I have had it with hackers.

So I just got a phone call from a friend who told me that he received an email from my yahoo account that had some crazy links in it and that my account must be hacked. This is what...the second time that yahoo has been hacked this year?  I didn't have any contacts listed as favorites or even have a contact list, but it went through a history of emails and sent every one of them this crazy email.  One of these contacts is my stalker ex.  I forgot that I had an email from that clown, it was so long ago.

I really hate hackers. 

Geez, that's scary.  Reason to delete old email!  I'd never thought about it till now.

MServant said:

 
Geez, that's scary.  Reason to delete old email!  I'd never thought about it till now.

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Me either!

Hackers are so annoying. My hotmail got hacked a couple months ago and I had a hard time getting back in. When I contacted them about it, they told me to just create a new account. I was job searching and had my email on my resumes and actually had an email requesting an interview when I got back into my account. My Twitter got hacked recently too, which isn't as big of a deal. I only use it for entering contests.

OMiGosh I remember that catlover19!  That's awful about the timing and job searching.  Hopefully it didn't affect you.

Doesn't sound like a hacker, sounds like a computer virus or malware.

Go and download Dr. Web's "cureit".   http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en

Run the program and delete everything that it finds. 

And download Malwarebytes   https://www.malwarebytes.org/  

Run the program and delete everything it finds.

I was wondering more along the lines of some kind of virus, too. It really doesn't sound like a hacker was behind this.

I'm sorry you had to deal with it all, though. It's always such a pain when software doesn't work right.

peaches08 said:

 
OMiGosh I remember that catlover19!  That's awful about the timing and job searching.  Hopefully it didn't affect you.

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It surprisingly was sent the same day I finally got back in so it didn't affect anything. I had the interview and didn't get the job, like usual. 

peaches08 said:

I really hate hackers. 

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I'm being picky, but technically those aren't hackers. Those are likely trojan malware sitting in your computer - they hijack your address book and sent spam out from your computer.

Stupid spammers/hackers whatever they are! Yahoo has been hit a few times now since Christmas at least. There was a big story in NZ because the Yahoo NZ had been hacked into. Then soon after my Yahoo Canada account started acting up... I guess you can't treat anything as safe online.

Natalie_ca said:

 
Doesn't sound like a hacker, sounds like a computer virus or malware.

Go and download Dr. Web's "cureit".   http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en

Run the program and delete everything that it finds. 
 
And download Malwarebytes   https://www.malwarebytes.org/  
 
Run the program and delete everything it finds.

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Fhi09 said:

 

peaches08 said:

I really hate hackers. 

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I'm being picky, but technically those aren't hackers. Those are likely trojan malware sitting in your computer - they hijack your address book and sent spam out from your computer.

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Thanks for this info.  I am going to run these programs, too, just to make sure.  I also run Avast as my virus program, but do any of you use "spybot" or something similar?

@Fhi09    Do they sit on "my" actual computer, or are they sent from another email sender, who then hacks into my yahoo account?

 Last year, I got an email from a friend, then it accessed my address contacts and sent out further emails from there.  But it showed as an IP address from "Chile" and  "Peru", and also had the times listed when my yahoo email was accessed?

What do you think, Fhi09?    since I do not really know the difference between hackers, spammers, phishers and trolls?

(anyone chime in also, thanks)

How often do you recommend running the anti-malware?

cat nap said:

Thanks for this info.  I am going to run these programs, too, just to make sure.  I also run Avast as my virus program, but do any of you use "spybot" or something similar?

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Always use anti-malware in addition to antivirus. Spybot is good, Malwarebytes' is what I use. Windows Defender is also decent.

 
@Fhi09    Do they sit on "my" actual computer, or are they sent from another email sender, who then hacks into my yahoo account?

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Trojan malware sits on your actual computer. If you use a web-based email account, then someone who hacks your account could also use it as a platform for spam. Change your passwords immediately. If you have a trojan malware though, that won't be sufficient, since it would just wait for you to access your yahoo account again to piggyback on your address book.

