What Is the Mailer-Daemon?
Email works like a virtual postal system.
When you send a message, it first goes to a server called the mailer-daemon.
Lifewire / Emilie Dunphy
That server passes the message on to other servers until the message is delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
When delivery fails, a mailer-daemon oops message is generated and sent back to the original sender.
What Is Mailer-Daemon Spam?
Mailer-daemons do not use the address in theFromline to determine an email’s sender.
Instead, a mailer-daemon uses the email header, which includes a return path containing the sender’s address.
If they send an email to an address that no longer exists, you receive mailer-daemon spam.
Receiving mailer-daemon spam doesn’t necessarily mean you have malware, but there are some precautions you better take.
Then, change all of your account passwords when you’re done.
Report the mailer-daemon spam as junk mail.
Most email programs have an option to flag emails as spam.
If you receive mailer-daemon spam, it’s possible that some of your contacts received infected emails from you.
Let everyone know what happened, and tell them to ignore any suspicious messages from your address.
Is Anything Being Done to Stop Mailer-Daemon Spam?
Email servers have measures in place to limit the number of useless delivery notifications they send.
If the address is obviously not the real sender’s, no error email is sent.
