HOTMAIL: accounts of several C44 members hacked

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 08:38

Several members of C44 are (unknowingly) sending email messages from their Hotmail account with sometimes a disturbing content. It means their Hotmail account is hacked - I have informed some of the 'victims', but a message for all may be better.

The first thing they should, pardon: could, do is change the password of their hotmail account.

▶ By the way: it is a very good habit to change the password of your Hotmail account (and any free email account!) regularly. Once a month or so (and use characters and figures in the new password which should exist of at least eight characters/figures!).

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 08:58

II.



If you think the content of your hard drive is not worth protecting against all the computer malware in this world (99,5 % for PC's, Macs are hardly involved) - don't read on. One day you may be very sorry. Your choice.



If you disagree with the above: spend a very reasonable amount of US Dollars (Pounds, Euros or whatever) and buy good anti-virus software on line. Plenty of reviews of such software available on the Internet. The database of such software is often updated daily and certainly in emergency cases.

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:10

Microsoft advise if your hotmail account is hacked



1.Read http://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=6ea0c7b3-1473-4176-b03f-145b951dcb41

2.Run a malware scan on all computers you use to access the account. If there is something like a keylogger installed that will steal your passwords the bad guys will get your changed password too. The free Malicious Software Removal Tool (click to download) will do this for you.

3.If you can still log in to your account:

a.Change the password

b.Change the alternate e-mail in your Account Settings (Options->Account Settings)

4.If are locked out of the account:

a.Try a password reset ( http://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=bf5d34bf-db28-44ca-ac9a-93838d81b2d6).

b.If that does not work, complete the form here for Windows Live ID Validation:(https://support.live.com/eform.aspx?productKey=wlidvalidation).

5.If you used that account as the verification for other online accounts,such as eBay, consider proactively

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:11

Cont



Changing the passwords on those accounts.





See

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/what-to-do-if-your-hotmail-account-is-hacked-or-hijacked.aspx



to get the active links

erolz


Joined: 17/11/2008
Posts: 3456

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:18

Oh dear I know this is going to be going into dnagerous territory, but I would like to make, as respectfully as possible some comments.



Spam emails comming from a hotmail account does not necessarily mean the hotmail account itself has been hacked. It may mean that so the advice re changing passwords is valid, but it is also possible that it is a sign that a given persons machine hase been compromised, if they have their hotmail password 'saved' on their machine, then malicous programs could be sending out mails from their account without actualy 'knowing' their hotmail password. It is also possible that the emails recieved whilst appearing to have come from a given email address have in fact not come from that address, but have had the sending address 'spoofed'.



Again advice to run good anti-virus protection and some form of firewall software, if only the inbuilt windows one is good. I personaly am happy with the protection provided for home use without charge for the anti v I

Washerman


Joined: 19/09/2008
Posts: 2301

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:22

Following the Epsilon and Sony hacking, the email addresses of many millions of people are currently in the public domain - don't change your password, change your email address !

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:38

@ msg 5, erolz: You are right in your knowledgeable message, but I tried to keep it simple in my msg 1 and 2. You may agree that I mentioned the two first and most important steps for users of a free email account and in general PC owners.



By the way here's more about hacked, hijacked etc Hotmail accounts:

▶ [ http://is.gd/dxq8zO/if_your_hotmail_account_is_hacked ].



I'd like to add here (once more) the importance of backing up the complete content of a hard drive. Drives are so cheap nowadays that I really don't understand why still so many computer owners don't back up! Again: all drives will - sooner or later - die one day.

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 09:41

@ msg 6, Washerman: Right! Where would you have your free email account, Paul? (My choice was and is gmail.com - fingers crossed, but never had a problem in the past years).

Washerman


Joined: 19/09/2008
Posts: 2301

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 10:04

I recommend getting your own domain and setting it up on Google's servers - that's what I do.



Has erolz has pointed out, there are malicious programs that can infect your PC that search your HDD for important info' such as username and password details. There are also keyloggers that record the keystorkes that you make.



If someone has your login details and has access to your email account, thay can change the password, the back-up email address and security question so, your in trouble, but usually, they just want access to your contacts list.



If someone has had access to your email contacts list and is sending emails to your contacts - they may have stored the addresses in their own database so, changing the password will not make any difference.

erolz


Joined: 17/11/2008
Posts: 3456

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 10:11

msg 7 "Again: all drives will - sooner or later - die one day."

Indeed just as we all will too.



Indeed I agree you got most important info covered, I can be a bit pedantic at times.



Backup can indeed save you much hassel and heartache. Personaly I periodicaly do a single image copy of my system hardrive to a spare drive using bought software called acronis true image. If my system drive fails for any reason, I can just set my bios to boot from the backup drive rather than failed system drive and I still have a working computer without having to go through hassel of reinstalling windows (in my case) and only loose anything added since I last made the image backup. One thing I would also add about backing up, is dont just back up regularly, but also check that you can recover from said backups at least once before you need to because of a failure.

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 10:44

@ msg 10, erolz: I agree with your back up strategy, but in graphical work "periodicaly" is not good enough for me. I back up - automatically and in the background - two drives (one in my Mac PowerBook and one 1 Tb external with four partitions) to another drive every hour.

Any file to update on the back up drive will be moved first to another (1 Tb) drive with an "Archived folder", which holds ALL the updated files until the drive is full. The oldest files will then automatically be removed. It's more or less based on Apples built in Time Machine (which I don't use because of the power cuts in TRNC).

No back up system is 100% waterproof, but I'm fairly sure that I'm as safe as possible!

erolz


Joined: 17/11/2008
Posts: 3456

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 11:50

Indeed DC and many types of backup 'schemes' can be used according to indivdual needs. If I were doing any serious work on this machine I would want a form incremental back up probably daily for my work areas for last 30 days and and with either week or monthly full dumps with a rotation system such that I could go back any day in the last 30, any month in the last 6, so that I could find version of my work going back over time. Anyway I probably have slipped into 'too much detail' again.



Simple thing to remeber is 'backup' one way or another