Email Hacked

[Barmaid]

My btinternet account has been compromised.

I woke up this morning to about 200 returned emails and failure delivery notices.

I've immediately changed my password (it wasn't the same as any password I use anywhere else so I don't know how that happened).

Anyway, I've sent out a LOAD of spam to anyone and everyone. How can I prevent this? What else can I do?

[Old_Geezer]

If they find a way to try random combinations until they stumble on the one that, works, then length will be more secure than randomness (as long as you don't use a single word or well known phrase). A computer can try loads of combinations tirelessly. But I'm surprised the provider doesn't manage to prevent such a continuous access failure.

[Old_Geezer]

You absolutely sure you don't have a rogue keyboard logger active in the background ?

[Old_Geezer]

Ah if Yahoo are fixing their security holes maybe it's them after all.

[Barmaid]

Well I can't be sure, but having done a full virus check and malware search, it came up clean.

[Barmaid]

Plus I don't access the email account by entering my password, I do it through a client email which knows what the pw is. I am fairly sure the machine wasn't compromised since recently added contacts didn't get anything (they are on the client software only), but older contacts on the bt server got the full monty.

[SlackAlice]

With the amount of people coming on here saying their BT/Yahoo account has been hacked, I think it's safe to say that BT/Yahoo's secure servers have been hacked rather than individuals a/c's hacked.

[Peter Pedant]

Kiss kiss barmaid - we are with you
big kiss and hug

as a lawyer you will know the adage - as a last resort try telling the truth and if you explain to people - esp the rude emails - most people understand ' hack' and 'not me'. to the ones that dont understand just send another rude email.

I think it has to be yahoo - as I am as yet unaffected.

[baza]

Isent out 20 or so emails last saturday when I was watching the idiots lantern and the computer was on its own, didn't find out until sunday when a relative rang to tell me.
Just tried to change my password but failed the security bumff, it seems I don't know who I am, it does say you can ring them , then do not show a phone number, anyone their dog and bone number, please.

[woofgang]

Do people send you emails with long cc lists, eg the funnies that go around or group discussions of any kind? These get harvested for the email addresses so it may not be your account that was hacked, but the account of someone who has legitimately got your email address. It wont stop it completely but when emailing groups of people for any reason, either create a "group" in your email program or put only your email address (even a spare one just for that purpose) in the To: line and bcc all the real recipients.

[guilliebrougues]

we had a e-mail recently from someone who was supposed to be a friend, however, when we looked at their first name it was spelled differently from the way it should be, so, instead of replying to it, we contacted the person with his properly spelled christian name and he informed us that he had not been in touch, was this a spam I wonder.

[baza]

sorry just re read my prev, what I should have put was , does anyone know a contact number for BT/Yahoo. Thanks.

[Barmaid]

Baza, I tried to find their number but it was the devil's own job. So I gave up and just deleted EVERYTHING.

[Barmaid]

Woofgang, no I don't tend to get those type of emails on that account. That account is mainly business. There were hundreds of emails in my "Sent" folder that I hadn't sent, so clearly my password was compromised.