If your email is sending out spam, your computer is likely infected. 

 
 Last year, I got an email from a friend, then it accessed my address contacts and sent out further emails from there.  But it showed as an IP address from "Chile" and  "Peru", and also had the times listed when my yahoo email was accessed?

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IP address can be spoofed. I can send you an email that looks like it came from [email protected], but it really came from [email protected]. Studying email headers is a more reliable method of knowing where an email originated from. If you got an email from a friend (are you sure it was your friend? See above) and it accessed your contacts, you have a trojan malware.

 
What do you think, Fhi09?    since I do not really know the difference between hackers, spammers, phishers and trolls?

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These aren't mutually exclusive. A person can be all or some of the above.

A hacker is someone who penetrates secure computer systems. It can be for security purposes (white hat hackers), where they are hired by a company to try to break into the system. The hacker would then report any vulnerabilities and recommend fixes ("This is how I got in, this is where the weakness is, this is how you should fix it"). Or it can be for malicious purposes (black hat hackers) - this is the commonly viewed definition of a hacker; someone who penetrates systems for criminal activities.

A spammer is someone who sends out unsolicited emails, usually in the thousands or hundreds of thousands. Spammers use programs known as "bots" to do this work, since it's actually tedious, not to mention dangerous for them to sit down and manually send out spam to hundreds of addresses. A black hat hacker may penetrate a database in order to gather email addresses, such as yahoo, and then use that to send spam to.

A phisher is someone who tries to trick you into divulging passwords and other sensitive information. They may send you an email saying your bank account is under investigation for suspicious activity, and would you please click on this totally innocent looking link, which will bring you to a website that is designed to look exactly like your bank's website, which is really hosted somewhere else, usually in a country with very lax Internet enforcement laws. You enter your account information and password because, hey, my bank asked me to, right? 

To avoid phishing, never click on links in an email, whether it's from a friend or not (as we discussed earlier, a friend may not even be your friend). For sensitive websites such as your banking website, manually enter the URL in your browser instead of clicking it in the email. 

A troll is just someone who takes pleasure in inciting emotional response from other Internet users. They may come here and say, "I like eating cats because they taste like chickens, and I think everyone should eat cats." They get a rise out of seeing people respond with anger. Usually they post one or two "troll posts" and then they sit back, watching the ensuing drama.

How often do you recommend running the anti-malware?

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At least once a week. You really cannot run it too often. It's protection for your computer.

Thank you @Fhi09, for that detailed post.  I have already changed all my passwords for the web emails, and will run that anti-malware now, and schedule it weekly.

Thanks for all the info.

@peaches08  ....thank you for posting such a great thread.  

pushylady said:

 I guess you can't treat anything as safe online.

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That is typically a good idea to adopt.

I may make it sound like the Internet is bad and a cursed invention, and everyone should never use the Internet. It's not. 

Using the Internet is like going out of your house. The moment you step outside your house, there is a chance one or more of the following will happen to you:

1) get stabbed

2) get run over by a car

3) get shot at for plowing snow

4) get robbed

5) fall into a manhole

6) accidentally hit a pedestrian, and the cops finding no fault with either party, but you have to live with that for the rest of your life.

What are you going to do? Stay home forever, never going out? You take precautions. You drive safely, you heighten your awareness, you learn to expect silly college students to run across the road without looking instead of relying on traffic signals or road signs.

Same with Internet. Understand the dangers, and take steps to protect yourself. The Internet is not a safe place, but that doesn't mean it cannot be fun or productive. Many of these steps are not hard to do. Sure, they may cause some inconvenience, but what is a little inconvenience if it means your privacy is protected and your data is as safe as they can be?

Thank you!!! Running the anti-malware now.

Fhi09 said:

 
Always use anti-malware in addition to antivirus. Spybot is good, Malwarebytes' is what I use. Windows Defender is also decent.

