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Hacked MSN Messenger Account

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
On MSN this morning, got a message saying I was being signed out as I'd been signed in on a different computer, and then I couldn't sign back in because my password (set to be remembered) wasn't correct. My security question, obviously the way someone found out my password, has also been changed, and so I'm completely shut out of my account. :(

I've emailed Microsoft Support, and so far not gotten anything back. I have my suspicions about who screwed my account, but can't get hold of the prick to fix him. :mad:

Any suggestions? I can't have a password reminder sent to an alternate email, that's been removed, and I don't have any more attempts at answering the question for the time being. Am I completely buggered? :banghead:

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my bastard of a step-cousin hacked into my msn a while ago too. did exactly the same as what has happened to you by changing pass and qustion too. i emailed support too but i never got a response!! i tried again and still nothing. so in the end i just left it and got a new account. told all people on my contact list to block old account/delete it

    very annoying!! hope you have more luck than me though!!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You're stuffed mate. At least until you hear back from Microsoft. For future reference, don't use security questions like 'What is the name of your pet?' - well, use whatever question you like. But set your answer to something fairly random - your bank account number, with the first and last digits swapped for your first and last letters of your name, or something like that.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well I've been and changed my "work" account password and question, might use that one for personal as well and just move all the contacts over. Still haven't found a password that rates top on the security scale though. I'm not holding out for a response from Microsoft, although I'm hoping they'll delete the hacked account. :rolleyes:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Secure passwords are easy. The ones I use tend to look like this:-

    T8x3bdU"r$%£sKK

    I have a fairly secure, 8-digit password:-

    T8x3bdU2

    And a registration plate, that I easily remember but nobody would associate with me:-

    R432SKK

    By combining the two, capitalising the first and last letters of the 8-digit password, keeping shift held down for the digit after the last letter - and for all digits in the registration plate, I've ended up with a password that is more secure than I'll ever need - 15 digits, uppercase and lowercase, numbers and other symbols.

    Obviously that isn't my real password, nor is that exactly how mine is set up. But it should give you an idea of how to generate a memorable but secure password...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Click to see more wrote:
    Secure passwords are easy. The ones I use tend to look like this:-

    T8x3bdU"r$%£sKK

    I have a fairly secure, 8-digit password:-

    T8x3bdU2

    And a registration plate, that I easily remember but nobody would associate with me:-

    R432SKK

    By combining the two, capitalising the first and last letters of the 8-digit password, keeping shift held down for the digit after the last letter - and for all digits in the registration plate, I've ended up with a password that is more secure than I'll ever need - 15 digits, uppercase and lowercase, numbers and other symbols.

    Obviously that isn't my real password, nor is that exactly how mine is set up. But it should give you an idea of how to generate a memorable but secure password...

    Too complicated. :/

    I just put answers to questions which nobody would know the answer except me. Like.. 'what date did you get your period..' .. that isn't mine, and sorry it's a gross example - but think about it.. who the hell else would know? :p
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cazzoo wrote:
    Too complicated. :/

    :eek2:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Crocidolite wrote:
    :eek2:

    What - it is! :p
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cazzoo wrote:
    What - it is! :p

    There's no point in a password if it's easy to guess, or in a dictionary!

    Depends how secure you wish your information remain, I suppose.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The point I was trying to make, rather unsuccessfully, is that it doesn't really take much to create a password that really is secure. Take the serial number from the back of your watch, your grandmothers telephone number, the model number of your television - anything like that, change one or two of the digits to characters, or letters from your name, and you've got a good password. To make it really good, add a second password to the end, and swap characters on that.

    Seriously, it isn't difficult to come up with something that cannot be guessed, and will last a very long time when someone is trying to crack it with brute force. You only need a couple of passwords, really - I use a handful of boring ones for forums and whatnot. A rather secure one on eBay, a very secure one with my online banking, and the most secure is used to encrypt my hard drive.

    You don't need to have a different password for every site or anything like that, but you do need to ensure that secure passwords are used where they are required. Anything important to you should have something a little more difficult than the name of your first school or your favourite holiday destination.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    erm i dont even think that counts as hacking to be honest either, its someones own fault if their password is too insecure
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MrG wrote:
    erm i dont even think that counts as hacking to be honest either, its someones own fault if their password is too insecure

    Indeed. I actually had someone hack my hotmail account a few years ago and the password wasn't obvious - it had numbers and letters, but wasn't something that could be guessed easily. After being hacked, I never bothered with Hotmail anymore. My passwords have never been obvious - always have letters and numbers in them and some of them have capital letters as well.
    The point I was trying to make, rather unsuccessfully, is that it doesn't really take much to create a password that really is secure.

    This is very true. I tend to use letters and numbers that mean nothing to me - many people will use passwords where the words will mean something to them...

    Think it was yahoo! or some sort of email account where, when an email account was set up, it would give some sort of reading of how secure they think the password really is.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you're out of luck


    and sofie: you were probably keylogged or trojaned
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ok remember when you used to type numbers into a calculator turn it upside down and spell boobs or something?

    Same principle (as already has been mentioned in this thread) a so called complicated password doesn't have to be complicated

    swap various letters with numbers 1 becomes l or i 4 becomes A

    for further ideas try here

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=l33tsp33k


    l337 f+\/\/ :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    55378008

    into a calculator and turn upside down
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had that happen to me back in February 2003. I had my MSN compromised, TheSite forums account (Monserrat) compromised and two other bulletin boards. Thanks to TheSite moderators and BumbleBee (user) for helping get my account back.

    For MSN though, I had to abandon it and sign up for a new account. There is not much that you can do once your secret question and answer has been changed :-/
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MSN or whoever were very helpful. Ok so they kept sending me messages in the middle of the night, but after giving a lot of personal details they sent me a password reset email that I could access, and so I have my account back.

    I have since deleted and blocked everybody I don't trust or talk to, changed my password to something very complicated (and if I keep going wrong what chance do others stand!) and changed my secret question and answer to not even something my parents could guess. Sorted ;)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Good stuff :). Don't forget your new password!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    One way I make passwords is combining letters into names/items you're familiar with. e.g.

    F10n@

    Obviously something longer, but you get my drift.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had my msn account hacked several times, but I just got my sister in laws brother to hack it back and put a virus on the other guys PC :p.
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