spam email from friends: hacked or spoofed
Originally posted by Rich Pasco
Very often, I receive junk mail (spam) with a “From:” address of one of my contacts, for example a friend or fellow team member. The mail might contain an advertisement for Viagra or replica Rolex watches, a sad story about being robbed while on vacation (and please wire money), or just a link to a web site which could download malicious software onto my computer. In such cases, I delete that e‑mail without clicking on the potentially dangerous link.
Just as often, a friend or fellow team member contacts me stating that junk mail is going out in their name and asking what to do about it. Here is what I reply:
Hacked or Spoofed?
It is important to know whether your mail is hacked or spoofed. Let’s define these terms:
HACKED — Mail is actually being sent from your account by someone logged in to your server as you.
SPOOFED — Mail is being sent from somewhere else with your address being forged onto its “From:” line.
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