Spoofed email address - again!

andygb

Well, it happened again yesterday. A load of emails were sent from my address whilst I was out shopping. Following the last lot, I cleared down my contact list completely, and tried to warn everyone about the problem with my emails. Yesterday the whole thing went totally mad, and about twenty different emails were sent (each containing around half a dozen recipient addresses).
Is there now any alternative but to close down this particular address and use one of my other two which have not been affected? I also think that I now know how this all started. I received an email (now several emails) from a former workmate from ten years ago, and I possibly clicked on a link in it - would that be enough for this to start?
I take it the PC is not infected, just that the email address has been hijacked.

macman

If the address has merely been spoofed, then no point in closing the account- it will stop eventually.
If the account has been hijacked then the first thing to do is change and strengthen your password.
If the emails are not in your Sent folder then it's just spoofing.

FloFlo

This has just happened to me, they weren't in my sent box so I assume its just a spoofed email addy? Is there any point in contacting everyone in my address book, its pretty obvious the email is spam?

macman

Yes, spoofed. No, not really, although one group email will take you only a few seconds to do.

FloFlo

How do they get access to your contacts?

I have just deleted my contacts list, but I suppose its too late now?

macman

They only get access to your contacts if the account is actually hacked. The point is to secure your account by using a decent password, i.e. not 'fred123'.
Once the contacts list has been harvested it will be added to spammer's mailing lists and there's nothing you can do about it.

FloFlo

I have changed my password is there anything else I need to do?

egfcomps

Make sure your password is secure, not just numbers and letters add a few symbols in as well i.e. @ $ % ^ &*.

This seemed to work for me.

andygb

egfcomps wrote: »

Make sure your password is secure, not just numbers and letters add a few symbols in as well i.e. @ $ % ^ &*.

This seemed to work for me.

If you use a mixture of eight alpha numeric characters, then there are thousands of possibilities - how would they actually hack that?

andygb

macman wrote: »

They only get access to your contacts if the account is actually hacked. The point is to secure your account by using a decent password, i.e. not 'fred123'.
Once the contacts list has been harvested it will be added to spammer's mailing lists and there's nothing you can do about it.

I think that my account has been hacked then, because the emails were in my sent box, and I have deleted all the contacts.
Unfortunately the OH's email address was hacked yesterday, and I am pretty sure that I have found a common link - a relative abroad sent her an email with a link to a stupid picture (not disgusting or perverted or anything, just silly) and she opened it and clicked on the link. Going back a while to around the first time my account was hacked, I had an email from him as well:(

FloFlo

This is my malwarebytes log, seems all clear

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.51.2.1300
www.malwarebytes.org
Database version: 8022
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18702
26/10/2011 15:33:12
mbam-log-2011-10-26 (15-33-11).txt
Scan type: Quick scan
Objects scanned: 176964
Time elapsed: 32 minute(s), 42 second(s)
Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 0
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 0
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 0
Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Keys Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Data Items Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Files Infected:
(No malicious items detected)