Beware Hackers

[shep]

I don't know how it all works, but someone has hacked into my email address book and mailed everyone with some rubbish. I just scanned my computer for viruses, and it was 100% clear. If anyone gets a begging letter from me, please don't open it. I will sort it out in the morning, as if I haven't got enough to do! Andy.

[J Jones]

Get a Mac, Andy.
   Although as the Mac platform gets more popular the threat increases, at least Apple upgrades their security FOR FREE!
   Unlike Microsoft.
   While you may pay less for Microsoft-centric products initially, they make it up by requiring you to constantly pay for security (and other) upgrades. Annoying. Time-consuming. Confusing. Dishonest.

[nikbj68]

A colleague of mine regularly gets his aol account hacked, don`t think it`s a Mac vs Windoze issue. A somewhat more elaborate email account password is about all you can do, or change email accounts, but that`s a bit of a pain.
   When I saw the words: "I was starting to crumble under pressure my anxiety levels were through the roof..."
   I was pretty sure it wasn`t from you!

[shep]

Yes I have anti virus and anti malware, and after the incident I downloaded the latest issue and ran a scan, but nothing came up.I think someone with too much spare time, has a program designed to access email accounts. Whether AOL is more vulnerable than others, I don't know, but it will be a real pain to change! Nick, if you would like to send any money to my Nigerian account, cash in a plain brown envelope will do fine! Andy.

[nikbj68]

I`ll send you a cheque for double, you can cash it, keep 10% but send the rest back to me please!
   I don`t think that antivirus/malware will help as the aol email is a web-based account, so can be hacked even when your PC (or Mac) is offline. You shouldn`t 'let windows remember this password' for anything though.

[Gus Meyjes]

And that is exactly where Mac does make a difference. Not enough users for hackers to want to figure out how to get to your password... I've switched from a PC to a Mac some 4 years ago. Never slowed down, never crashed, never hacked, no anti virus software, no re-starts, about one tenth the amount of updates (it runs just fine out of the box) etc, etc,
   
   Gus

[shep]

Thanks for the advice Gus. I will be looking to replace my PC with a Mac. I had a long chat with my PC Doctor, and he confirmed your observations. Never slows down, never crashed, no need for his services in future! He did however say, that the computer is not the weak link. It is my AOL email connection. There are more secure hosts, but I would need to change my email address, which would be a pain. He explained the hacking, or more correctly phishing, is seldom malicious, and is used to boost the number of clicks onto a new website and the resultant reward for the website builder. Whatever, I have changed all passwords and made them triple A rated and will keep a watching brief. Let's get back to cars! Andy.

[Wally]

Andy - I changed to googlemail and find it very good.
    There is also an option I use within gmail to check for mail from other previous addresses, when these mails are recevied gmail then filters spam and checks for viruses etc. You can also choose the address you want to show when you send new mail.
   Maybe worth looking at.
   
   Graham.

[shep]

Thanks Graham, I'll take a look.
   
   Andy.