Help, someone is using my e-mail to send SPAM!

[kaichu dento]

I've been getting a bunch of notices of e-mails that I wasn't able to send lately. Only thing is, they're all SPAM!?!

Just now I went to my Sent box and it had hundreds of them in there, all sent starting the middle of October.

Is there anything I can do about this? :mecry:


Please don't post in this thread unless you have something helpful to add. I'm hoping the Mods will help keep this thread
on track and due to the seriousness of this issue also request no joke posting.

 

[Crenshaw]

whos your email provider?

Crenshaw

 

[kaichu dento]

Ｈｏｔｍａｉｌ.

 

[Black Rose]

Are they being sent via your computer or from a webmail account?

If it's from your computer, you have a trojan/malware on your PC that you need to remove ASAP.

If it's from a webmail account, your account has been compromised.
Change your password at a minimum.

 

[kaichu dento]

Sorry if I sound ignorant, but how do I check to see if it's coming from the computer or a webmail account?

I'll go change my password now.

 

[Black Rose]

What do you use for e-mail?

A dedicated application like Outlook/Outlook Express or do you log onto Hotmail/Yahoo/GMail with your web browser?

 

[kaichu dento]

Hotmail through Firefox.

 

[tsmith35]

And when you choose a password, don't include words. For example, don't choose a password like flashlightfan or hotgirls. Instead, think of a sentence like, "There Are Seven Cats Living Around Here And They Are Ugly" and take the first letter of each word: TASCLAHATAU

Add some numbers and punctuation: TASC7LAHATAU*!

If you like, use all lowercase: tasc7lahatau*!

Or mix in a few CAPS (optional): taSC7lahaTAU*!

And you have a good 14-character password that you can remember. Feel free to write it down on a slip of paper and keep it at home and/or put it in your wallet (without any reference to Hotmail). You can get fancier: http://www.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/doc/passwords/passwords.html -- I know MIT says not to write it down, but you don't want to get locked out of your Hotmail account. Besides, an online account thief can't see through the computer. This doesn't count if someone with physical access to you or your home is out to get you... usually not the case.

But some of what MIT recommends is really unnecessary for a personal email account. There is something else important: don't use a password shorter than 8 characters, and preferably use one that is longer.

 

[Crenshaw]

Hotmail is usually used within a web browser.

Change your password. Use Capitals letters and numbers mixed in for maximum strength.

If it doesnt change, either contact hotmail support, or get a new account.

best to change your paypal password NOW if its similar...

I dont think you need to go to the extent of an MIT student. After all, THEY'RE surrounded by people with potentially substantial knowledge on the subject of hacking

Crenshaw

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I have had those messages in my rocketmail account and I know they are just someone spoofing my email address as the origin and return address because I get 2-3 of them and a few years later a couple more then nothing lately.

 

[kaichu dento]

And when you choose a password, don't include words. For example, don't choose a password like flashlightfan or hotgirls. Instead, think of a sentence like, "There Are Seven Cats Living Around Here And They Are Ugly" and take the first letter of each word: TASCLAHATAU

Add some numbers and punctuation: TASC7LAHATAU*!

If you like, use all lowercase: tasc7lahatau*!

Or mix in a few CAPS (optional): taSC7lahaTAU*!

And you have a good 14-character password that you can remember. Feel free to write it down on a slip of paper and keep it at home and/or put it in your wallet (without any reference to Hotmail). You can get fancier: http://www.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/doc/passwords/passwords.html -- I know MIT says not to write it down, but you don't want to get locked out of your Hotmail account. Besides, an online account thief can't see through the computer. This doesn't count if someone with physical access to you or your home is out to get you... usually not the case.

But some of what MIT recommends is really unnecessary for a personal email account. There is something else important: don't use a password shorter than 8 characters, and preferably use one that is longer.

Thanks for the best information I have read to date on making a good password!

Hotmail is usually used within a web browser.

Change your password. Use Capitals letters and numbers mixed in for maximum strength.

If it doesnt change, either contact hotmail support, or get a new account.

best to change your paypal password NOW if its similar...

I dont think you need to go to the extent of an MIT student. After all, THEY'RE surrounded by people with potentially substantial knowledge on the subject of hacking

Crenshaw

Thanks for this additional information. I hope others that have had problems of this sort are taking notes!

I have had those messages in my rocketmail account and I know they are just someone spoofing my email address as the origin and return address because I get 2-3 of them and a few years later a couple more then nothing lately.

