Reply to: Hotmail Hacked

[Paddy]

If that were the case, it would be unlikely that a copy of the email would be in the sent items folder.......

Umm... I agree with you

[r0bly0ns]

It appears you were not hacked. The description matches that of a virus on your PC or someone with you email address on their PC. The virus collects the contents of the address book and loads it in to a spoof SMTP mail system. The program will spoof your address not only for you but for others. You may find your email address is then blacklisted because recipients think you are spamming. If you check the IPs in the mail you may find it originated from a server in Italy or Nigeria etc.

If that were the case, it would be unlikely that a copy of the email would be in the sent items folder.......

[Paddy]

I guess this is as good a place as any to ask this.

I logged into my Hotmail account last night to find an email from myself, purveying a range of consumer electrics (wiis, Playstations etc.). On further inspection I realised that it had been sent from me to all of my contacts. The email was sitting in my sent items as if I had done it myself.

How on earth has this happened? Does it mean that a human has actually gained access to my password and physically sent it, or could it just be some sort of virus?

I've obviously sent an email to my contacts explaining it isn't me (some of my aunts probably thought it was a new business venture) and I've changed my password. I've done the same on eBay as I used the same password and the username is obviously available on my emails. Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

Annoyingly there were some contacts on there that I definitely didn't want to be in contact with again. I feel violated.

It appears you were not hacked. The description matches that of a virus on your PC or someone with you email address on their PC. The virus collects the contents of the address book and loads it in to a spoof SMTP mail system. The program will spoof your address not only for you but for others. You may find your email address is then blacklisted because recipients think you are spamming. If you check the IPs in the mail you may find it originated from a server in Italy or Nigeria etc.

[miffy]

I used to use free anti-virus (AVG etc), but Kaspersky is worth the money I think, it picks up a lot more and has a decent set of web filters for nasty things that are embedded in web pages (the free ones don't detect half of those). Their 3 user license is perfect for me.

It's probably the only AV worth paying for. Norton, Sophos, McAfee, Panda etc are just garbage. Resource hogs.

Layering is always a good idea (combining AV with another product). For example Kaspersky AV & Adaware pro.

It depends on the type of surfin you're doing at the end of the day. If you're a safe surfer who doesn't open suspect email attachments and only visit reputable sites, then probably AVG and Windows Defender is enough to keep you safe. If you're a little more adventurous, buy a decent AV product.

In all cases where you're running windows keep the thing up to date, otherwise it's a liability.

[BrilloPad]

personally I use avast and AVG.

[Qdos Contractor]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I wouldn't normally be that bothered because I don't use Hotmail much, but I'm moving house at the moment and all correspondence with my solicitor & estate agent goes through it.

What anti-virus software do you recommend?

[BrilloPad]

Yup I did this a while back - funnily enough when those lost data discs stories were in the press.

Would highly recommend www.roboform.com for managing your passwords and logins - worth the licence money.

sounds great for alll but citibank - they have a pop up keyboard (on screen) you have to click using the mouse. saves having a physical key with a number generator.

[BrilloPad]

You might as well use your wifes name as a password for hotmail. Hotmail can be hacked into regardless of what password you use.

Even something generated from this? http://www.roboform.com/password-generator.html

[Turion]

I seem to remember there are 4 tests for a strong password? I must google it. I think I should upgrade my hotmail/ebay/paypal/pension/bank passwords...

You might as well use your wifes name as a password for hotmail. Hotmail can be hacked into regardless of what password you use.

[moorfield]

I think I should upgrade my hotmail/ebay/paypal/pension/bank passwords...

Yup I did this a while back - funnily enough when those lost data discs stories were in the press.

Would highly recommend www.roboform.com for managing your passwords and logins - worth the licence money.

[BrilloPad]

My mother had the same happen, and it wasn't a virus or trojan (I scanned her PC with everything under the sun). Upon searching the web I found this to be quite common. I think it's a human who hacked it (well, guessed the password probably after trying lots of combinations).

Changing all your passwords is I think the best you can do. And do check your PC for spyware/virus etc in case your situation isn't the same as the one I encountered before.

I seem to remember there are 4 tests for a strong password? I must google it. I think I should upgrade my hotmail/ebay/paypal/pension/bank passwords...

[moorfield]

Gmail is great but if you're paranoid about security use https://mail.google.com NOT www.gmail.com in your browser since the latter does not use a secure session (SSL). A tad annoying that.
Gmail seems to have been in "beta" for years I wonder if they will ever sort that out.

[Turion]

Hacking hotmail accounts is a bit of a sport for some and quite simple. The security is very lax. This was probably done by some kind of bot that harvests these accounts, hacks them and then sends spam to all contacts. Best to ditch hotmail and switch to gmail or other alternative.

[Platypus]

Have you emailed hotmail about it?

Though I think it is likely to be taken from a virus on your computer - what anti virus do you use?

My mother had the same happen, and it wasn't a virus or trojan (I scanned her PC with everything under the sun). Upon searching the web I found this to be quite common. I think it's a human who hacked it (well, guessed the password probably after trying lots of combinations).

Changing all your passwords is I think the best you can do. And do check your PC for spyware/virus etc in case your situation isn't the same as the one I encountered before.

[Sockpuppet]

I would change all passwords and user names to be on the safe side. Scan PC for viruses and trojans, key loggers and the such like.