Got a problem that has been driving me nuts. When I send someone an Email, a spammer will send them some junk about a canadian pharmacy and have my Email adress on it where it looks like it's sent from me. People will call me and say "is this from you?", and I'll tell them "no" and I try to remove it, and I've paid twice to have my computer cleaned up and nothing works. I have Yahoo Email and sometimes a message will appear that a "sponsored link" comes up with this adress: korayambayil.com/ar10.html. Anyone know how to get rid of these spammers?

It happened to me and I thought it was imbedded in my computer. Turned out it wasn't, so I just changed my E-mail address and problem solved. You may have to do the same, it's a pain but worth it.

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Dick

No one has time to sit at a PC waiting for you to send an Email so thats not whats happening.
Even an automated system on a server far far away takes resources waiting for you and others to click send ... while its possible ... its not very likely.
what is the most probable cause is that it IS coming from your computer at the hands of a piece of crapware that can wait for you to click send. While your signed in, the road is open.

Anyone who uses a computer should understand how to format and restore their own machine.
this is often not the case and not being the case is probably the case here, so ....
here we go.
step 1 .. go to debian.org and download CD1 of their linux distribution and make an image disk.

step 2, find your windows CD AND key code. if you dont have BOTH, buy a replacement and DONT LOSE IT.

assuming above has been satisfied restart your computer and watch the screen carefully ... you should see a command line that reads "press (key) to enter setup" that key may be F1, TAB Del or whatever.
if you miss this cue restart again and press that key when prompted.
this will put you into the BIOS where you will look for "Boot sequence"
you want it to boot from your CD first ... change acordingly, save and exit.
get the debian cd into the drive and restart ... this will take you into its boot menu where you will look for "Partition a hard disk" .... get into that, delete partitions save and exit.

switch the CD to your windows cd and restart.
now it will boot into the windows load which will repartition and format your drive and start to load windows. Keep the key code handy or your hosed.
when prompted, type in the code and let it cook.
grab a snack, take the wife out for dinner and just let it do what it does. when you return it might ask you to set time zone and a few other things but other than that your next restart will bring you into squeeky clean windows.
next trip around the restart roundabout, get back into the BIOS and reset your boot sequence to boot from your hard drive first and your back in the saddle.

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it just needs more voltage

whoa, you've got an apparant computer novice and you want him to 'start' by reformting his hard disk. That's like telling a guy with a splinter to cut his finger off.
At least ask a couple of questions first, like:
1. what virus software are you using and is it up to date and have your run a scan lately.
2. what malware software and the same questions.
3. what firewall software and the same questions again.
If you don't have all of the above, you should. There are plenty of decent free ones.
Also sometimes it's a good idea to regularly run one of the 'online' scans, in case your virus software has been compromised.

Here are some free online virus and/or malware scans, sites, or downloads that you can run or install.
HouseCall - Free Online Virus Scan - Trend Micro USA
ANTIVIRUS - Download - SOFTWARE 2010 - Buy - CLOUD - Protection - News - PANDA SECURITY
SpywareBlaster | Prevent spyware and malware. Free download.
Windows Live OneCare safety scanner: Free online tool for PC health and safety
Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com
and one of the best anti-malware free product
malwarebytes downloads - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Try at least one of the free online scans like trend or panda. Sometimes **** gets on your machine and hides itself from your software.

EDIT to add: You know sometimes we all move a bit too fast. I made a couple assumptions like you're using microsoft operating system and IE. But I should have asked what operating system and browser are you using, and what level of each of them.

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Pete.

I paid to have my computer "fully cleaned" twice, and I have AVG and Stopzilla. Something on Yahoo is invading my Email and sending these pharmacy ads to whoever I send an Email to. One person just suggested I change my password which I'm going to try next, but I own my own business and this is my business computer so I hate to get too complicated and mess things up. Its very embarrasing because the link promotes "sexual enhancement" pills and they just Emailed one of my new clients who is a female.

Knowing how to wipe a drive clean isnt knee jerk, its a necessary skill for anyone who relies upon a computer.
antivirus and spyware tools are all well and fine but when they dont get it done, which is more often than we'd like to see with spyware ... you have got to drop the bomb. In order to drop any bomb you need to have one, above is exactly that weapon in the easiest method I know.

Spyware is one high tech battleground and we are stuck between the finks that script it and the scanner industry.
BELIEVE me when I tell you spyware writers are seasoned pros. It often runs in interdependent replication loops where one process reinjects the one you deleted and vicea versa. its written for self preservation.
when you have one of these nasties ... you may kick it in a weeks worth of constant hacking or, you can kill it in an hour with far less aspirin intake.

learn the method above. it may save someones credit card info.

