Message from banned member

[Footlover28]

Just a little question: Why do I get messages from a banned member telling me that my account is a spam sending one?

Does anybody know what's going on?

[BootsMcGraw]

Details, please...?

[Footlover28]

Well, one banned member of this forum wrote to me that my account is spam sending and that I have to check my system for malware and all teh bad stuff which is going around.
In the message I found a link for an online checking systeme. I clicked on the link and it was a bad reputation site so I closed it almost immediately.
The name of the member is Joseph Ward and the message was sent to four or five members including me (or myself?).
He also told me, if I will not check my systems, there will be a documentation of my account details and my ip adress.
So now I'm a bit confused and worried if this could lead to a heave-ho.

Sorry for my bad english. My "speaking-fluently-times" are a longer time ago.

[BootsMcGraw]

Well, one banned member of this forum wrote to me that my account is spam sending....

That was not a human being that wrote to you. It was a spambot, called an "address harvester". It went through this web site in the brief hours of April 10th that it was a member; and it gathered every e-mail address it could. If you have a link to your e-mail address in your profile or on your signature line, the spambot got it. This is why I do not have an e-mail link in my profile, and I spell out my e-mail address in my signature line, rather than use the "@" and the ".com", which would be a dead giveaway it is an e-mail address.

Because almost all these spammers are in Europe or Asia, they operate when I am at work or asleep, when I am unable to ban them. I knock these SOBs to the dirt as soon as I see them; but each of the members of these boards is responsible for protecting himself from the bad guys.

As an FYI, all these address harvesters have been signing up using names that would be common ones (at least in the US). The screen names take the form FirstnameLastname. No person in his right mind uses his real name as his screen name; so anyone using what looks like a common US name is a spambot, out to hurt you. Additionally, if you get an e-mail or message from anyone using an address that looks like this: spammer@mailboxxx.net, do not EVER answer it. That seems to be the domain where the malicious e-mails and messages arise.

You did nothing wrong; and there is nothing wrong with your computer. Nothing is going to happen to you. You will not be removed from these message boards. But do not EVER again respond to any suspicious e-mail or message that you get from a supposed member of this site. Do not ever click on an unknown link. Do not ever answer the message. Please inform me or the webmaster, instead.

[Footlover28]

You washed my worries away with this detailed and enlightening answer.
Now I'm able to return having and spending fun within this board.

[vegasguy]

I received this today:

Dear, vegasguy;hotguy;FreshFeet222;jackboot;feetpit!

Spam sending from your computer was detected.
We highly recommend you to check your computer and perform online virus check at our site immediately: http://remove-trojans.webcindario.com/online-scanner/
If you do not pass this test* we will have to delete your account and forward a complaint to your ISP with attached log file (your IP address, etc.).

----------------------------------------------------
Forum Administration www.footbuddies.com
Forward Message

I use Norton Internet Security 2010 and have a strong firewall. What would happen if you clicked on that remove-trojans link? I did, but nothing happened. Didn't even dawn on me it could be a spambot.

[BootsMcGraw]

I received this today:

Dear, vegasguy;hotguy;FreshFeet222;jackboot;feetpit!

Spam sending from your computer was detected.
We highly recommend you to check your computer and perform online virus check at our site immediately: http://remove-trojans.webcindario.com/online-scanner/
If you do not pass this test* we will have to delete your account and forward a complaint to your ISP with attached log file (your IP address, etc.).

----------------------------------------------------
Forum Administration www.footbuddies.com (http://www.footbuddies.com)
Forward Message

I use Norton Internet Security 2010 and have a strong firewall. What would happen if you clicked on that remove-trojans link? I did, but nothing happened. Didn't even dawn on me it could be a spambot.

It's worse than a spambot. If you clicked on it, you just installed a trojan virus onto your computer, which is now spamming thousands of other computers using your bandwidth. You had better run a full scan of your machine using the latest virus-detecting software, and delete the trojan, before you hurt yourself further.

Rule 1 of the Internet: If someone you don't know tells you to do something, DON'T DO IT!

[vegasguy]

My system was clean - nothing was installed - wooohooo!