OneGuyFromBarlick

If it really is a trojan, it will need to be romoved from your computer before it quietens, but its more likely a spammer has done a large spam run with your email address as the return address. And you're seeing the bounces from badly configured mail servers around the planet. I could tell you one way or the other if I had a small sample of the email headers. Not forwards but C&Ps of the "message source|" from your end. There isn't a lot you can do if its the spam run with your email address scenario. Eventually stuff will stop bouncing. Any administrator worth his salt will recognise the utter futility of bouncing spam to the return address and turn the option off, but there are a lot of clueless wonders in charge of email servers......

Regarding Windows XP, I recommend my customers move on, there is a substantial body of evidence that XP is already twice as insecure as later variants of Windows before Microsoft turn support off altogether. I've put Ubuntu on quite a number of machines, or in some cases the customer has replaced the machine. Very few XP machines would run Windows 7 (recommended Microsoft Option) convincingly as they stand. A late model (2006) top end machine would run 7 without much difficulty but the number of top end machines from the XP era that still work are few and far between. The average XP machine would struggle with a later Windows. I'd consider a dual core processor ( a real one not a single core hyper threader ) with 2 GB of memory, the minimum for Windows 7.

Pluggy wrote:...but its more likely a spammer has done a large spam run with your email address as the return address.

Could someone, perhaps like Maz, in that situation set their spam filter to ditch all the offending email messages so they didn't go into her Inbox? For example, if they had the same title it could be used to intercept the messages. Or perhaps is there is some standard text in a return message that could be used?

Pluggy wrote: I've put Ubuntu on quite a number of machines, or in some cases the customer has replaced the machine.

Yesterday I was in our local Walmart store and noticed a lot of new laptops had Linux operating systems installed and not Windows 8. Is this a new thing to cut down on price? I didn't stop to see what version it was, I was just glancing at the price.

Phew...problem sorted.
Had to phone our Internet provider ( three redirects within India...finally got someone a little more local sounding).
Changed our password and they are going to keep an eye on it for us.
( yes...it was a spammer...who not only had our email address but had somehow got the password. The emails did look as though we had sent them to hundreds of non functioning email addresses all over the world. There were two attachments, but I never opened them so couldn't tell you what they were but they were "MMV" and some smutty typing within the message. At first our provider insisted we were sending them! It was only the fact that they were filling up the inmail box as we were trying to assure her we were not sending them that she believed us...some were sent at the rate of two or three a second.)
All quiet on the email front now...

Luckily, with it being the quietest week of the year, I was able to get through the last three or four days without sending any emails. I would hate to inflict this on anyone...if indeed it was waiting for a free ride.

That's good Maz. Glad you have that off your back!
Nice to hear machines are being sold with Ubuntu loaded.... But does that mean that we will reach the critical mass where we are profitable for spammers?

Marilyn wrote:(yes...it was a spammer...who not only had our email address but had somehow got the password.

Easy to get your email address or it might even be something that's just generating random email addresses - but to get your password? I'd be asking my service provider for an explanation of how they let that happen. It sounds more like their system has been compromised. That happened here in the UK with BT about a year ago and they were very reluctant to admit it until cornered and forced to own up to it.

chinatyke wrote:

Pluggy wrote: I've put Ubuntu on quite a number of machines, or in some cases the customer has replaced the machine.

Yesterday I was in our local Walmart store and noticed a lot of new laptops had Linux operating systems installed and not Windows 8. Is this a new thing to cut down on price? I didn't stop to see what version it was, I was just glancing at the price.

Chromebooks which aré sort of Linux aré getting popular, the only growh área in "traditional" laptops. Microsoft aré getting sidelined , the unpopularity of Windows 8 isnt doing them any favours.

"Microsoft are getting sidelined , the unpopularity of Windows 8 isn't doing them any favours."
Perhaps there is really a God!

...and he uses Ubuntu Linux!

Definitely!

Tom got a wireless repeater router yesterday, which he wants to plug into a new TV. When I got home, he was using my PC to try and configure it. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned, and he abandoned it... When I came to check my email and go on't 'tinterweb, the settings for the main router had been disturbed. Tom managed to restore everything after a while; he's still not got the repeater working yet though.

Yet again I am reminded of the benefits of being a singleton and not having to let other people mess with my life! I remember once being asked by a friend to have a look at her PC because it was running so slowly and constantly chucking up error messages on Windows. I ran my favourite Window cleaning programme on it and then sat back and watched in horror as it deleted thousands of files! It took about half an hour to run and I told Rita I had probably buggered her OS! However, when it finally stopped and we rebooted it it was back to normal. It transpired that all her children and grandchildren were using the PC for gaming and all sorts of downloads which had eventually choked it. I left the Window cleaning programme on the machine. Told her to run it every week and to delete anything she didn't recognise. No probs after that and she got the kids their own machine.... A very happy woman!

