Hacked e-mail

[rusty baker]

Nick, someone got into one of my e-mail accounts and sent out spam. I changed the password and reported it to yahoo. What else should I do? Jim said to ask you. I hate to give up the address, it's one I have used since I first got a computer.

[Nick Arrera]

Someone sent you spam ? , or someone sent spam from your confuser .. There is really nothing you can do about spam being sent to you except having a good Anti virus software that scans all e mail like the free version of Avast ..

avast! Home Edition - Reviews and free avast! Home Edition downloads at Download.com

I have been using T Mail the last month .. great little program that will keep it on the server letting you delete it before it gets on your computer .. My spam has dropped down from 30 a day to around five .. This is the only link for the free version i have found ..
TMail
If you need a hand setting it up , which is not hard shout out ..
What Anti virus , and firewall are you running ?
Nick ..

[TFP Admin]

No, what happened was that a spammer hijacked his email address to send spam to me and others. It's a Yahoo email address, so you can see that Yahoo really won't really give 2 shits about it. I suggested Rusty dump the email address and ask Yahoo to delete the account, but he wants to keep it.

Rusty, I understand sentimentality and the fact that all your friends and relatives have that address, but the most you can expect from Yahoo, GMail, HotMail and all those others are that they are disposable email addresses. They really only serve best as "catch-all" addresses, used to sign up with unknown websites, downloading software, surveys and crap like that. Use a real email address, either from your ISP or one associated with your own website for all other email.

All good email programs now have the ability to allow you to delete junk mail before it has the opportunity to infect your computer. Some people prefer the web based email programs. You can still have that through your ISP or any decent host for your own domain - you don't even have to have a website to use a domain based email account.

No matter what way you like to do your email, the trick is, don't give just anyone the email address you want to use for your personal email. Tell your friends who normally send "forward-this-to-everyone-you-know" emails not to send them to you. That's the easiest way for your address to end up in the wrong hands - you can't trust people you don't know to protect your privacy and I guarantee you don't know everyone listed in those mass email forwards. You might think you are missing out on a lot of laughs, but all those jokes and chuckles are already old and spread all over the Internet anyway.

Anyway, I told Rusty to ask you about this, Nick. Maybe you have more information on how to deal with this kind of situation. Rusty wants to keep this email address from Yahoo, but now it is being used to sell electronics. It will be only a matter of a small amount of time when it will also be used to sell drugs, porn and God knows what else. As far as I know, it's a doomed email address and unsalvageable. But I might be wrong.

Jim

[Nick Arrera]

Sorry , The hamster fell off the wheel this morning and i wasn't thinking clearly
I agree with you 100 % T .. Changing the password won't do anything .. i posted a Warning a few weeks back on the new sophisticated hacking going on now , especially with e mail .. Some of these e mails don't even have to be opened to get into your acct , steal ID , Banking [etc] .. I to suggest you delete the acct Rusty , and use Outlook .. The T mail is a great little app that is of course free and won't let the hackers on your computer ..
Also I would like you to run Super Anti spyware , Malwarebites , and HJT and send me the logs so i can check and make sure everything is clean ..

Print these instructions out.

1. Download SUPERAntiSpyware Free for Home Users: SUPERAntiSpyware.com - AntiAdware, AntiSpyware, AntiMalware!
   1. Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe and use the default settings for installation ..
   2. An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon to launch the program ..
   3. If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not, update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download and unzip them from here: SUPERAntiSpyware.com - Database Definition Information.)
   4. Close SUPERAntiSpyware ..
2. Restart computer in Safe Mode (to enter Safe Mode, restart computer, and keep tapping F8 key, until menu appears; select Safe Mode; you'll see "Safe Mode" in all four corners of your screen
   1. Open SUPERAntiSpyware ..
   2. Under "Configuration and Preferences", click the Preferences button ..
   3. Click the Scanning Control tab ..
   4. Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):
      1. Close browsers before scanning ..
      2. Scan for tracking cookies ..
      3. Terminate memory threats before quarantining ..
   5. Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen.
   6. Back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click Scan your computer ..
   7. On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive ..
   8. On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete Scan ..
   9. Click "Next" to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans your computer ..
   10. After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
   11. Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click "Next" ..
   12. A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to the main menu ..
   13. If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes" ..
   14. To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch SUPERAntispyware again.
       1. Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab ..
       2. Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log ..
       3. If there are several logs, click the current dated log and press View log. A text file will open in your default text editor ..
       4. Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next reply ..
   15. Click Close to exit the program.
   16. RESTART COMPUTER!
3. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware: |MG| Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.28 to your desktop.
   1. Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program ..
   2. At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish ..
   3. If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version ..
   4. Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan.
   5. When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results ..
   6. Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected ..
   7. When completed, a log will open in Notepad ..
   8. Send me the log .. (the log can also be found here: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes ' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt Or at C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt
   9. RESTART COMPUTER!
4. Download HijackThis: TrendMicro HijackThis download and review - investigate browser add-ons from SnapFiles
   1. copy and paste log into word and send me that also .. HJT will confirm there is no more junk on your confuser ..

If you have any questions , just call me ..
Nick ..
609 760 5028
or email me using the email link in my profile.

[TFP Admin]

Nick, I edited your message to add list formatting. It's easier to read that way. You can use lists yourself, it's pretty simple: The Floor Pro Community - BB Code List

Also, since this topic is about compromised email addresses, please don't post yours on the open forum. Your computer support forum can be read by anyone who visits the forum, including spam bots looking for stray email addresses. You have a link in your profile and in the drop-down in your name in forum posts that will allow anyone to send you email without revealing your email address. The only way it will let anyone see your email address is if you reply to an email sent from that link. That's true for anyone on our site that has registered and chosen to allow members to email them. Their email address will never be revealed unless they reply to an email sent to them.

Jim

[Nick Arrera]

Soory , I thought i deleted that .. Has to be the Hamster .. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it ..

[Peter Kodner]

From the way Rusty described it, he has been spoofed. A hacker is using your email to send out spam to others. Happened to me about six months ago. I found out by getting tons of undeliverable messages where the recipients had a decent spam blocker for their email. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do. Either close the account or wait for the spammer to get tired of using your email address. It took about 2-3 weeks and I no longer get the undeliverable message.

I'd still follow Nick's advice on protecting yourself from those with more evil intent! There are way too many crooks out there who don't limit themselves to the victims with billions