My mail box hacked?

Hi, I seem to get and send a lot of spam, that seems to originate from my Yahoo mail box and it is sent to all my contacts in my yahoo address book.
Some garbage about how I made it rich or some shit...

I started getting like 10 Mailer Damon "not being able to deliver mail" from my addresses, to friends I sent nothing to

Any idea what to do please?

TIA

soundklinik said:

...Any idea what to do please?...

Change your Yahoo password.

Also I NEVER OPENED it...

It originated from my mail box, using my contact addresses.

please, DON'T open it...

There are a number of different ways one's email can be hacked. I've had my email account hijacked several times and here are some suggestions that I've learned through my own personal experience. (And by the way, your email hacking may also affect your browser, and other areas within your system.)

First, you need to run one or two good malware scans (i.e. Malwarebytes Free Virus Scanner or MSE orTrendMicro) to get rid of any malware in your email account (and/or anywhere on your system).

[NOTE RE: Malwarebytes Free Virus Scanner: Malwarebytes is probably the most universally trusted virus scanner available. If you decide to use it, go only to MalwareBytes.org. That site will then refer you to a 2nd site for the actual download. The actual download sites are continually changing so that MalwareBytes presents a moving target against malware attacks!]

In regard directly to your email hacking problem, the first line of defense is to change your password and all "secret questions" and "answers." (Additionally, some email providers offer a service in which you can go to their website on-line and enable the free service in which you give your email provider your cell phone number so that they are able to text you a personal code to allow you to get back into your email if you are ever locked out.)

Next, when you're in your email, always "Log Out" of your email when you exit, rather than just hitting the exit X icon. Hitting the exit X doesn't end your email session, only 'logging out' actually shuts it down. If you just press exit, that leaves it open and available to be hacked because technically, it's still open, even after you've left the site.

Next, never, ever open an attachment to an email unless you are 100% sure the attachment is clean. Most infected email attachments come from people you know (and often trust), because the viruses are sent from adress book to addess book.

Finally, and most important, since most hacking is done through your address book, temporarily delete all contacts in your address book. Some sources advise leaving it this way for a week or more --- I think that's a matter of judgment. I completely deleted my address book over a year ago after I was really badly hacked a number of times, and I have found that for the most part, I can live without it. And, most importantly, since I've deleted it, I have not been hacked once.

This last bit of information is the bad news, and that is: sometimes your account is hacked by someone stealing your account information, and they use it from a totally separate, remote location to send out the infected emails. So, since the problem is not connected with your system, there is nothing you can do on your system to change it. Even changing your email would not help, because the hacker can still continue to send out infected emails remotely from their own location, still using your old email address. The only way you might possibly be able to control it would be if there was some way to actuallyinvalidate that email address. And even then, it still may be possible for those phony emails to continue to be sent out.

If nothing above has helped the problem, there are a number of tutorials available on line that offer suggestions and possible solutions:

Windows Live Solution Center:- http://windowslivehelp.com/accountrecovery
Microsoft Safety + Security Center: http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx
Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account

I suggest you close the email account that is giving you grief.

Things for you to remember in the future -

1.Stop posting your e-mail address on a public forum or website.
It is estimated that 95% of all junk e-mail is caused by a person publicly disclosing his or her e-mail address.

2. Avoid: Popular newsgroups - robots often scour these lists for addresses.
Chat rooms like Yahoo Chat etc- spammers or spambots are actively mining in popular chat rooms.

3. Use spam blocking tools. Most webmail providers offer them, or you can download one.

4. Use disposable addresses to identify and shake off sources of spam.
Suggest you have one main account, and be wary who you give it to - even your friends. All they need to do is send you an innocent e-card to get you back on a spam mailing list.

5.Keep all firewall and anti-virus protection up to date.

6. Always install any patches or security updates that are required for your computer's operating system.

7.Use a spam filter.

8.Do not open emails from addresses you do not recognize.

9. Remember that financial institutions usually do not send emails—if you are unsure contact the bank or go to their website.
Do not use any information in the email.

10. Do not follow any links in spam emails.

11. Delete the email.