Hey guys,
As some of you noticed, harrowcatliz's email address sent a message to
this group, with a single link in it. I say her email address, because
I'm confident Harrowcatliz herself had nothing to do with it! I suspect
a hacker or script used her address book to send a message to everyone
in her address book. (It may even have sent the message to anyone she's
emailed in the past; some attacks can do that.) The same email and link
came in to a variety of other MEFA addresses I monitor, within seconds
of the one that arrived at MEFAwards.
I don't think the email is particularly dangerous, so long as you don't
click on the link. I opened the email sent directly to me through the
mefasupport address, but didn't click the link, and have since run my
antivirus scanner. So far everything seems fine. The fact that there was
no file attachment and that I got no warnings (either from my AV when I
opened the email, or when I did a scan since then) make me think that
the email itself wasn't dangerous. By all means scan your computer if
you are concerned, though!
Whenever this happens, I put the person whose email account was used on
moderation. This just means that I approve any emails before they are
sent to the group. It's the best way I know to prevent future spam,
short of moderating everyone (which I don't have time for). But really,
I don't expect future problems. This is just a precaution.
Marta+
I just received a true email from Harrowcat, and she confirms it was a hack to
her work account that led to the email we all received. She says she would
never send a message with a blank subject line like this had.
There have been several individuals in the past few weeks whose email address
books or histories have been hijacked in this manner. Beware!
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large
"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." LOTR
"Don't go where I can't follow."
On 7/28/2010 5:34 PM, Bonnie L. Sherrell wrote:
>
>
> I just received a true email from Harrowcat, and she confirms it was a
> hack to
> her work account that led to the email we all received. She says she would
> never send a message with a blank subject line like this had.
>
> There have been several individuals in the past few weeks whose email
> address
> books or histories have been hijacked in this manner. Beware!
>
Hi Larner,
I don't doubt it for a second! Harrowcatliz is a name I've seen around
fandom for years, not some random ID made up by a spammer, and so I was
sure she wasn't doing it intentionally.
I'm still moderating her for a while. This is standard operating
procedure, and the best way I know to protect the group and be fair. I
can't know everyone in fandom, and it's not fair to moderate some people
who I don't know beforehand, and not moderate those that I have seen
around for a while. (Because the ones I don't know may in fact have been
around the fandom for *ages* - just not at the places I hang out.) But
this is 100% not a judgment on harrowcatliz or anyone else it happens to
- just the best way I know to handle the problem fairly. At worst, it
will mean her posts to this group will be a bit delayed the next few
times she posts.
Marta