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it just needs more voltage

smaking a hard drive is not a first shot, it's the last shot. He also hasn't tried any other methods besides paying someone to 'clean' the machine. I didn't see any attempt to try to gather any more information But I'm out of here now.
Have fun and good luck.

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Pete.

It doesn't matter what computer I use it's on my Yahoo E-mail, I can use the laptops at home or the pc at work and the same thing pops up when I go to send someone an E-mail. In the box where I start to type my text, the spammers website and Viagra type products will appear and become part of my text. I have contacted Yahoo and the spammer but still no luck.

Hi,

Although it is too late now, NEVER contact the spammer. You've confirmed to him that your email address is a REAL, live email address . . . and it is thus worth more money to him when he sells it to back to the distributors of spam and viruses that he's using to make his cut on the deal!!!

I found this out years ago at work when I got a piece of junk email on my work computer. Assuming that the "remove" feature worked, I contacted the spammer. In return, my inbox exploded with more and more junk mail . . . lots of it pretty nasty stuff too.

I scrambled and hit remove on all them and the junk multiplied exponentially. Soon I had a hundred a day. It got so bad that the company had to get me a new email address . . . and I learned from our tech guys that you NEVER reply back to spammers for this very reason!


BACK TO TODAY and your very real problem . . .
Yahoo mail has had some real problems lately, and you've gotten snared. You've gotten some bug in your email system now and some spammer now gets notified of each email you send . . . and WHO you send them to . . . and now your friends are at risk AND are also getting exploited too!!!

Three suggestions . . .

1. Write down all your email addresses you want to keep for future emails.

2. Close that current Yahoo mail account, PERIOD.

3. As mentioned, have your computer reformatted to start over completely clean. Some of those viruses you've now got will mutate within your operating system and will keep coming back . . . with the same sad results. You've GOT to reformat. Yes, you will lose data, but that's thanks to someone innocently forwarding something to you I suspect . . . and probably a good friend who doesn't understand how spammers work too.


Once you are completely clean again, do the following:

1. Create a new email address, even if it is on Yahoo. ONE of my email addresses is with Yahoo and it is "clean" and fine. You've got to work to keep your new one that way.

2. Only then, contact your friend's via that email list you wrote down and let them know about your new address. Also, ask them to delete any old emails they got from you from their old email address. Also, send them a long email telling them what I'm gonna tell you next . . .


ANOTHER VERY PROBABLE REASON FOR YOUR PROBLEM . . .

If this relates, don't get mad . . . get vigilant . . . and also EDUCATE YOUR FRIENDS!


A COMPUTER HACKER'S MEANS OF MAKING MILLIONS . . . the FORWARDING OF EMAILS

Lots of well-meaning people simply hit "forward" to emails that they receive that get their blood going . . . some "Urban Legend" email that was designed by someone, at some time in the past, to get people riled so they'd mindlessly FORWARD the email to their friends. We all get 'em all the time from well-meaning friends.

Look at some of the ones you get and you'll see a huge list at the top where a Mr. Joe Blow sent it to fifty of his friends a year ago, then that friend sent it to 25 others . . . one of which sent it to your best friend . . . who then forwarded it to you and a zillion others. LOOK AT ALL THOSE EXPOSED EMAIL ADDRESSES of all these innocent people on the next one you get!

Some spammers have ways to encode those emails so they get ALL the email addresses each time someone mindlessly hits "forward" and sends it out to a new bunch of folks!

If you are guilty of forwarding emails as such, and I once did this too . . . STOP SCREWING OVER YOUR FRIENDS! We put ourselves, and all our friends' email accounts at risk when we do this!

THE SOLUTION . . .

IF you want to send an Urban Legend to your friends:

1. First, verify it is true! Two websites I use are: truthorfiction.com and/or snopes.com Some rumors ARE true . . . but I don't want to spread something that's not. Heck, I hate it when a friend would nail me for spreading untruth and now I check . . . ESPECIALLY the emails that begin: "I've checked this out on Snopes and it is true." Half of these are lies.

2. Second, and MOST IMPORTANT . . .

Stop hitting the "forward" button and then clicking on to the names of friends to forward it to!

If it is important enough to send to your friends, start a brand new email, rather than forward the email, AND only copy the original text and photos of the email you wish to send out, then paste this into the new email.

