Hotmail

[George38]

Whilst surfing the internet I got a message saying that since I was logged on to hotmail on another computer, would I please sign on again. This sometimes happens if I have been logged on at work and forget to log off before coming home. However, I have only been logged on at home all day and am puzzled! Could someone have sussed my password (it's 11 digits long) and be looking at my emails? Is it possible for someone to guess such a long password?? Should I be thinking about changing it??? I'd hate for some stranger to be poking about in my emails!!!!!!

[wildwood]

If you want to change your password, that is up to you.

Do you have stuff on your computer that you shouldn't have? Why are you so worried that someone could be poking about in your emails?
I couldn't think of anything more boring that reading someone else's emails.

I doubt whether anyone would bother decoding anyone's hotmail password. There are more interesting commercial ones around that could be profitable to the right person.

[George38]

Of course I have nothing to hide!!! I just feel that it's a bit like someone breaking into your house, rifling through all your stuff, but not actually stealing anything....invasion of privacy if you like. Besides, I have a large number of contacts in my address book and I would hate to think of my friends receiving large amounts of spam as a result of someone having access to my list of contacts!
However, wildwood, you have missed the point of my question which is, is it possible for someone to obtain my fairly complicated password by some means other than by accident, or by trying thousands of permutations until they found it (which I agree would be a thoroughly boring process)??

[jno]

sorry, wildwood, but someone hacked into my hotmail password this year and sent out spam in my name. I know they got into my account - rather than just fabricating the account name - because they sent them to my contacts. So it definitely happens. But you can change your password, George38, it's not hard. Security people advise that you do so regularly anyway.

[jno]

PS to do so click on Options

[ACtheTROLL]

george
hotmail is constantly under attack by the script kiddies
but from what you say about forgetting to log out
the already logged on message isn't that surprising.

wild has totally missed the point ... live e-mails are currency in the spam community ... but there are other uses for live IDs ...


jno

you're describing a trojan or virus attack ....
you haven't been hacked ... your machine is just infected with one of the many bot mailers that do the rounds