Please be advised that there are reports that some of our users are infected with this “FAKE” antivirus program (XP Antivirus 2008, or Vista Antivirus 2008, or Antivirus XP 2008). Usually, this problem occurs when you install program to your computer. It may also get from un-trusted website like  web banner ads, pop-ups ads and others.

The fake virus is advertised in the form of fake security alerts and warnings on web sites that state you are infected with malware or are being attacked. When you click on these ads, it will automatically download the installer for Antivirus XP 2008 and typically this fake anti-virus will install automatically on your computer without adequate notice and consent of the user.

Please read the virus description below and see the attached images for sample screenshots of the virus/trojan/malware.

If your computer is infected by this fake antivirus program, please contact your IT personnel to take necessary actions.

To avoid this problem, please read some pointers below:

1.    Do not install any program on your computer unless authorized by our IT department. Our IT staff install only the basic programs on your computer so that you can do your work efficiently. You should consult your IT department if you need additional software to install on your computer.
2.    Avoid visiting any website that is not work related. Be responsible on opening any website.
3.    Avoid downloading files from the Internet such as mp3’s, movies, etc.

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Antivirus XP 2008 Descriptions:

Antivirus XP 2008 is a bogus antivirus application for Windows that was promoted and downloaded automatically by redirecting users internet browser to its predefined website.

Antivirus XP 2008 is one of the latest counterfeit antispyware that devastates the world wide web. Antivirus XP 2008 usually come up after you installed a video codec that come with Trojan, malware and virus. Antivirus XP 2008 normally generates fake and misleading system popup error messages so end-users will be tricked into purchase Antivirus XP 2008.

Antivirus XP 2008 is a new rogue anti-spyware program that is advertised through Trojans and other malware. It is advertised in the form of fake security alerts and warnings on web sites that state you are infected with malware or are being attacked in some manner. When you click on these ads, it will automatically download the installer for Antivirus XP 2008 and install it on your machine. In some cases, this program is installed without any intervention at all from you.

Once installed, Antivirus XP 2008 will scan your computer and display a variety of security risks found on your computer that can only be removed if you purchase a license of the software. These risks, though, are all fake and are only being displayed to scare you into thinking you are infected and thus purchase their software. Another tactic that Antivirus XP 2008, and the accompanied malware, uses is to change your desktop background to be a message stating you are infected, popups and fake alerts stating your computer is being attacked, and a fake Internet Explorer page that states google has found your computer to be infected. All of these are further scare tactics and should be ignored. These methods are all illustrated in the images below.

Source:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/remove-antivirus-xp-2008
http://www.spywareremove.com/security/antivirus-2009-xp-antivirus-cause-winlogon-infection/
http://www.precisesecurity.com/blogs/2008/06/26/antivirus-xp-2008/
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Fake Antivirus XP screenshot:

Altered/changed desktop background:

Fake alert for Antivirus XP:

Fake web browser message Stating that you are infected:

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In computer jargon, a bounced e-mail is one that never arrives in the recipient’s inbox and is sent back, or bounced back, to the sender with an error message that indicates to the sender that the e-mail was never successfully transmitted. But what happens when someone sends an e-mail out into cyberspace, and why do e-mails sometimes bounce back?

When a user attempts to send an e-mail, he is telling his e-mail system to look for the domain of the recipient (for example, webopedia.com) and the domain’s mail server. Once the e-mail system makes contact with the recipient’s mail server, the mail server looks at the message to determine if it will let the message pass through the server. If the recipient’s server has predetermined that it is not accepting e-mails from the sender’s address (for example, if it has blocked the address for anti-spamming purposes), the server will reject the message and it will subsequently bounce back to the sender.

The message will also bounce back to the server if the mail server on the recipient’s end is busy and cannot handle the request at that time. When an e-mail is returned to the sender without being accepted by the recipient’s mail server, this is called a hard bounce. Once the e-mail has been accepted by the recipient’s mail server there are still ways for the message to be rejected.

The mail server has to determine if the recipient (for example, webmaster@webopedia.com) actually exists within its system and if that recipient is allowed to accept e-mails. If the recipient’s address does not exist on the mail server, then the message will be rejected because there is no one to deliver the message to. If the sender misspells the recipient’s address (for example, webmaster@webopedia.com) then the system will recognize this as a nonexistent address and bounce the message back.

