Sophos Cloud Optix
Here are three emails you don’t want to see in your inbox today.
Although the emails may claim to have been sent by the likes of LinkedIn, YouTube and Google the truth is that the headers are forged, and the emails have been specially crafted to look like legitimate communications from online firms.
Clicking on the links could send your computer to Canadian pharmacy-like spam sites offering to sell you Viagra, or even webpages hosting malicious payloads.
Always be careful about clicking on links in unsolicited emails. Hover over links with your mouse to tell where it’s really going to before clicking, and keep your anti-virus and anti-spam protection updated.
If you’re careless you could be falling into the spammers’ trap, and putting your finances and data in danger.
(Oh, and we’ve just seen emails claiming to come from Amazon too).
will email ever become so dangerous that institutions revert to ground mail for communication?
Not likely with the cost of snail mail going up all the time
Sinking feeling! While I have avoided YouTube entrapment, not so LinkedIn. I now routinely get messages purportedly from Canada. Clearly, I have clicked on a link…
In Windows 7 HP, I use Spy Bot and 2013 version AVG. Both reveal no virus whatever contamination. However, I will shortly reinstall, which Windows seems to need ever so often. Then be more careful.
In Snow Leopard 10.6.8 (SL),I use Sophos to scan all computer files. Again nothing. I'll be staying with SL for now, I may even stick with it until Apple no longer issue updates. I am waiting for Mountain Lion to be fixed completely. I hate the way Apple release what is essentially Beta software.
I also access gmail on an iPad. Presently I do not know its security status.
Hmmm, time for a iPad etc rethink!
Pffft. Apple. People are afraid of viruses way too easily. You seem decently intelligent. Why are you so afraid?
I, personally, have not had a virus in roughly 15 years. I just know what to click and what not to click. What to download and what not to download. When I download something that I think is fishy, I don't run to an AV. I go and use Sandboxie.
Protect yourself on the internet?
1) Google Chrome
2) Ghostery for Google Chrome – Prevents Tracking Cookies and Site Bugs
3) NotScripts for Google Chrome – Prevents scripts from automatically running.
4) Adblocker Plus for Google Chrome – Prevents Ads from being displayed.
5) Be intelligent.
wow – you actually admit to clicking link? in today's known atmosphere of fraudulent msgs?
I have a gmail account that I rarely use. It is the only account that regularly gets flooded with spam, including the above messages. What is it with gmail?
I don't think there is anything special about gmail. I am sure that my gmail gets spammed because it has been harvested from my domain registration for my website.
I am sure that my Yahoo address gets spammed because a website payment handling company either sold it legally or it was leaked. Unfortunately, although businesses may legitimately say that they won't spam you, the companies that handle their payments may do it instead.
Gmail is popular, and spammers/virus writers/etc. all go for that.
Regards,
I will leave Google for now. Bye!
I've been seeing the first two (YouTube and LinkedIn) out of three of these in my Yahoo! inbox that I use as a spam dump starting weeks ago. Neither of them made sense to me, and as the article warns, the headers are spoofed and the links seem to lead to Canadian pharmacies. I clicked once out of curiosity, but subsequently hovered my cursor over the link as advised.
I use PCtools antivirus and their Spyware doctor. I've had exactly two problems since I started using it four years ago. Once I ignored it's warning of 'do you reallllly want to click on that?' (so I deserved that), and once I had an issue with a software upgrade. (Which their customer service was very nice about helping me with, and it was quickly resolved.)
I also don't click on dodgy links. (Anymore.) Once I received an email from 'Yahoo' that *might* have been legitimate (the con artists did a truly wonderful job on the header and icons), but instead of clicking on the link, I contacted Yahoo directly through their help menu/contact us options. Nope, wasn't them. Contacting directly through established legitimate means is always a thing you can do with the scarier spam. I even did it with the IRS last year.
How about Staples emails?
I had 50 of them sent in a row within an hour saying I bought something, but I haven't went there for the last 45 days…
It’s crazy! I used to get emails from *@eby.com! They were disguised exactly like eBay! Couldn’t tell unless I hovered over the from name that said eBay…it would expand and show its from “name”@eby.com. Don’t click em! Know what’s real!
Yes, it is kind of weird to get an email like that when one had never posted a video on YouTube and does not even have an account there…
I have started getting them from supposed banks, asking me to ‘login to my online banking’ in order to update something. I’m not foolish enough to do it, I just wish I’d stop receiving them!
Don’t fall for this one, you’d be giving them access straight to your bank accounts!
Thankfully, I always disable email notification sent by Facebook, Google, Linkedin, and such similar websites as these cases may occur and it did in the past. If I need to check any service I open the website directly and see any notifications.
However, these things are happening endlessly these days!
"Hover over links with your mouse to tell where it's really going to before clicking, …"
At least the LinkedIn fake mail has www.linkedin.com as "title" attributes on the links, so some email clients will show that on hover. If in doubt don't always trust what you see on hover, but look at the raw source of the mail instead.
with the way e-mails are being spammed it may be better to return to making phone calls and text messages only. Considering certain Judges have stated that any e-mail address can be hacked and messages read by unauthorised people it makes you wonder where technology is taking us. It may be better to scrap the internet entirely until such time that cybercrime is removed and as this is not likely it is down to us as individuals to decide what we do to protect ourselves. so decide for yourselves.
When you get an email that claims to be from a company you do business with, banks for example, don't click on the links from the email, instead go directly to the site from a web browser. Type in the URL if you know it or do a google search and browse to the site from there.
Always be suspicious of links from emails. You'll be much safer going directly to a site and logging in to verify any claims that are made by an email.
If I go anywhere on the 'net I go there from a typed-in URL.