Automatic messages to contact list

[Mr-H]

My son uses hotmail as his email provider. His computer has suddenly started sending automatic messages to everyone in his contact list. The message arrives as '...... has sent you a private message'. The words 'private message' is blued and underlined like a hyperlink. When you click on it, this appears as the web address 'res://ieframe.dll/syntax.htm#0kiv9n4ra26nnv.
n9k.me/?read=isg&f=
****@hotmail.com&t=****@sky.com&n=****@sky.co
m'
(asterisks are used here instead of real names). Can anyone advise me, a) is this the result of a virus of some sort, and b) how can we clear the problem please?

[factor-fiction]

He needs to change his password straight away

[Mr-H]

Thanks for the fast reply - done that!

[Mr-H]

Just wondered - is there anything else we need to do?

[factor-fiction]

It may be worth changing his email address soon and closing his old one, although if that could cause problems he could wait a few days to see if the password change solves the problem

[Mr-H]

Thanks for the thought factor - I suppose we could create a new email address running side by side with the old one for a few days and see what happens.

[MrPorter]

. my dad has just had this happen to him, Definately Change your password. i would suggest also doing a good thorough virus/malware scan of your entire PC. to make sure someone hasnt gotten your password that way ie keylogger or trojan. also try to make your password as hard as possible, if possible include besides small letters, Capitals, Numbers and symbols. it is also recommended that you change your pass regularly. maybe 30-60 or 90 days.
btw if you do get a psitive while doing your scan, dont forget that after you remedy the problem to change your pass again right away just in case. only if you get infections or alerts while doing the scan. some say its best to do more than one scan with different brands of scanners for best results. many are free online. I also would like to know more about this if anyone knows. is it a virus? well, hope this helps some..

[MrPorter]

here is a link to the same problem i believe thats says similar things
http://answers.micros...ef5-b5df-c406305fa472

[sunny-dave]

Your son's hotmail has been hacked/spoofed. This is a very common problem at the moment.

If he can login to the account then he needs to change his password and check that all his other account details (especially any associated email addresses) are correct.

If (like at least one of my friends) he can no longer access the account, he needs to go through the 'account retrieval' process.

https://account.live.com/acsr