Tom wants to build his own PC. An enterprise I'm very willing to fund!

David Whipp wrote:Tom wants to build his own PC. An enterprise I'm very willing to fund!

David, a great idea. I had no experience of building computers although like many folk I'd been using them for years, then two years ago I decided to have a go and to record my experiences on OGFB. I had a big glitch early on due to a faulty part but otherwise it was successful and I built a second one for Mrs Tiz. Of course I got lots of help and guidance from OG members. The thread is on the old OG site and starts with the page linked below. Tell Tom to have a look at it but it's essential for him to read the very first post which states in bold type:
"I ran into a problem due to being sent a faulty motherboard which Dabs replaced, so the following posts describe a lot of work sorting out what was wrong before we realised it was the motherboard. Read these posts if you want all the details. If you want just the description of how the PC was built without details of the glitch I've now written it up later in this thread. See it on page 8."

So Tom can read the problem bits if he likes or just go for the main bit. The computer parts I used will be out of date now and he'll need to find his own equivalents. Perhaps he'd like to record his progress on OG?
http://archive.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/ ... n+computer

Best thing Tom could do is ask Pluggy what his spec would be for an adequate machine. That's what I did but of course I got Pluggy to build and commission it as well. Not the cheapest way but all I can say is that I have never regretted it. The FM3 is still a very fast machine and rock solid! Mark Twain once said that the best river pilots were the ones who had hit all the rocks. That's it in a nutshell, I can't think of a better man than Plugs. (End of commercial....) My recommendation would be a tower case, a silent fan, at least 16gb of memory and the latest quad core chip. Oh, and separate HDD for OS and data.

Thanks Guys.

Will pass this on to Tom (will have to wait for a pm break in his xbox use...).

I've one I built for a client being setup on the bench now. A lot more affordable than the one I built for Stanley. More in line with what I built for Tizer. A good solid mid range machine :

This is the crux of it :

http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/produc ... -8Y6B.html
http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/produc ... -8GJJ.html
http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/produc ... -8XTL.html
http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/produc ... -7810.html

Its a recipe I've used before with varying RAM and Hard drive. This one is just 4Gb RAM with a 500Gb drive. You could cheapen it with a lesser processor, but an I3 is a good compromise.

Sorry Kev. I'm still using the devil I know.

First thing you need to ask yourself is what you want to use it for. A desktop or tower system might not be the best solution. Is it likely to be carted off to Uni or anything like that, an easily mobile solution may be a better bet if that is the case.

There are so many cheaper alternatives pre-loaded with any flavour of operating systems, it begs the question why a young guy of Toms age would want the experience of building what is very quickly becoming a redundant concept.

I earned my living system building in the 1990's there was no alternative then though so a bespoke system was often the best solution for many people. 25 years on I doubt if that would be the case with few exceptions.

You could buy a Hudl from Tesco a lot cheaper, but its a lot less fun than building your own PC. I still get a kick out of it.

Yep, a desktop is a bit of a Dinosaur, but everyone should experience it at least once, Laptops and Tablets are a big step down.

I've built desktops (more than a few) for people with iPads, because there's no comparison. The typical scenario is that they are replacing an old XP desktop, and the fondleslab doesn't cut it.

Pluggy wrote:Yep, a desktop is a bit of a Dinosaur,

Which makes the components a relatively cheap option when compared to a similar spec laptop. I built several in the 90's and the satisfaction is well worth it.

David, You can buy a "bare bones" kit from several places on t'internet, as Pluggy will be well aware of. If you're in no rush to build, keep an eye on scan.co.uk's "Today Only" page, they have some real bargains.

I am evidently a dinosaur. No probs with that! Occasionally, guests ask to use the FM3 and it's nice to see their reaction. As near perfection as I have ever been....

Not you Stanley but the concept of the machine you are using. In your particular scenario a big powerful tower system with large monitor and external storage drives may be perfect for your usage but not necessarily for a teenager who may need a more mobile solution. I'm not knocking it, just trying to point out that if given the opportunity, you should make the tool fit the job and not necessarily build without due regard for the intended use.

Thanks again all.

Given Tom's propensity to lose/break/ drop down a toilet/never take out with him/forget to charge his mobile phone, I suspect a laptop would be equally vulnerable.

Both he and Lucy have a tablet, which Alison got 'free' with the mobile phones she bought them when I was in hospital in 2012.

I know Ian.... Only kidding!

Got the readers, brilliant vision. Now I can fully appreciate the big monitor and won't be changing the font size on OGFB, So clear and easy to read.