I have a Dell Desktop Computer, I received an email from someone stating they were going to hold my computer ransom, it showed the email that it was sent and received from my email address. I was also on my phone had plans to go to the police, just before I started to go into the station I looked and the email had disappeared. My question why wasn't I alerted to this or caught as malware? Thank You
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Hi annettek51
Welcome to the NEW Community Forums.
Right, this is scary, I know but the key question, in terms of your system, is are you noticing anything unusual other than the email, i.e., are you processing normally, can you access your files as per normal, are there any ancillary/additional strange messages, pop ups or screens being displayed?
If the answer to all of the above is 'NO' then it is most likely that this was a hoax rather than a direct attempt to hold your system to ransom. Usually, with ransomware attacks, you would be locked out from your system and/or be constantly advised that your files are encrypted and that you need to pay to get back access to them, etc.
And for that reason, WRSA would not warn you about the email unless it was carrying a malicious attachment which you then downloaded and tried to run on your system (one MUST never click on attachments that are either not expected, seem suspicious or are from an unknown source).
To look to deal with such emails one either needs to set up your email client's anti spam features or if you are using web mail for your emails, i.e., accessed via a browser rather than a dedicated client , you should contact you Internet Service Provider about this, as most now filter inboxes for such rubbish and clearer some may have gotten through to you this time.
If the answer to the original question is 'YES' then I would run a scan with WRSA to see if it turns up anything and deals with it. Either way, if you have any concerns about the possibility that you may indeed have been the subject of a malware/ransomware attack then you should Open a Support Ticket, to alert the Support Team so that they can take a look for you, and whatever action is required to make sure that you are not infected or to look to rid you of the infection.
The service is free of charge to users with a currently active WRSA subscription.
I hope that helps some & please do come back here if you have an further questions or to let us know how this issue has worked out for you.
Regards, Baldrick
Welcome to the NEW Community Forums.
Right, this is scary, I know but the key question, in terms of your system, is are you noticing anything unusual other than the email, i.e., are you processing normally, can you access your files as per normal, are there any ancillary/additional strange messages, pop ups or screens being displayed?
If the answer to all of the above is 'NO' then it is most likely that this was a hoax rather than a direct attempt to hold your system to ransom. Usually, with ransomware attacks, you would be locked out from your system and/or be constantly advised that your files are encrypted and that you need to pay to get back access to them, etc.
And for that reason, WRSA would not warn you about the email unless it was carrying a malicious attachment which you then downloaded and tried to run on your system (one MUST never click on attachments that are either not expected, seem suspicious or are from an unknown source).
To look to deal with such emails one either needs to set up your email client's anti spam features or if you are using web mail for your emails, i.e., accessed via a browser rather than a dedicated client , you should contact you Internet Service Provider about this, as most now filter inboxes for such rubbish and clearer some may have gotten through to you this time.
If the answer to the original question is 'YES' then I would run a scan with WRSA to see if it turns up anything and deals with it. Either way, if you have any concerns about the possibility that you may indeed have been the subject of a malware/ransomware attack then you should Open a Support Ticket, to alert the Support Team so that they can take a look for you, and whatever action is required to make sure that you are not infected or to look to rid you of the infection.
The service is free of charge to users with a currently active WRSA subscription.
I hope that helps some & please do come back here if you have an further questions or to let us know how this issue has worked out for you.
Regards, Baldrick
Yes , you have been extremely helpful in solving my problem, I believe also that it was a Hoax as well. But still baffled how they were able to send and receive an email from my computer. I'm happy to be apart of this great community it has wonderful resources at your fingertips.
Yes, and everything is running smoothly and no threats have been discovered.
Thanks again Baldrick!
Annettek51
Yes, and everything is running smoothly and no threats have been discovered.
Thanks again Baldrick!
Annettek51
Hi Annettek51
Thanks for the response. Glad to hear that all is well & glad to be able to be of assistance.
Regards, Baldrick
Thanks for the response. Glad to hear that all is well & glad to be able to be of assistance.
Regards, Baldrick
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