Doing this "strips" out all the poor, innocent 582 people's email addresses who once received this email back in 2002 or whatever . . . and ONLY leaves YOUR email address, and the addresses of all YOU send it to on the new email . . . to be exploited in the future by the mindless masses who get lazy and hit THEIR "forward" button!

NAW . . . even this technique can be fixed!

INSTEAD of sending emails to a bunch of friends by listing them on the "To:" line, start listing them in the "BCC:" line instead!!!

Yep, Bcc stands for "Blind Cc" . . . meaning that their email address cannot be seen by others!


NOW IF EVERYONE WOULD SEND NEW EMAILS OUT LIKE THIS . . . the spammers could not steal VERIFIED, working email addresses anymore of you, me and our friends!


HOW THE SPAM MILLIONAIRES MAKE THEIR MILLIONS:

Verified email addresses are valuable to distributors of spam. Some distributors can tell a Viagra seller that they can guarantee distribution to ___ million VERIFIED accounts for a fee of only $_____.

How do these distributors send it to so many millions of people instantly? They use the "hacked" computers of thousands of Aunt Tillies and Uncle Bobs to secretly (to Aunt Tillie) send these emails out. All Aunt Tillie knows is that her computer runs REAL slow.


If you, me and Aunt Tillie don't zealously protect ourselves and our friends, we become part of the problem.

Yep, get your computer fixed . . . put up a good firewall to protect you . . . stop forwarding entire messages . . . verify the messages were initially designed as a trick . . . and TELL your friends what they can do to protect themselves and their friends.

Sorry for the long read . . . but I hope you and many others will read it.

That's typical viral/spyware behavior, and not necessarily on your computer.

Just because somebody is getting spam emails with you as the apparent origin, doesn't mean that your PC has anything wrong with it.

First, malicious software started reading the address books of infected systems so that they could spam or infect everyone in the address book. The emails had the correct return address.

Then , it became common for malicious software to use the address book to both select recipients, and the SENDER. This means that if somebody with you in their address book gets infected, the spam they send to others may appear to come from you or anyone else in that address book.

I had a customer once who called us in because his friends and business contacts were telling him that he was spamming them. I'd only recently checked their PCs for spyware and viruses, and they were clean. I checked one or two of the systems in the building and they were clean. I told him that it was almost certain that the problem was with somebody else who had him in his address book. He still had me check 8-10 machines at substantial cost.

Why not just quit using Yahoo e-mail and use the e-mail your ISP provides? Free e-mail will ALWAYS cause hacker/spyware/virus problems.

I don't trust AVG. I've seen serious problems with it in the past, especially the updates.

I use Norton and Spybot Search & Destroy. I don't get spyware or viruses.

If Spybot doesn't work, download and install Hijackthis. Unlike most other anti-spyware products, it doesn't work from a list of signatures (Spybot is up over 1,000,000, which really slows it down now). Instead it works from characteristics and behaviors. Run it and save a log. Copy and paste the log here. Hijackthis isn't for the casual user, but for an experienced person it's highly effective.

I haven't seen that be the case in most instances.

That having been said, I mostly use the email account from my usenet news provider. I just signed up for Gmail, mostly to have it as an alternate. Nobody I know who has Gmail has that sort of problem. Come to think of it, nobody I know who uses Hotmail, does either.

TONS of people I know have had serious issues using Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc. You can claim it doesn't happen, but that doesn't make it so.

AOL just posted this on receiving spam from (what appears to be from) your own Email address.

Why Am I Getting Spam from Myself? -- AOL Mail Blog

Correlation does not prove causation.

It could also easily be shown that those with web based email accounts are likely to:

• be unsophisticated users unwilling to set up an email client
• engage in risky online behaviors
• fail to pursue minimal prophylactic measures.

In my quite considerable experience, that is frequently the case.

These are the only ways I know of stopping this sort of thing.

1) Deep six the existing Yahoo account.

2) Write down all the email addresses you have in your email address book.

3) Delete everything in the address book. Do not use it again, and again never store anyones email in the [email protected] format on your computer.

4) Filter ALL your email using webmail. That way if there is something that you don't like the look of, you kill it on the service provider's computer and it never touches yours.

5) Get somebody to set up your Outlook Express or whatever such that it never opens emails in a viewing pane.

6) Limit your forwarding, and if you do use the Blind Copy facility so that multiple email addresses are not visible to all recipients.

7) Keep your antivirus up to date.

There are probably a lot more tricks to try. It is also likely that many of those who have received emails APPEARING to be in your name could be being fooled. If they check the deep properties of the emails, they may well find it comes from another ISP entirely but displays your email address. That is a favourite trick of spammers.