What happened to my e-mail account?

[zephyrgirl]

I have just bought my first computer (an Acer laptop, not a Fisher Price) and quite frankly have no idea what I'm doing as I have always used the one at work for surfing etc.
Basically for all internet use except work.

Yesterday afternoon, at 12:07pm, I suddenly had loads of Delivery Failure Notifications in my Hotmail Inbox.
They were from addresses in my Contacts list and contained a Spam e-mail in pigeon English from a dodgy firm urging the recipient to 'check out our new website' to purchase electronics and motorcycles.
It seems it had infiltrated my e-mail account and fired off to people in my contacts.

I'm now concerned that there is somesort of nasty living in my laptop waiting to destroy my new piece of loveliness or screw up my friends computers.

I have Avira downloaded and I think I have McAfee Security Centre as my ISP is Sky (and thay said this was part of the Broadband) and there is a little McAfee icon in the bottom left hand corner of my toolbar.
I have run scans on each and nothing has been flagged up.

Apart from the shame of sending out this bullshit of spam, are there any long term effects I should be worried about, Auntie BCF?

Many thanks, oh Wise Ones,
xxx

/Edit/
Bloody hell, I've just realised there is a Geek Zone! Apologies for putting this in the wrong place.
I have only been here for five years.
Do you think I should move my request to the appropiate area?
____________________
Fly away on my Zephyr?
I bloody wish.

[Phoenix]

I think it's a worm, I used to get it a lot and still do occaisonally, all delivery failure emails, but none of them were sent to addresses in my list. I disabled my smtp account in outlook to see if my computer really was sending anything, they still kept comning so I think they were actually just a kind of spam, antivirus never finds anything. As yours are actually to your contact addresses sounds like it is something on your computer.

[Mudskipper]

[clancy]

its an automatic spam thing. loads of people get it.
it will not harm your computer in any way, its just some company sending spam through you and many other people so that it cant get traced back to them.

it doesnt get sent to people on your contacts list, it gets sent to loooads of random people, but when they get the e-mail it doesnt say its from you.

wouldnt worry about it, the worst that can happen is hotmail block your account. but they give you an address to e-mail ( have 2 make another acount to do so however) and they sort it out within about 48 hours.

anyway, its nothing to worry about.


leigh.

[Phoenix]

My mistake on the hotmail part, I misread it and thought she was referring to a POP3 account in outlook for some reason. I've not had this issue through hotmail, or if I do it doesnt get through the spam filter, I have had it on POP3 accounts though.

[Mudskipper]

Forgot to actually offer a suggestion - simple one I'd try first is just change your hotmail password.
____________________
CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[dextersaurus]

I change my hotmail password every month...

keeps the bad people out.

Plus, the secret question is an easy one, I have gotten into many mates' accounts by answering their secret question.

I usually make them damn near impossible to guess... i.e 'what school did you go to?' and i'll answer something like 'the ironing board smells'



Can't say i've ever had this though, and i have about 6 hotmail accounts

There's a reason for them though



Dunc