this seems to be the latest evil we have to combat... someone i knew was foolish enough to open a spyware spam and it then sent its poison-pen viagra link to all in her email address book, including me... i could tell it was a fake email and did not open it, just deleted it right away... but it was still able to access my address book apparently by simply landing in my inbox! i spent 2 days of hell trying to let all my contacts know the email wasn't from me and had to change my password and secret question... but today i just got another of the 'seed' mails and am praying they can't access my new pw and question... has anyone any advice on how to avoid this happening again?... i have avira and norton's nis operating, but neither one caught this!...
What a nightmare, I'm sorry to hear that. It's never happened to me so I don't have any useful tips. I'm sure someone here will help you out though. Good luck with that.
That happened to a friend of mine and, before that, her friend. I got the email from the friend, so it might happen to me, but due to issues beyond my control with my AOL account, I can't change my password. Lovely...
I will need to check with my husband but we never had any trouble when we didn't use any microsoft products. I'm getting used to having to be careful again now I have windows I use to access the internet again. Its been over 8 years since I last used anything Microsoft had produced.
well, i can't give up using ms products, so i hope someone's got a solution that doesn't include doing that... thanks for the swift replies, folks...
You don't have to use them for access to the Internet, basic wordprocessing, spreadsheets, web design, some forms of graphice design etc. My brother has a partition that allows him to use windows for his college software and only uses linux for accessing the internet. My knowledge is out of date though, my husband is more uptodate. Last time I was doing the technical stuff was 4 years ago. I do know I am finding it frustrating getting used to windows again lol
I use Microsoft Outlook 2007 as an email client, and set the security settings to a fairly paranoid level, including "Warnings for signed macros and all unsigned macros are disabled". The default securty settings in Outlook 2007 prevent a lot of that kind of malicious email from functioning.
what does that mean, cog?... does it refer to email that has only 're:' in the subject and nothing but a link in the message area?... and can i do that for hotmail/msn explorer?
What it means is email containing macros (scripting software programs embedded in the message) will not be allowed to run that code without your explicit permission, and not at all if the originator of the macro is not identified as coming from a trusted source. Hotmail is typically read through a web browser, and those have similar security settings to protect you. The newer the browser, generally the better the default security settings.
so, what is my browser and how do i get it set to protect against this?... if you know, and have time for an instant chat, could you talk me through it?
Your browser is what you use to visit writingforums.org. It may be Internet Explorer. You need to find Internet Options (you can also get there through the Control Panel). The options to set depend on what version of the browser and the operating system you use, though. The help files and the Microsoft website (or your browser's website) can explain the menaings of eac option and advise you what settings to use. In the Security tab for Internet Explorer, make sure to limit the sites you list in the Trusted zone. Hotmail and any other web mail site should never be in the Trusted zone, because email often contains unsafe content/ Check the Trusted zone from time to time to make sure nothing has inserted a site into the Trusted zone without youre knowledge. (Some bad programs can change settings like that to make future access easier, if not all your computer settings are secure.)
i have internet options open now and there are no sites in the trusted zone... restricted sites setting is on 'high'... local intranet was below medium, so i raised it to medium, which says 'unsigned activex controls will not be downloaded' and 'prompts before downloading potentially unsafe content'... internet is set on medium-high... think that'll do it?
It looks good so far as those settings are concerned. There is a plethora of settings under Advanced - too many to enumerate here, and they differ from version to version. It would be best to have someone knowledgeable give it a hands-on check. If you set every option to maximum safety, some websites will not work properly. I have to make WF.org a trusted site to properly use it with my settings, for example, so there is no absolute recommendation I can offer.
And even with all that security- there really isn't any guaranteed protection. Viruses and other security threats are constantly updating alongside anti-virus programs and finding new ways to penetrate your system. Many people make the mistake of thinking that just because they have an anti-virus program, it means that they're somehow immune to getting a virus. They have more protection, yes, but you can never be immune.
thanks, cog! and yes, lav, i know there's a lot more bad stuff out there besides viruses, against which i'm as safely 'covered' as i can be... which is how my address book got hacked in the first place... no security system can get ahead of, or even keep up with 'hackers of evil intent'... it's always a game of 'catch-up-if-you-can'...
