Can A Virus Do This?

[anaxcrosswords]

Had an email from my mum to say that a couple of days ago all of the emails in her Sent folder (Yahoo) disappeared, asking me if a virus could have done it.
I said it seemed unlikely - other than accidental deletion, they could have got moved to a different folder or may still be in Trash, but she's checked and they're not in any of those places.
Is there a virus that can delete all Sent emails?

[Alston]

A virus can erase files, cause computer crashes and destroy information.

Accordingly, the short answer to your question is, unfortunately, .....Yes.

Al.

[Alston]

Sorry, I was going to suggest that your Mum gives her Comp a run-through with an Anti Virus programme to see if there is any indication of a 'bug' having entered her e/mail folders.

Al.

[Old_Geezer]

Whilst it can I'm unsure one would expect it to do so since there is no benefit in signalling it's presence for no financial gain. Did a scan pick anything up ?

Does your mum operate her Yahoo account from the Yahoo webpage or does she download them to her PC ? If it went from the website I'd suspect less chance of finding anything on a PC scan. But from your suggestion that they may be in the trash, it sounds as if they get downloaded.

:-( Shows backups are so useful sometimes.

[SlackAlice]

I'd also recommend changing Mum's Yahoo password as well.

[bibblebub]

Is it possible that Yahoo have updated your mum's account and, in doing so, set it to delete all messages (e.g. in the sent folder) that are more than a certain number of days old? Yahoo do seem to like fiddling around with their email handling quite often.

[Alston]

Whilst I am pleased, I don't understand really, why you have awarded me 'Best Answer'.

Has your Mum given her comp a check with an AV programme and found out something which has now been put right.?

Al.

[christine101t]

yes virus can do this, they infect files badly and harm our pc too.

[chrisgel]

Wait for it.