Computer help needed please

More specifically webmail email help.

My mother's Hotmail account has been hacked - all her contacts are receiving multiple emails that are just a clickable link. I know that she doesn't know how to create a clickable link in an email and expect that should I click on the link all it will do is spread the "virus" into my hotmail account. Short of closing the account does anybody know how to stop the inconvenience this is causing her and all those in her contact list? The one thing that this hack is doing is also limiting her ability to send emails - when she wants to send a legitimate email hotmail comes back and tells her she has hit a limit - we have no idea if this is a genuine message from Hotmail or not.

Thanks for any help

(16-04-2012 08:56am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  More specifically webmail email help.

My mother's Hotmail account has been hacked - all her contacts are receiving multiple emails that are just a clickable link. I know that she doesn't know how to create a clickable link in an email and expect that should I click on the link all it will do is spread the "virus" into my hotmail account. Short of closing the account does anybody know how to stop the inconvenience this is causing her and all those in her contact list? The one thing that this hack is doing is also limiting her ability to send emails - when she wants to send a legitimate email hotmail comes back and tells her she has hit a limit - we have no idea if this is a genuine message from Hotmail or not.

Thanks for any help

Have a look here Tim Microsoft Hotmail - Hacked account help page

The Antivirus software recommendation is really important - it is possible that Malware on her computer enabled the hacker to obtain her password (and maybe others like credit cards and online banking).

Not all Antivirus software apps are equal - in fact without naming specific tools some, especially the mainstream ones are often simply woeful. Eset NOD32 or Sophos are both worth considering.

PM me if you need more help.

John

Thanks John, she uses the subscription version of AVG Grisoft as her antivirus software. I am about to spent all morning trying to help her get back her system and have searched in google and come up with some more items to try.

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John, I have just been told that last week she suddenly had a new toolbar appear at the top of the desktop on her computer, I wonder if there is a link? Looks just like a normal windows toolbar and she thought maybe she had clicked on something by accident in the desktop settings to cause it to appear. There is still the normal toolbar at the bottom of the desktop screen.

I've had this with hotmail quite a lot on an account I rarely if ever use. First thing is change the password to the account! Make sure it's a strong password. Sometimes that's enough as these accounts seem to be hacked through guesswork or automated password tools.

After that it's about cleaning the machine of any Viruses etc. If it's badly affected then frankly i'd rebuild from a clean windows installation at this point, but that's not ideal for all users, as you need to backup everything and remember all software installations you've done etc etc can be a laborious process.

(16-04-2012 03:03pm)PhilSkill Wrote:  Sometimes that's enough as these accounts seem to be hacked through guesswork or automated password tools.

This.
I see it all the time with friends with hotmail/gmail/yahoo accounts.
including mine.
I changed the password and haven't had the problem since.

And it's worth noting that a strong password is not for example Hk873j.
A stronger password would be aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Although probably isn't easy to remember

Mother has AVG subscription account but hadn't upgraded it to the 2012 edition so that is now done and I have also installed and run SpyBot Search and Destroy which found 16 things it didn't like and cleaned them out.
Pass word was changed to a 12 digit/letter combo and also did my father's laptop at the same time as he also uses Windows7 and Live for his email. Mother's settings were changed to something better and so were dad's. I also have a hotmail account that despite having a pretty weak (it hasn't now!) password has never been hacked. I also run on a Mac (don't know if that makes any difference!). So both parents should be safe for the time being - until all mother's old lady contacts click on the link in the mails purporting to come from her..............................

"bother parents" - freudian slip?

now corrected! In one case yes in the other no, my father used to be very good with PC's and things Windows/MS but at 84 and with failing memory he does do things he shouldn't and then cannot remember what he did! He loves to clean out files that he thinks are not important.............. and then wonders why things have "disappeared" from the system or even why his computer won't run properly!
We have just gone through and cured at long last why BTYahoo mail has ads on it that he doesn't want and he cannot get rid of and why with Windows7 he cannot have his old Outlook Express that did so well for him for years.............. thank goodness for Mozilla Thunderbird. I still have to figure out what he changed his password to his nationwide online account to as he cannot remember it and the local branch of course cannot help him as they cannot access online accounts.......

Hi,

Also happened to my yahoo account a few years ago. It has nothing to do with a virus on your PC, it is hacked over the net. I deleted all my contacts from the contacts list and changed the password and vowed never to use it again for any important or personal email.