Trojan malware sits on your actual computer. If you use a web-based email account, then someone who hacks your account could also use it as a platform for spam. Change your passwords immediately. If you have a trojan malware though, that won't be sufficient, since it would just wait for you to access your yahoo account again to piggyback on your address book.

If your email is sending out spam, your computer is likely infected. 

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It sent spam email and I changed the password...is my yahoo account still bad?  I'm glad that I didn't use it to apply for nursing boards.  I'd be up a creek.

Fhi09 said:

 
I'm being picky, but technically those aren't hackers. Those are likely trojan malware sitting in your computer - they hijack your address book and sent spam out from your computer.

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Yep.  Some years ago I tried to send an email and couldn't. And I couldn't receive email either.  I called my internet provider which is my telephone company.  They told me that they had disabled my email privileges because I was sending out thousands of emails.

I was confused and didn't know what they were talking about.  They told me that I must have malware.  They gave me several links to various virus scanners and antimalware programs, gave me a list of things to do, and told me to call them once I had completed the scans at the links they gave me.  Took me pretty much a full afternoon, but I called them back and they reinstated my email, and told me that for me to keep my email I had to do certain things.  One of which was to use a browser with an active ad-blocker turned on at all times.  I've been doing as they told me and I haven't had another issue since.

So this is why I'm pretty sure you have malware, not a hacker issue.

Fhi09 said:

 
To avoid phishing, never click on links in an email, whether it's from a friend or not (as we discussed earlier, a friend may not even be your friend). For sensitive websites such as your banking website, manually enter the URL in your browser instead of clicking it in the email.

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Another tip is to never, never, never forward or accept forwarded emails.  Those are viruses waiting to happen.

I told everyone I know to take me off their list of forwarded emails.  Anyone who disregarded my request, was deleted from my address book and blocked from sending me emails.

It was malware, but I don't know if it was trojan malware.  I changed my password on my yahoo account, but I don't know if that is enough. Only one person has reported receiving the email.  That same person is bad about sending me fwd'd emails that I never read.  Long story, but I have to put up with it.  I guess if my yahoo account is already jacked then it doesn't matter and I'll keep having him send to that address.  I can't have him sending to my good account. 

I do still find it odd that I haven't heard this about other email accounts, just yahoo.  Not gmail.  But I'm afraid to send him to gmail because my paypal is linked there.  I just don't know what to do.

peaches08 said:

 
It was malware, but I don't know if it was trojan malware.  I changed my password on my yahoo account, but I don't know if that is enough. Only one person has reported receiving the email.  That same person is bad about sending me fwd'd emails that I never read.  Long story, but I have to put up with it.  I guess if my yahoo account is already jacked then it doesn't matter and I'll keep having him send to that address.  I can't have him sending to my good account. 

I do still find it odd that I haven't heard this about other email accounts, just yahoo.  Not gmail.  But I'm afraid to send him to gmail because my paypal is linked there.  I just don't know what to do.

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Do what I do.  Never give out your ISP email address to anyone other than close family and for business purposes. Never use it for passwords online etc.   I keep my very first hotmail account which I consider my spam email account, for entering into websites that require a password, or to acquaintances.  I have friends who used to insist on sending me forwarded emails, regardless of what I told them, and they were always wanting my ISP email. I refused to give it to them.

Natalie_ca said:

 
Do what I do.  Never give out your ISP email address to anyone other than close family and for business purposes. Never use it for passwords online etc.   I keep my very first hotmail account which I consider my spam email account, for entering into websites that require a password, or to acquaintances.  I have friends who used to insist on sending me forwarded emails, regardless of what I told them, and they were always wanting my ISP email. I refused to give it to them.

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The ISP one is the one I use for nursing boards, etc.  Gmail just happens to be linked to my PayPal in addition to my ISP.  I told friend to go back to yahoo land.  I can't risk more trouble.  Soon enough they'll have better stuff for Windows 8.1!