is something like this possible?

hi

not sure if i am in the right topic.......

is the following possible:

you get an email, open it and suddenly websites pop up and from some of them it starts downloading files to your pc.

ever experienced something like this??

any comment welcome - got a serious problem!

thanx

gurx

 

There are ussually 2 ways to get infected via an email (3 known at the moment):

1. Opening an attachment with a malware, in any format (exe pretending to be txt).
2. Reading an email in HTML format, where a script can run thanks to WSH (read here).
3. Windows vulnerability like: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=170165

You can scan your PC with those 3 free scanners: CureIt + A-Squared + SuperAntispyware.
To get help with cleaning, you can follow Castle Cops Malware Removal and Prevention Guide

 

thanks for your reply

but the question is may it happen exactly as described

open, pop up's, download by itself?

gurx

 

Yes. WSH will initiate a script, which do, what it has to, eg.: it will start a link (popup).
If it is a link to a file, it will start downloading. But it is a weak malware since you see it.
A good malware would download a malware in backround (iframe, popup size 0 x 0 pixels).
That is the reason, why it is important to have at least a firewall and a realtime antivirus.
You can pick free firewall: Comodo, Kerio or Zone Alarm and free AV.: Avira, Avast or AVS.

 

its also a good idea if you use a mail client such as outlook express to change all message to plain text instead of html
lodore