Have I been hacked

[Alwyn]

I am usually careful not to open suspicious links. Unfortunately I got 2 e-mails from my daughter which appeared to link to photographs. I clicked on one and was taken to a website with something called Doctors about slimming.

I rang my daughter who said that her PC had been hacked into. How can I find out if my e-mail address has been hacked into? It wasn't an iCloud address. I deleted her e-mails immediately after talking to her.

 

[chscag]

If someone hacked into your daughter's PC it's possible they obtained her entire email and contact address list. For now change passwords for your email accounts and keep an eye on them. If your friends start calling you and asking why you're sending them junk, then it usually means someone is using your email address as a spam bot.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Its likely her email account was hacked, not her PC. Which just means that they have access to all of her contacts and can send you bad stuff.

You deleted the email and didn't install anything, so nothing on your Mac/E-mail account is hacked or compromised..

 

[Alwyn]

Its likely her email account was hacked, not her PC. Which just means that they have access to all of her contacts and can send you bad stuff.

You deleted the email and didn't install anything, so nothing on your Mac/E-mail account is hacked or compromised..

I think that, as nothing untoward has happened so far, your interpretation is correct. However I have been trying to get to grips with keychain and found that some keys were associated with an old e-mail address so I removed one of them. Keychain access is now on the dock and I noticed that it was unlocked. I locked it and it keeps on coming up with password requests. I note that it's now showing as unlocked.

Can anyone explain what is going on please?

 

[Alwyn]

Hacking and security

If someone hacked into your daughter's PC it's possible they obtained her entire email and contact address list. For now change passwords for your email accounts and keep an eye on them. If your friends start calling you and asking why you're sending them junk, then it usually means someone is using your email address as a spam bot.

The big problem with my ISP e-mail address is that it is available to all staff at my ISP so there doesn't seem to be much point in changing it.

You have to provide Apple with another e-mail address for iCloud and I have provided the ISP one. Presumably, iCloud is fairly secure. I still have a googlemail address. I think that that is relatively secure but maybe I should change it and stop using the ISP address.

 

[lclev]

I use a live account (Microsoft) as my general everything account and a gmail account for storing my contacts and calendar. Both Microsoft (LIve) and Google (Gmail) offer two part verification which can be a bit of a hassle but it helps prevent hacking of your email account. So far (fingers crossed, knocking on wood) neither have been hacked.

I quit using ISP accounts because my ISP kept changing (translation - getting bought out and the name changed). That meant my email address changes and that is a huge pain.

LIsa

 

[Alwyn]

Thanks Lisa.

 

[MacInWin]

The big problem with my ISP e-mail address is that it is available to all staff at my ISP so there doesn't seem to be much point in changing it.

Are you saying that every staff member at your ISP provider has your email password? IF that is so, change your provider now, immediately, now. And change ISP as well, if you have alternatives. Any organization that is that free with passwords has no place on the net.