Visit TDS® Security Center Home Page
Common Security Questions
These are some of the most common questions the TDS Support Team has received from our customers.
This is called "email spoofing."
This can be done by either a virus finding an email address on the Internet and then using that address to look like it's coming from that person. Or it could be done maliciously by anyone. In most cases it is untraceable or nearly impossible to find out who's doing it.
Email spoofing is the forgery of an email header (or email address) so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Distributors of spam often use spoofing as an attempt to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to, their solicitations.
Although most spoofed email falls into the "nuisance" category and requires little action other than deletion, the more malicious varieties can cause serious problems and security risks. For example, spoofed email may appear to be from someone in a position of authority, asking for sensitive data such as passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal information — any of which can be used for a variety of criminal purposes.
The best thing to do if you receive an email that claims to be from a reputable company and they are requesting sensitive information, is to call that company and verify that they are really the ones requesting the information.
Here are some steps you can take to reduce or eliminate "spoofing":
- Install an anti-virus application. If you already have one installed, make sure it is up-to-date. TDS provides a product called PC Defender for virus protection.
- Scan your computer for viruses.
- If your computer is free from viruses:
- Be cautious about using your email address online. Many spoofers and spammers get their email addresses from certain forms you submit on the Internet.
- Report these as spam and then delete them.
- As a last resort, change your email address.
Some of the typical effects of spyware include but are not limited to:
- Your homepage changes to something you did not set it to and it may not let you change it back.
- It may install new toolbars in Internet Explorer.
- Pop-up advertising may take over your computer; even when you do not have a browser open.
- It may cause strange problems within Windows (slowness both with the computer itself and with the Internet, strange errors, program problems, etc.).
- It may block ports on your Internet connection, causing some Internet applications (browser or email applications typically) to stop functioning normally.
There are many ways that spammers harvest and collect email addresses to build their lists. Although you need to be careful of where you leave your email address at Web sites, in newsgroup posts, and when chatting, sometimes you'll end up on a list without exposing your address whatsoever. It's common for spammers to guess at potentially valid addresses by taking a common username and adding valid domains to it. For example, chances are there will be a "bob@" at just about any provider's domain. (Note: Remember — NEVER send a reply to a spammer with a remove request. This only confirms that your address is valid, and you'll probably get even more spam.)
A trojan horse is a malicious software program that once installed, often allows remote access to a computer from unauthorized individuals. A trojan is different from a virus in that it usually does not propagate in the same way. A trojan usually is installed in the background when the user installs and runs other software. A trojan requires an individual to install it. Often a trojan will be disguised as a game or an image file that when executed installs the malicious software. Because a trojan is not a virus, anti-virus software may be able to detect the software, but may not be able to remove it. Removal may be limited to computer repair personnel.
TDS provides a product called PC Defender to help protect your computer from virus and trojan infections.
A macro virus uses another application's macro programming language to distribute itself. They infect documents such as MS Word or MS Excel. Unlike other viruses, macro viruses do not infect programs or boot sectors - although a few do drop programs on the user's hard drive. The dropped files may infect executable programs or boot sectors.
Special note: Occasionally, you may get an "illegal operation" error when you try to start MS Word after cleaning a Word macro virus. If this happens, search for the file "normal.dot" and rename it to "normaldot.bak." MS Word will generate a new, clean "normal.dot" the next time it is started. This problem occurs because some viruses can leave harmless code residue that MS Word may be reading incorrectly, causing erratic behavior.
TDS provides a product called PC Defender for virus protection.