Hacked off with Phishing

[Geoffrey Settle]

Hi all,

 

For the 2nd time in 3 weeks my Yahoo account has been hacked and my adress database is being used to send out all sorts of stuff - please don't open just delete. I've reset my password several times and I am in the process of migarting to another provider because I am hacked off  .

 

Unfortunatley this is the way of the internet these days - I suppose it beats a flame war  - and one of the reasons why there are no comment facilities now on the front page.

[inky pete]

I've never had my email or any of my social media accounts hacked - but then I do take the security of other peoples contact details in my address books seriously and don't get sloppy with passwords, encryption or regular virus and malware scans.

 

99 times out of 100 a hacked email account is nothing to do with "the internet" or the email provider but is the individuals fault for neglecting basic security measures.

[Dizzy]

I'm touching wood as I type this...... and I have never had my email account hacked either.  I've had the same one for years and it still has the same password from when set up when we first set the email account up when we went over from dial up AOL to Virgin (ntl) broadband.

Saying that it's not a free yahoo one and I wouldn't use one of those anyway.

I hope you get it sorted Geoff and by the way... what were 'you' sending out ?  

[Geoffrey Settle]

Yep I've had mine for about 20 years and no issues but times change and recently the Yahoo have changed stuff and it's not as good and then this loop hole.

 

As to you question I've no idea but the 1,000 plus people in my address book will have found out about all sorts of products - but sadly Dizzy your not in my address book

[Bazj]

It never ceases to amaze me when I go into schools and when you ask the teacher for their password to a laptop or computer so we can add software etc the number of times you get the answer; password 1

[Evil Sid]

Well so far none of my three email accounts have been hacked. Mind you it would not matter if they were as each one only has about five contacts in them and two of those are contacts for the other two. Add to the fact that the number of emails i send in a year is usually on the order of about six from any of the accounts.

 

I do not do internet banking, shopping or keep many personal details on my PC apart from the results from the bowls matches, which are available on the wnbca website anyway so even hacking my pc would be a waste of time.

 

I do not have a smart phone as I do not need a smart phone, my phone makes phone calls and sends texts, it does have a camera which I have used once to see how it works, it also has a radio which I have never used as it needs the headphones to work and I cannot remember where they are. Most of my passwords are eight to ten characters long and have numbers, symbols and capital letters in them but are generaly words that have some meaning for me. ( one i do not use anymore is A$$1m1£8ed, or assimilated). I do,however, have them written down for the odd senior moment or for the sites that I do not visit frequently or have had to supply one to register software and the like.

 

Otherwise I rely on the spam filters of my emails and the two antivirii progs to keep the rubbish off my PC and laptop. ( I work on the naive hope that what one antivirus misses the other will catch, probably won't but I am an optimist at heart) I can also wipe my hard drives and have the software reinstalled in a matter of half a day if things get too screwed up and a double backup ensures my pictures etc remain available on at least two of the locations they are stored.

 

As well as all that I don't really care if somebody does manage to get access to my pc or my email or social media website, my emails tend to be about the falling price of viagra type products and the amazing discounts I can get off them or the latest discount offers from the major retail outllets or various other establishments that I have done business with in the usually dim and distant past (apart from pontins that is. maybe  a senior moment but i cannot ever remember contacting them about anything but get regular emails offering holiday deals with them,one of these days i am going to look up the word holiday in the dictionary to see what it means and whether or not I have had or need one).

[Bill]

I get at lest two or three scam emails a week and have done for years but I've never been fooled into clicking on their dodgey links or attachments. Come close to it though especially with those claiming to be from governmental departments that arrive shortly after a legit email exchange.

 

As far as I can see, no ISP can offer 100% protection against this sort of thing. The police won't do anything to track down the offenders so it's all down to the individual and sadly some are pretty gullible.

 

Bill

[inky pete]

Keep your contacts and address book encrypted and even if your account gets hacked they can't be exploited for phishing.

[algy]

Not been 'hacked' yet but I suppose there is always a first time, I certainly wouldn't touch Yahoo with a barge pole, quite happy with Google and Firefox!.

[inky pete]

Like I say, it's very rarely anything to do with the email provider. Almost always down to the individual using weak passwords, using the same password for multiple things, clicking on dodgy links, not regularly scanning their machine for viruses and malware, or not applying the latest security patches to their operating system.

 

Carelessness, basically. And with other people's contact details.