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Author Topic: Is my email address hacked?  (Read 4353 times)

chrissie

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Is my email address hacked?
« on: May 02, 2010, 08:33:45 AM »

Inadvertently opened an email this morning which had From: my email address.   It wasn't from me (sometimes I will send to myself to check mail is coming thru...) anyway I didn't stay on it and deleted it but it wasn't from me.  Now I notice there's another one in there with the subject "Greetings" (the only one had the subject hi in it) but I've not opened it.

Do you think it's a case of them using my email address with a slight difference or might it be from one they've created to look like mine?   There is a slight difference in the From: it's something like.....  (theirs) fredabloggs@ (from me it's) fredabloggs (no @sign).  Hope I've explained it ok.

Chrissie
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UncleUB

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2010, 08:52:20 AM »

Hi Chrissie..

first of all I would change your password which you use to log on to your email account.

Then download Malwarebytes and let it do a full scan and see what (if anything) it shows up

You can download it safely from here.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2010, 10:18:47 AM »

I wouldn't worry about seeing your own name in the 'from' address.   When sending email,  the sender can insert any 'from' or 'reply-to' address they like,  it doesn't mean anybody's hacked your email.   I see that in spam all the time, I guess spammers think people are more likely to open it if 'from' and 'to' addresses are the same.

The ability to use 'fake' addresses is a legitimate feature of the mail protocol.  For example, I do it all the time when I'm sending from my ISP's email service where my real address might be "7lm@--------.demon.co.uk', whereas I set the 'from' & 'reply to' to my private .com domains, "7lm@-------.com, so the receiver thinks that's where it came from.  Similarly, I have mobile phone accounts of the form "7lm@--------.vodafone.co.uk', and again, I 'fake' the addresses in sent mail so it looks like it came from "7lm@-------.com".

It's worth running malwarebytes as suggested by UncleUB if you think you accidentally opened a malicious  email, but (as long as you didn't open any attachments) I'm betting your system will be fine.

- 7LM
« Last Edit: May 02, 2010, 10:21:40 AM by sevenlayermuddle »
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tuftedduck

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2010, 10:49:14 AM »

Chrissie, 7LM is probably correct in saying that the email thing is "external" to your pc, but unkyUb offers good advice with regard to Malwarebytes......your email problem read in conjunction with your chitchat thread where you describe browser and connection problems may indicate some malware on your machine.

Once you have downloaded and installed Malwarebytes, make sure you update the definitions before scanning.
A quick scan will be sufficient.....and just let it delete anything it finds.
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chrissie

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2010, 11:20:37 AM »

Hi everyone,
Many thanks for the response re me question and I can see what 7LM is saying so it's more than likely done like that....I don't know, they will try and fool you in anyway they can won't they!

May I just ask?  The malwarebytes prog, will AVG 8.5 (bought version) affect it's running or t'other way round at all do you know?  I know some AV's have issues with other scanning progs and if AVG does with this, I wouldn't know where to start to correct anything.  Hope you don't mind my asking....I'm such a technophobic it's unreal  ;D

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tuftedduck

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2010, 11:23:14 AM »

AVG and Malwarebytes will not clash....................Bytes is not a real time scanner, on demand only, so is not running in the background all the time.

Quite safe to use them both.
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UncleUB

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2010, 11:34:59 AM »

Hi Chrissie,

I have only been using it a few weeks.Took the advice of the good people on here and downloaded it.

Just download and install it,it will create a desk top icon,so when you want to run it just click on the icon and do a scan.It doesn't run in the background like real time Anti virus software,as TD has said its on demand.

I found it easy( and I'm quite a computer novice) :)
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chrissie

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2010, 11:15:26 AM »

Hi Chrissie,

I have only been using it a few weeks.Took the advice of the good people on here and downloaded it.

Just download and install it,it will create a desk top icon,so when you want to run it just click on the icon and do a scan.It doesn't run in the background like real time Anti virus software,as TD has said its on demand.

I found it easy( and I'm quite a computer novice) :)

Thanks Uncy and all who have helped.  You know I said I was a born again technophobe?  Well I clicked on the site and started to download the thingy but can't remember if I have to run it or save it....d'oh.   I think it would be save wouldn't it  (ok, ok....stop rolling your eyes perlease!)?   I also wondered if I should download the newer version of IE as well, number 8 isn't it, seeing that it was what stopped me getting onto t'internet in the first place.  If so, which should I do first, IE or the malware thingy? 

Stop larffing at the back there....I'm a woman.....(well that's my excuse) :blush:
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UncleUB

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2010, 11:28:26 AM »

Hi Chrissie..re Malwarebytes..save it to your desk top.It should then put you an icon there which you can click on to open Malwarebytes.

Re Internet Explorer...which version are you running..is it 7.

It doesn't matter which one you install first,as Malwarebytes has no connection with your internet browser.
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roseway

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2010, 11:41:16 AM »

Quote
I'm a woman.....(well that's my excuse)

You're not allowed to use that excuse here, you'll upset the boss. ;D
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  Eric

chrissie

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #10 on: May 06, 2010, 11:51:50 AM »

Quote
I'm a woman.....(well that's my excuse)

You're not allowed to use that excuse here, you'll upset the boss. ;D


 :-[ :-[ :-[  Oooh of course.....I retract that statement....but I'm not a man so what else can I blame...answers on a postcard to.... ::)

UNCY.....yes it's version 7 for IE, keep seeing that version 8 is safer and faster....so will it be right for my steam-engined PC?  ;D
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UncleUB

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2010, 12:22:05 PM »

Quote
UNCY.....yes it's version 7 for IE, keep seeing that version 8 is safer and faster....so will it be right for my steam-engined PC?

Yes,it should be fine.I myself still have IE7,but never use it much prefer Firefox and Opera.
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scottiesmum

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Re: Is my email address hacked?
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2010, 12:27:03 PM »

but I'm not a man so what else can I blame...

Just put it down to multi-tasking Chrissie ....an area that is man free    :lol: :lol:
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