| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| mihto |
Phishing attemps on Hotmail and gmail: what should we do?This scares me.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8292928.stm Anything we can do except changing passwords? |
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| Treacodactyl |
If you don't respond to emails asking you for passwords and you're sure you go to the correct site to login to your mail I can't see that you'll have a problem. If you believe spam is real on the other hand... | ||||||
| gil |
Is this why my Hotmail junkbox has been so full over the last few days ? | ||||||
| vegplot |
Possibly. Considering 98% of all email is SPAM. |
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| RichardW |
WOW. Its time that some thing was done before it all grinds to a halt. (dont know what) At that level some real mail must get filtered out incorrectly. |
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| mihto |
Surely this is not about spam?
If a password to a mail account was revealed, the password could be changed and the account hijacked? I'm rather depending on my mail accounts for many reasons. What would I do if I received a message to pay 100 $ to restore my password? What if a phishing code was installed through Hotmail on my computer and my netbank password was revealed? The lastest seems to be a keylogger code which can change the account number and sum when we pay our bills on line. Could a code theft which allow other people to access my hotmail give the hackers a chance to download such a keylogger code on my computer? In short: why would BBC publish the article if it was only about spam? |
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| BethinPA |
I think you may be confusing a few different things. (Please, feel free to jump in and correct/clarify - am typing this rather quickly.)
Spam is electronic junk mail. The problem with opening spam, is that the spammer then knows they've got a "live" address, and they sell you address to other spammers, thus clogging your email inbox or spambox with junk. The other problem is that, sometimes, they contain a virus or trojan horse program that will latch onto your hard drive and cause lots of harm, give them access to your personal info, etc. But, you have to open the attachment, not just the email, to have this happen. Phishing is when someone sends a message that appears to be from a legitimate source (I get them from various banks with which I don't have accounts, e.g.). They say something like, "We need to verify your account number and password, please click on link or reply to email with both." The link LOOKS official, but is really to the phisher's own server. Then, they proceed to empty your account. If you don't respond to a "phishing expedition" you won't have a problem. And then there's hacking. That's another problem with spam (see above about viruses and trojan horses, oh, and worms!), and with unprotected wireless routers. It's like vampires. They can knock on your window all they want, but you have to invite them in. (Well, except in the case of the non-password encrypted wireless connection, that's like leaving your window open for the vampires.) Have I made that more confusing? Beth |
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| Treacodactyl |
From the BBC article:
I read that as someone receiving a spam email, clicking on it and entering their details on a fake site. Never do that, always log on as you would normally and not via a link in an email or via an untrusted site. |
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| bagpuss |
For any site which takes information about your identity its generally best to type the url into the address bar yourself if you can help it |
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| Treacodactyl |
I tend to set-up a favourite. If you type the name in you need to take care you get it right as there's loads of advertising sites out there that rely on people mistyping common sites web addresses, I'd guess there's phishing sites that do the same. |
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| RichardW |
Why use "free" email addresses at all?
Most ISP's give you an email addy (ok if you change ISP you loose that one) but as domains are so cheap why not buy one & have as many email addys as you want? |
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| Nick |
Why not, tho?
I've had the same Hotmail account for about 10 years, the spam filter works brilliantly, there's tons of free storage with it and I've never had any problem with it. Are they more liaible to phishing scams than any other types? Surely it depends on errors between keyboard and seat? |
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| sean |
Because if you're sensible they're no hassle at all. I've had the same hotmail addy for about 12 years now with no problems at all. 99.99% of problems are caused by people acting like morons, not by a problem with the service provider. |
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| Nick |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8294714.stm | ||||||
| gil |
To go back to my question, is anyone else with a Hotmail email account getting more emails in their Junkbox the last few days ? i.e. filtered out of the Inbox, but requiring to be deleted. | ||||||
| sean |
Not me. | ||||||
| Treacodactyl |
From the link Nick posted:
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| mihto |
I have never had any spam on my Hotmail and do not have any today. Watching and waiting |
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| Nick |
Nope. Have you checked your sent box? Are they all real? |
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| gil |
Everything in my Sent box is mail I have written. I can't believe you and others have nothing, ever, in your Junk box. I'm not talking about spam in my Inbox, there's almost none, ever - cos Hotmail filters do work. But you mean to say Hotmail never finds any Junk to junk ??? |
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| mihto |
Nope. I have a gmail address which I use whenever I'm in doubt. My hotmail address is strictly personal. No junk in "Junk". | ||||||
| Nick |
Oh, I have lots. Sometimes 50 or a hundred in a day. Have I noticed more? No. |