Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[Floating_Red]

Hi, Everyone,

It has come to my attention that a list containing at least 10,000 Accounts Usernames and Passwords were Posted Online on Monday, October 05, 2009; only a limited part of the list was seen.  These were probably gathered by Phishing Attacks, where, for example, you get an e-mail that looks like it is from Microsoft asking you to "Update" your Account Information, but is actually a Hacker that has Sent this e-mail.  When you Click on the Web Link(s) in this e-mail, it will take you to a Fake Web Page which will look like the real Web Site.  Any information you enter will be Sent to the Hacker, or the Hacker would have Key-logging Technology on the Web Site.  Even Opening this e-mail may trigger an e-mail being Sent to the Hacker to confirm that this is an Active Account.  All of the Usernames and Passwords that were Posted Online were for Legitimate Accounts.  The list has now been removed.  I would, therefore, suggest all Users who have a Hotmail Account to change their Password as soon as possible.  Please make sure you use at least Numbers and Letters in your Passwords to make it harder for Hackers to guess correctly.

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 10-06-2009 11:38 AM

[edit: Modified subject.]

Message Edited by shannons on 10-06-2009 10:36 AM

[mdturner]

According to a BBC news report this morning the list was of accounts that began with A or B. I would, however, err on the side of caution and change the account password anyway to a strong one as suggested by Floating_Red.

[Kremmen Super Contributor]

Talking of difficult passwords, I've always used old but memorable car registration numbers I've owned.

Always a combination of numbers and letters and never a dictionary word.

[Floating_Red]

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Kremmen wrote:

Talking of difficult passwords, I've always used old but memorable car registration numbers I've owned.

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I hope you don't use the same Password for all things Online; for example, from Banking to Shopping to e-mail...

[Boofo]

It has now been reported that Microsoft has blocked all affected accounts and are now working with the account holders the get their accounts back. Also, most of the addresses were from outside the US (in Europe), it has been stated.

This is where diligence and safe computing habits come in to play. I use Mailwasher Pro to delete any harmful spam messages before Outlook ever sees them. Clicking on links in emails is a no-no.

[floplot Norton Fighter]

Hi

Don't forget that this includes live.com addresses also, not just hotmail.com accounts.

[Floating_Red]

Reports suggest that Yahoo!, A.O.L. and G-Mail have also been Affected.  And it has also been Reported that over 20,000 Usernames and Passwords have been, or were, Posted Online.

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Microsoft, which owns Hotmail, confirmed that it had blocked access to all of the relevant accounts listed. Affected users can fill out a form on the Windows Live e-mail support site to regain access to their accounts, it said.

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 10-06-2009 04:45 PM

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 10-06-2009 04:46 PM

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 10-06-2009 04:47 PM

[DBJr]

Awhile back I received one of these emails that appeared to be from the Live Hotmail team and they said I needed to update my account within 24 hours or it would be suspended and then deleted after 2 weeks.

I didn't buy into it and I just promptly deleted it. Makes me wish that spam creators would just crawl into a hole and die!!!

[Boofo]

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DBJr wrote:

Awhile back I received one of these emails that appeared to be from the Live Hotmail team and they said I needed to update my account within 24 hours or it would be suspended and then deleted after 2 weeks.

I didn't buy into it and I just promptly deleted it. Makes me wish that spam creators would just crawl into a hole and die!!!

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I've been seeing quite a few of those type emails from my home ISP, where they say they are going to close my account down because it has been hacked and they need my password to straighten things up for me as a valued customer. Two things are wrong with that... my ex used to work for them so I know they don't operate like that, and no one has ever considered me a valued customer. That is where they slipped up and gave themselves away.

[Quads]

Hi

I was wonder how long it would take Floating to post about it

Quads