Subject: Hello

Dear friend,

i would like to introduce a good company who trades mainly in electronic products, They provide the best service to customers,they provide you with original products of good quality,and what is more,the price is a surprising happiness to you!

The web address: (removed for safety)

If you check online you’ll find reports of this coming from users of Hotmail, Gmail and other email services. There are variations in the scam. Some may cite a different web site, or may have a different subject or message in the email.

If you receive a message like this, the important thing is NOT to click on any links because it will infect your computer with viruses. The same goes for messages you may receive via instant messaging (IM), Facebook, Twitter, or other means. Inform the person who sent it to you by another means (like the good old fashioned telephone) to let them know they have been hijacked.

How can you tell if a message is real or not? If it seems generic, contains no subject or a bland subject like “hi” or “hello,” doesn’t mention you by name, contains spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, or has been sent en masse to a large number of people, those are indications it may be a scam. Ask yourself: Is this the sort of message I would expect this person to send?

If your account has been hijacked, it’s vital to change your password immediately. Here’s some information on how to create strong passwords:

• Triona’s Tech Tips: How To Create Secure Passwords

And here is some more information on what to do if your email account is hijacked:

• Triona’s Tech Tips: What To Do If Your Email Account Is Hijacked

Be sure to scan your computer with your security software. If you’re using free software you should consider purchasing a security software suite. You should also check your email signature and any autoresponders you may have set, as they may have been modified to send malicious links to your contacts. Inform your contacts that your account was hacked and that they should not respond to any scam messages they have received. And you should report the incident to your provider.

These hacks are becoming more and more prevalent. It is absolutely vital that you protect yourself by using strong passwords that are unique for every account, and that you stay vigilant about your computer’s security.

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My advice to everyone is to make today Password Change Day. Get out there and change the passwords for all of your accounts. Use a combination of numbers, letters and symbols (where allowed) and be sure to use a different password on every system. Again, you can follow my password tip sheet (PDF) for guidelines on creating strong passwords.

I am often asked, “what does it matter?” accompanied by the protestation, “I don’t have anything important in my email anyway.” I would like to respond that you should care if:

• You want to avoid identity theft. Many people use the same password or set of passwords for all systems. If someone gains access to your email password, even an old one, they will try to use it to get into your other, juicier accounts, like your bank. And they will probably succeed.
• You hate viruses. Most viruses are distributed through compromised computers (called zombies).
• You hate spam. Most spam is sent from compromised computers. Your email address book is a gold mine for spammers because it’s a list of guaranteed good email addresses.
• You want your computer to work properly. Nothing slows a computer down like being zombied (see above).
• You don’t want someone else surfing the Internet on your dime. If you use an email account from your Internet provider, the same password is used both for email and to authenticate you to your provider’s network. If you use a common dictionary word without symbols as the password–shazam! instant access.
• You don’t want to go to jail for someone else’s crimes. Take the above scenario and imagine that the person who’s hijacked your Internet account is dealing in pirated software or child pornography. Unless you can prove it wasn’t you (and that may be difficult), you could be held liable. People committing crimes on the Internet use other people’s accounts for exactly this reason.

Although some people advocate that you not write your passwords down, I say it’s okay as long as you keep the written record somewhere secure, like a locked drawer or safe. (NOT on a sticky note on your monitor or under the keyboard, please!) Excel spreadsheets and other computerized means of tracking passwords are not good ideas, because the first thing a virus will do is check for convenient lists of the rest of your passwords. You might as well hand out your passwords on your business cards. And no, password-protecting the spreadsheet doesn’t work either; those are cake to crack. Properly encrypted password managers do work, but I favor the old-fashioned paper approach, as long as it’s kept out of sight.

It really isn’t that difficult to maintain different passwords on every system. I’ve done it for decades. If we would all follow the basic, simple practice of secure password management, we could cut down on the viruses, spam and other problems that plague us all.

You should also be aware of the kinds of scams that caused these breaches in the first place. Try the SonicWall Phishing Quiz to test your skills on identifying phishing attempts, when a hacker emulates the login page of a site to con you into entering your username and password.

Subscribe FREE to the email version of Tech Tips between now and October 14, 2009 and I’ll send your special gift: a tip sheet on Computer Housekeeping for PC and Mac.

You can also see my password tip sheet (PDF) for help on choosing strong passwords.

Subscribe FREE to the email version of Tech Tips between now and October 14, 2009 and I’ll send your special gift: a tip sheet on Computer Housekeeping for PC and Mac.