You've Got Mail - Lots Of It

20-10-2010

You never really think it's going to happen, until it actually does. In all my years being a tech head, using the web for various things, I've never once had an account hacked.

Until today.

My gmail account was apparently accessed from some spot in Italy (Blondie, did you do this?) and spammed people with some random email. Apparently my 'friend' Alex in China had "New Original Products" for sale and wanted everyone to know about it.

It was disconcerting, sort of the digital equivalent of having your car broken into. I had to trundle off and change all my passwords online, just in case. Which involved trying to remember just what sites use what passwords, always fun. Then checking the google account settings to be sure that no forwarding had been setup so my emails would start going places they shouldn't.

Of course I had to email everyone that had gotten the email and explain what had happened. Which was met with much "helpful" advice from certain corners.

Luckily, I guess, whatever or whoever had accessed the account only mailed people from a random "Group" of emails. One that I must have made a few years ago and never used again. Since it did not email everyone in my address book. Which is a good thing. Can't imagine the new job being all that impressed that I sell cheap Chinese goods as a nixer. So that little Group has been deleted, for all the importance it actually had.

Totally forgotten about it even existing.

Anyway, lesson learned. Even with a password that is a combination of random crap nothing is 100% secure. All the accounts are back to being 'safe' for the moment, no real harm done.

Blue_jester

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