Monday, September 08, 2008

So Freakin' Typical

As everyone who is on my contacts list knows, my e-mail account has been hacked, or I have a virus or something. Because periodically my e-mail account will send out an e-mail to everyone in my contact list offering them affordable electronics. How nice is my e-mail, wanting to make sure no one I love pays to much for their toys. For what it's worth, it's actually The Greatest's e-mail, but I receive mail there too. For some reason MY personal e-mail is untouched despite being on the same computer, and being the e-mail we are actually logged into (my e-mail is linked to his, so I can see his messages without ever logging out of my account).

We've got Norton's anti-virus. It assures us we have no security threats. We run a program called ccleaner regularly to clean the hard drive. On the recommendation of my little brother I even downloaded Spybot - Search and Destroy. It found some tracking cookies that we deleted, but that was it. We have been unable to determine how these e-mails keep happening.

In a fit of desparation today I changed our passwords. I didn't really think it would help, but I figured it couldn't hurt. So I changed them, on my account and on The Greatest's. I made them hard. It was long with a random capitolized letter and a number.

And now hotmail won't accept my password. It won't accept the old. It won't accept the new. On either of our accounts. I'm locked out.

I tried telling hotmail that I lost my password. But it kept e-mailing instructions to my account. The one I'm locked out of.

It also gave me the oppertunity to get in based on my location and answer to a secret question. I've had this account for over a decade. I can't seem to remember my correct location or answer. I was in college, did I use the college zipcode, or my family's zip code? Did I update my location when I moved out of state? Did I update it when we bought our first house? Which pet did I use? The rabbit had two names did I use her first name only, or both names? Did my Dad set up this account for me, and if so did he spell her name with an "e"?

I've tried ever possible combination of password, and location, and secret question answers to get in. And I give up. I must abandon the addresses.

If you know me, please block those addresses so you will no longer have to suffer the spam. Unless you need some cheap electronics, then you might want to save them.

This is just so typical of me. Putting stuff in a safe place and forgetting the safe place. Changing passwords and losing the new password. I'm lucky I've still got all four children. I should go peek in on them just to make sure they're all in bed.

*sigh*

And if you do know me, send me an e-mail. Same beginning, only it ends in livedotcom instead of hotmaildotcom. I'll add you into my contacts so you can begin to get ads for electronics from a whole new address.

5 comments:

Bezzie said...

Hee hee, I shouldn't laugh because I KNOW the same thing would have happened to me. Security questions, my butt!

Stephanie said...

I used to have your email address and phn, but the phone doesn't wrk anymore, and the email, I don't have. If you don't mind, you could email me.

STorgerson@insight.rr.com

If not, that's cool too. Miss you guys!

shiguy4076 said...

Oh no what am I going to do? I just sent you a very important email the othr day. It had a pattern and everything. Oh no I hope you get it fixed soon.

Madame Purl said...

This just happened to me. They are getting into gmail, hotmail, and yahoo computers and cracking the passwords that way. I was doing some research and found this link that explains it.

http://tiffehr.tumblr.com/post/23634429/gmail-account-hacked-apologies-to-all

Anonymous said...

That stinks! Don't forget to update your info. on the West Valley Sisters blog or e-mail Zippy and let her know what it is.