' on the internet, without your knowledge.

Norton security software seeks to block viruses, trojans, etc. It doesn't deal with spam ('rude' or otherwise). There's no way to completely block spam; some people get thousands of spam messages every day. However, this free software can help with the problem:
http://www.mailwasher.net/

[Buenchico]

Norton is generally reviled by most people on this site. You certainly don't need it but, if you switch to something else, it's important to uninstall Norton (even if it's expired). Otherwise system conflicts can occur. Norton can't be uninstalled via your control panel (and it doesn't have it's own uninstaller). You need this tool:
http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo .nsf/docid/2005033108162039

If you get rid of Norton, you'll need to replace it with three separate (free) programs. You'll need an antivirus program. (AVG Free Edition and Avast! are widely recommended here on AB). You'll also need a decent firewall. (Zone Alarm Free edition and Comodo are both recommended). Lastly, you'll need anti-spyware. (Adaware and Spybot Search-&-Destroy are both popular).

Chris

[Jenga]

Thanks Chris for your answers. I did join a search a job site and maybe that is the one that has picked up the email address. It has been going a couple of months now but it could of picked it up from there I guess. What is the catch of downloading the free mailwasher?

I have Virgin broadband and was thinking of downloading the free one virus software they are offering to customers.

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the reply.

Anti-virus software has nothing to do with preventing spam. I have no knowledge of Virgin's security software but, to keep your PC secure (in the absence of an expensive security suite, such as Norton 360), you need three separate programs. These are an anti-virus program (such as AVG Free Edition or Avast), a decent firewall (such as Zone Alarm Free or Comodo) and an anti-spyware program (such as Adaware Personal or Spybot Search-&-Destroy). All of the programs I've mentioned are free and well-recommended by AB contributors. (You should never have more than one anti-virus program, or firewall, on your PC, as system conflicts might occur. However you can have as many 'run on demand' anti-spyware programs as you like).

The function of Mailwasher is to examine your mail on your ISP's server, before it's downloaded to your PC, and to reject spam. It 'learns' (from what you tell it), over a period of time, to get better and better at sorting out what you do, and don't, want.

Chris