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My apologies to those of you who've received "RE HI" e-mails from my Nords_Nords address.
Hotmail appears to be susceptible to malware that fills out and activates a user's "vacation reply" setting, causing it to send their spam to an entire contact list. It also creates a new user signature line using the same spam text.
I don't know how it triggered. All my incoming Hotmail goes to a junk folder for screening, unless the sender's e-mail address is already in my "contacts" or "safe" lists. Hotmail's junk folder is supposed to disable links and code and images, so just opening a message to look at its text shouldn't cause the problem. I don't activate junk mail content or click through to spam websites, so I don't know how this attack was started. By the time I saw what was happening the responses were already rolling back in.
It didn't trigger any virus warnings and I don't even know if it was done through my computer or directly on Hotmail's servers. It seems to have happened just once. I've cleared my vacation & signature settings and changed my password, but otherwise I think I'm going to have to wait for virus definitions and Hotmail to catch up to these guys.
Anyone else had this problem? Any other ideas on what else to look for or how to lock the barn door and clean up after it?
Hotmail appears to be susceptible to malware that fills out and activates a user's "vacation reply" setting, causing it to send their spam to an entire contact list. It also creates a new user signature line using the same spam text.
I don't know how it triggered. All my incoming Hotmail goes to a junk folder for screening, unless the sender's e-mail address is already in my "contacts" or "safe" lists. Hotmail's junk folder is supposed to disable links and code and images, so just opening a message to look at its text shouldn't cause the problem. I don't activate junk mail content or click through to spam websites, so I don't know how this attack was started. By the time I saw what was happening the responses were already rolling back in.
It didn't trigger any virus warnings and I don't even know if it was done through my computer or directly on Hotmail's servers. It seems to have happened just once. I've cleared my vacation & signature settings and changed my password, but otherwise I think I'm going to have to wait for virus definitions and Hotmail to catch up to these guys.
Anyone else had this problem? Any other ideas on what else to look for or how to lock the barn door and clean up after it?
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