A relatively new email laundering virus affecting Gmail accounts is spreading online and turning unsuspecting Gmail users into spammers. This new vulnerability is called Gmail Filter Virus. It takes control over your account and starts sending out spam emails on your behalf without you even realizing it. If you have been using Gmail for a while now, you should be familiar with the filter feature. Filters organize your mail into different categories and they are also used for automating the actions taken on the mail that you receive. Gmail Filter Virus creates filters for spam email messages.
Gmail Filter Virus targets your settings by adding filter rules for the incoming email. It automates a process to receive messages without adding them to the inbox. Once the message arrives, the virus marks it as read and forwards it to your contacts. The message is later deleted, so that you do not notice that this unwanted activity has ever occurred.
The origin of this infection is not clear. It should be noted, however, that there is no specific malicious file that spreads the virus. It is a vulnerability within Gmail accounts. This means that you could infect your email when logging on from a different computer as well. The good news is that Gmail Filter Virus cannot corrupt or steal your personal data.
If you want to check whether or not Gmail Filter Virus has infiltrated your email account, you should log into your Gmail and go to Settings. Once there, select the Filter tab and check if there are any filters listed on it that you do not recognize. If you do, it means that the virus has infiltrated your account.
Google is aware of this vulnerability and is taking steps to resolve the issue on the server, however, there are a few tips you can follow as well to take care of your account. First, we suggest that you change your password and secret question and answer in your Gmail account as soon as you can. Secondly, you should delete all filters created by the annoying virus. And finally, you should scan your PC with a reliable anti-malware utility. It is important to have a reputable malware prevention and removal tool installed on your computer as it is the only way for you to be sure that various malicious programs do not damage your system and steal you private data.