not sure where to post this, if wrong forum, just move please, thanks

i got 2 emails recently, in my inbox. i got windows live mail.
they dont look very legit to me.
does anybody get this or know if these are for real or not?

quote:

---

The Windows Live Messenger Beta Team (v-srai@microsoft.com)
Subject: Give us feedback about the Windows Live Messenger Beta

---

quote:

---

Windows Live Mail Research (762_research@microsoft.com)
Subject: Participate in this Windows Live Mail research and have a chance to win a digital camera!

---

I had the first one and know others did too, that one is from Microsoft fore sure. Don't know about the second one, they do use weird addresses sometimes and they do give out prizes for surveys, so it wouldn't surprise me. Anyway, just look where the email links to... There's nothing to worry about if it links to a page on one of Microsoft's official domains.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Skitz
not sure where to post this, if wrong forum, just move please, thanks

i got 2 emails recently, in my inbox. i got windows live mail.
they dont look very legit to me.
does anybody get this or know if these are for real or not?

quote:

---

The Windows Live Messenger Beta Team (v-srai@microsoft.com)
Subject: Give us feedback about the Windows Live Messenger Beta

---

quote:

---

Windows Live Mail Research (762_research@microsoft.com)
Subject: Participate in this Windows Live Mail research and have a chance to win a digital camera!

---

---

If legit, such mails will contain a link to a microsoft site (eg: starting with "www.microsoft.com", "www.msn.com", "ideas.live.com", etc...). If not, the mails are bogus.

You can never make sure mails are legit by only looking at the email address in the from-field because you can put whatever you like in there.

Nor can you see if mails are legit by looking at the contents or even looking at the links in the text, again all this can be spoofed easly.

The only way to make somewhat sure the mails are legit is to look at the actually URL under the links. Quite often with such spoofed emails the textual link shows a legit site, but as soon as you click on the link you will be taken to a 3rd party (spam/porn/whatever) site.

eg: Go to www.microsoft.com
(hoover over the link and look at the actual URL in your browser's status bar)

And in doubt, copy the underlying URL and only past the first part (the domain) to your browser.

In the above example, copy/paste only "http://very.dodgy.porn.site/", thus not the part after the domain. This is very important because many spam mails like that often have individualised links, so if clicked, the sender can know that he has send the email to an existing and active email-address (and you will recieve more spam).

Microsoft regulary outsources certain things such as research to 3rd party companies to conduct on their behalf. There are legit things that are not on Microsoft's own servers every now and then.

quote:

---

Originally posted by -rafy-
Microsoft regulary outsources certain things such as research to 3rd party companies to conduct on their behalf. There are legit things that are not on Microsoft's own servers every now and then.

---

MenthiX - u say the 1st one for real

joelm - u say the 2nd one for real, i didnt open either message. i dont really need a camera anyway, i already got a nice one. so wouldnt know what goes on.

so then both are for realz then

cookie - yeh thats the thing though, my windows live mail prevented the message from showing up. it labelled both those emails as "Potentially dangerous message"  -> Mail has failed SenderID check and there was a link to "open message" if i wanted to manually open it

im just bit scared to just click on "open message" thats all

cheers

quote:

---

Originally posted by Skitz
MenthiX - u say the 1st one for real

joelm - u say the 2nd one for real, i didnt open either message. i dont really need a camera anyway, i already got a nice one. so wouldnt know what goes on.

so then both are for realz then

cookie - yeh thats the thing though, my windows live mail prevented the message from showing up. it labelled both those emails as "Potentially dangerous message"  -> Mail has failed SenderID check and there was a link to "open message" if i wanted to manually open it

im just bit scared to just click on "open message" thats all

cheers

---

Only attachments can contain potential virusses. And then again, you need to explicitly execute them. Simply opening and reading an email will not give you any virus (unless you always automatically execute attachments, but if you have that setting I very strongly recommend to unset it; it is equally dangerous as automatically executing everything automatically what you've downloaded from the net). Hence checking emails for virusses is rather pointless (unless the mail contains an attachment).

Also anti-virus tools will not protect you against spam mails which contain personalised links (or photo's, which often ARE loaded automatically!) as described in my first post in this thread.

quote:

---

Originally posted by joelm

well i opened it and i did a virues check today and there was nothing, also when i opend the e-mail and there was a link and i just clicked on it and it went to a servey i filled it out and submited it and thats all that happend.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Skitz

quote:

---

Originally posted by joelm

well i opened it and i did a virues check today and there was nothing, also when i opend the e-mail and there was a link and i just clicked on it and it went to a servey i filled it out and submited it and thats all that happend.

---

ah true. what do you think your chances of winning the digital camera? =P

---

Btw i got the first mail too and its legit. Dunno about the second one

quote:

---

Originally posted by joelm
1 in 1000 lol

---

the probability of winning it is 0 because juzzi wins everything

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eljay
the probability of winning it is 0 because juzzi wins everything

---

quote:

---

Windows Live Mail Research (762_research@microsoft.com)
Subject: Participate in this Windows Live Mail research and have a chance to win a digital camera!

---

aite, ill let you all know when i win the camera =P HAHAH