Again I have to ask, what is spoofing and how exactly does it work?

 

[Black Rose]

Spoofing is when someone else uses your e-mail address to send SPAM.

Your situation does not appear to be spoofing, since you are actually seeing the SPAM e-mail messages in your Sent mail folder.

 

[kaichu dento]

Spoofing is when someone else uses your e-mail address to send SPAM.

Your situation does not appear to be spoofing, since you are actually seeing the SPAM e-mail messages in your Sent mail folder.

Now that I've changed my password I hope the problem disappears.

Thanks for all the help thus far and I hope I don't need any more. :wave:

 

[RocketTomato]

I've been getting a bunch of notices of e-mails that I wasn't able to send lately. Only thing is, they're all SPAM!?!

Just now I went to my Sent box and it had hundreds of them in there, all sent starting the middle of October.

Is there anything I can do about this? :mecry:


Please don't post in this thread unless you have something helpful to add. I'm hoping the Mods will help keep this thread
on track and due to the seriousness of this issue also request no joke posting.

E-mail spoofing is when the sender address is deliberately faked. For example, I actually send an e-mail from my account joe@m**ail.com but I hack the e-mail header to make it look like it comes from flashaholic@c**pf.com. That is why you get the undelivered mail notifications. If someone spoofs your e-mail there is nothing you can really do about it. Just ignore the notices.

However, if the spam is appearing in your sent mail folder, most likely your hotmail account or computer has been compromised. Are you running anti-virus software? If not, download (on a secure computer) or buy some. Make sure you run the anti-virus off a CD and do a full scan your infected computer.

Admin edit: mail.com and cpf.com are actual domains. The example addresses have been altered to keep the servers and/or mail holders from being bombarded with spam after a bot reads the addresses at this site. - Empath

 

[kaichu dento]

E-mail spoofing is when the sender address is deliberately faked. For example, I actually send an e-mail from my account joe@m**ail.com but I hack the e-mail header to make it look like it comes from flashaholic@c**pf.com. That is why you get the undelivered mail notifications. If someone spoofs your e-mail there is nothing you can really do about it. Just ignore the notices.

However, if the spam is appearing in your sent mail folder, most likely your hotmail account or computer has been compromised. Are you running anti-virus software? If not, download (on a secure computer) or buy some. Make sure you run the anti-virus off a CD and do a full scan your infected computer.

Just as I was hoping I might be okay with the password change. :sigh:

I'll have to check with my friend whose computer I'm on later. It's incredible all we can do now with the help of computers; unfortunately there seems to be no shortage of people who love to mess with other peoples lives.

 

[tsmith35]

I dont think you need to go to the extent of an MIT student. After all, THEY'RE surrounded by people with potentially substantial knowledge on the subject of hacking

That's the interesting part: MIT students have good reason to believe that knowledgeable students will attempt to hack their accounts, so they take steps to prevent it. It's like locking your door if you live downtown -- just good sense.

But most folks can't imagine that anyone would ever guess their password(s), so they pick something easy to remember. And easy to guess. Many people actually think of passwords as a simple nuisance, so they choose a really easy password. It's like leaving your door unlocked if you live in the suburbs -- why worry? But a password thief is much like a burglar: he usually won't mess with the locked doors, since there are so many unlocked doors to choose from.

Here are some examples of unlocked doors: http://www.whatsmypass.com/the-top-500-worst-passwords-of-all-time

My favorite password of all time is... secret

 

[kaichu dento]

That's the interesting part: MIT students have good reason to believe that knowledgeable students will attempt to hack their accounts, so they take steps to prevent it. It's like locking your door if you live downtown -- just good sense.

But most folks can't imagine that anyone would ever guess their password(s), so they pick something easy to remember. And easy to guess. Many people actually think of passwords as a simple nuisance, so they choose a really easy password. It's like leaving your door unlocked if you live in the suburbs -- why worry? But a password thief is much like a burglar: he usually won't mess with the locked doors, since there are so many unlocked doors to choose from.

Here are some examples of unlocked doors: http://www.whatsmypass.com/the-top-500-worst-passwords-of-all-time

My favorite password of all time is... secret

It's ironically funny that although you know so much about this stuff, under your user name it still says 'unenlightened'. You've done much to help enlighten me though. Thanks!

 

[jzmtl]

Mix in a symbol or two such as @#$^%&*, make it almost impossible to guess. Although quite a few places doesn't recognize them and require your pass to be letter and number only.