If the recipient exists but does not have enough disk space to accept the message (i.e., if his e-mail application is filled to storage capacity) then the message will bounce back to the sender. Some mail systems predetermine a maximum message size that it will accept and will automatically bounce the message if it exceeds that size and some mail systems predetermine a maximum amount of disk space the user is allowed to occupy on the server. When an e-mail is returned to the sender after it has already been accepted by the recipient’s mail server, this is called a soft bounce. Some mail servers are programmed to accept incoming e-mails and store them for further analysis without initially checking to determine if the recipient exists or is even capable of receiving the message. Occasionally, a network failure at the sender or recipient end will cause an e-mail to bounce back to the sender. Typically, a bounced e-mail returns to the sender with an explanation of why the message bounced.

Checklist:

E-mails bounced back basically due to error. Error maybe on the sender’s side or on the recipient’s side.

ITEM A:
Possible error on sender’s side:

1.) Sender misspells the recipient’s address making it a nonexistent address. Please double check the spelling of the email address. E.g. myemail@mydomain.com is different from myemail@sigmaksa.net.

2.) Sender mail client (MS Outlook, Outlook Express, Webmail) encounter an error. This one basically does not send your email, it remains on your outbox until the error is resolve. In most cases a warning or error message appear. Please read the error message carefully because that information alone you can check what cause the problem.

3.) Sender attempts to send a file that exceeds email server’s allowable file size attachment. Most mail servers like yahoo.com, gmail, etc. allows only up to 10MB file attachment, we suggest that you send your email by batch because large file attachment will cause our email server & the recipient email server to respond slowly. You can also verify to your contact how much is the maximum allowed email attachment their server can receive.

4.) Sender’s mail server or Internet Service Provider (ISP) encounters an error. E-mail remains on sender’s outbox until the error is resolve. In most cases a warning or error message appears.

5.) Sender sends an e-mail that has an attachment not allowed by sender’s mail server to be delivered. Most email server allows .gif, .doc. .xls, .ppt, .pps, .pdf, .jpg, .txt, .zip, .bmp, etc.  to be received.

6.) You are trying to send an email with attachment and the attach file contains special characters such as “  & + # \ / : * ? ” ‘ < > | ! .  “ on their file name. Please avoid using  this characters when saving your files. (Please read source # 1 below regarding simple file naming rules.)

            Ex.
            Bad file name   = My.Document.File.doc
            Good/Acceptable file name = My_Document_File.doc
 
6.) You are trying to send an email with a subject that contains special characters such as “  & + # \ / * ? ” ‘ < > | ! .  “ . If possible keep your email subject simple to avoid risk of having problem later on, this rule also applies on file naming convention of your documents. Keep it simple.

7.) Network or Internet failure on sender’s end.

ITEM B:
Possible error on recipient’s side:

1.) The recipient’s email server or ISP encounters an error. A warning or error message will be send to sender from recipient’s mail server. (e.g. recipient’s mail server does not have enough disk space to accept messages or the recipient’s mail server is busy and cannot handle the request at that time)

2.) The recipient’s email server or ISP blocks e-mail for anti-spamming purposes. A warning or error message will be send to sender from recipient’s mail server stating that the mail has been blocked.

3.) Recipient’s email server does not allow certain filename or file type attachment to be received. (e.g. “.” on filename please see Item A #6)

4.) The recipient’s mail server or ISP has a limit on the file attachment size. Some mail systems predetermine a maximum message size that it will accept and will automatically bounce the message if it exceeds that size. (e.g. Yahoo allows on 10MB, please see Item A #3)

Conclusion:

A bounced e-mail has an explanation of why the message bounced, please check the possible reasons or forward your bouncing email message to help@mydomain.com to analyze the error message for you. You can forward questions regarding e-mail bounce at help@mydomain.com.

Sample error message: (Account disabled)
======================================
Message from yahoo.com.
Unable to deliver message to the following address(es).
<emailaddress@yahoo.com>:
Sorry your message to emailaddress@yahoo.com cannot be delivered. This account has been disabled or discontinued [#102].
— Original message follows.
The original message is over 5K. Message truncated.
X-Originating-IP: [123.456.789.012]
Return-Path: <help@mydomain.com>
Authentication-Results: mta230.mail.re2.yahoo.com from=mydomain.com; domainkeys=neutral (nosig)
Received: from 123.456.789.012 (EHLO mail.mydomain.com) (123.456.789.012)
by mta230.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:13:09 -0700
Received: from dapcoo8 ([123.456.789.012])
by mail.mydomain.com (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id l9JACHw1002331
for <uap@dap.edu.ph>; Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:12:17 +0800
From: ” help@mydomain.com” <help@mydomain.com>
3
To: < emailaddress@yahoo.com >
======================================

Sample error message: (Recipient Mailbox is full)
======================================
This is the Sendmail (8.12.11/8.12.11) program at host mail.mydomain.com.

I’m sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It’s attached below.

For further assistance, please send mail to <postmaster>

If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.

