Savemybutt.com

Sheri writes:

My email is corrupted. It is sending malware messages to everyone in my contact list. I have changed my password. What causes this and what do I need to do short of closing that account.

Thank you

~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~

Hi Sheri,

The issue yet you are asking about seems to be a problem that many people are having nowadays especially with online e-mail services.

I suggest that you read the article at the following link which pertains to your issue. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100606120328AAUIaoe. Read the additional articles at the end of this one as well.

You have done the correct thing. By changing your password you have made it difficult for an outsider to both send and receive e-mail using your account or stealing your address book. However, you should also change all of your personal information on the account. Change your pin number if you have one, change its secret question if you have one, etc. This’ll make it even harder for somebody to compromise your account to the future.

Keep an eye on your e-mail from here on in. If no more spam is sent from your account then you’re out of the woods and is nothing more you need to worry about.

But, if you notice that the spam continues then I would suggest that you create a new account and move your address book to the new account. Then from the new account send everybody an e-mail with your new e-mail address and explain what happened asking them to update their address book.

I know this is a pain. But in this case it is the absolute best thing you can do.

When you set up a new account make sure that you set the password to something that is difficult for somebody to guess. One of the articles I recommended above explains how to do that. Basically, if your password has words in it that can be found in the dictionary it’s too easy. In your password use numbers and symbols as well as letters that won’t be found in the dictionary to make it more difficult to crack.

I’m sorry this happened to you and would look at it as a learning experience when it comes to passwords for other websites and/or applications you may be using. Secure passwords are the most important security feature that you personally can use on sites that require them.