The Sendmail (8.12.11/8.12.11) program

<user1@mydomain.com>: maildir delivery failed: Sorry, the user’s mailbox has overdrawn his diskspace quota, please try again later.
======================================

Source 1:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/3286
http://classes.yale.edu/help/itg/classes/Fundamentals/File_Names.htm
Source 2:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/BouncedEmail.asp
Other related articles:
http://www.qksoft.com/qk-smtp-server/why-email-bounce.html

Spam is everywhere — your e-mail inbox, your instant messaging windows, Web site guest-books, blog and now possibly running over your Internet telephony lines. As Internet-based communication technology evolves so do the methods unscrupulous individuals use to send you advertisements. Worse yet, the numbers of spam-related messages being distributed are increasing every day.

When you hear the word spam, your immediate thoughts go to the more well-known and common form of spam: e-mail spam. However, other types of spam are found in a variety of Internet communication mediums such as instant messaging, discussion boards, mobile phones with text messaging, newsgroups, Internet telephony, blogs — basically any device or client that provides a means for communications. This week, we take a look at the “Internet junk mail” terminology and discuss best practices for protecting your system from these unwanted communications.

All About E-mail Spam
While many Internet users have resigned themselves to the fact that e-mail spam is here to stay, there is nothing more annoying than logging in to check your e-mail and downloading or sifting through tens or hundreds (or even thousands) of unwanted e-mail advertising for some product sent directly to your e-mail address. E-mail spam numbers have been on the rise because e-mail spam is a cheap way to garner a few sales. For the solicitor, the costs associated with spamming are minimal. All they need is time and enough money for an Internet connection and lists of e-mail addresses.

E-mail Spam: Best Practices For Individuals
Currently, there is no way to completely stop spam. The good news, however, is that individuals can take proactive steps to limit the number of incoming spam e-mails to save time, frustrations and money.

Keep Your E-mail Address More Private
To avoid e-mail address harvesting practices, it’s important to not post (in text) your e-mail address in public Internet chat rooms, on any Web site, newsgroup, guestbook or blogs to which you post. If you find you need to post an e-mail address, try typing your address in a graphics program and using an image of your address in a signature file or attachment. Or, you can also replace common characters (such as the @ or .) with spaces or spelling. For example, writing your address as “webmaster — at— webopedia —dot— com” is one way to display your e-mail address so humans can understand it, but software or script harvesters cannot grab it and add it to a spam list.

You can also consider encoding your e-mail address by using its equivalent decimal entity. To people viewing the address in a browser, it appears as normal text. The code, however, consists of character entities and unreadable to many harvesting scripts (example e-mail address encoder). If you plan to take part in online forums or newsgroups, or you plan to join different mailing lists, you can always register for a free online Web mail account. This will help filter the bulk of spam from publicly posting your e-mail address to one e-mail account that is not used for family, friends or work-related communications. It doesn’t mean your other accounts won’t get spam, but it will help you time-wise by enabling your other account to have less spam build-up.

Choose More Complex E-mail Addresses
Some spammers basically attack mail servers and use a method called a dictionary attack to get their junk mail sent out. Basically, the spam is sent to every combination of letters and common names at an ISP. In this scenario, spam is more likely to get through to a common, short e-mail address like “mary @insertdomainname.com” than it would “mary_washinger @insertdomainname.com”.

Don’t Click Links in Spam E-mail
Even if the links reads “click to unsubscribe,” if that link appears within a spam message, chances are your click to unsubscribe is used solely for the purpose of informing the spammer that your e-mail address is valid and you may end up on even more spam lists. Studies indicate that the valid responses from spam is about 1 percent. Clicking any link to get more information or to make a purchase from a spam e-mail is only encouragement for spammers to continue these practices. Rather than using the links within the spam e-mail, try and find the Web site or service through a search engine or other means. Another alternative would be to find the same or similar service or product from a competitor who is not engaging in spam practices and spend your money there.

Use a Good E-mail Filter
The best proactive step you can take to limit spam mail in your in box is to use a good e-mail filter. There are many types of filters available today that will block or filter e-mail based its content, header or even language. Most e-mail programs will allow you to define your own criteria for blocking in addition to these filters. There is also a permission-based filter that means you can specify specific e-mail addresses that are allowed to send you e-mail. Filters that work at the gateway are extra beneficial in that they can also stop incoming worms and virus e-mail attachments.

Remember the Virus Scanner:
The golden rule for any spam is to never open or accept files from people you do not know. Spam is rife with worms, Trojans, and viruses that can be attached as what seems to be legitimate files in e-mail messages. While the above best practices can help with lowering the number of spam e-mails you receive, only a real-time virus scanner can help with removing the risks to your system security.

Source:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2006/spam_spit_spim.asp