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Hackers get over 10,000 hotmail passwords and leak them over net
If you are of the user of hotmail or Windows Live, you might have a reason to worry. Hackers have managed to get hold 
of thousands of Hotmail passwords and moreover posted them on the net.So you better change your passwords quickly.
Neowin has reported that a phishing scheme was responsible for stealing of most of these passwords. The list of passwords were uploaded and displayed on a code sharing site PasteBin. The passwords are believed to be uploaded by some anonymous user. the list uploaded consisted only of those between letters A and B. One shudders to think what may be the actual size of the list of stolen passwords.
“The details have since been removed but Neowin has seen part of the list posted and can confirm the accounts are genuine and most appear to be based in Europe. The list details over 10,000 accounts starting from A through to B, suggesting there could be additional lists. Currently it appears only accounts used to access Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail have been posted, this includes @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com accounts,†the site reports.
Microsoft has also confirmed the happenig and also denied any leakage on its part. The company has also issued certain advisories for the users :
- Renew their passwords for Windows Live IDs every 90 days
- For administrators, make sure you approve and authenticate only users that you know and can verify credentials
- As phishing sites can also pose additional threats, please install and keep anti-virus software up to date
This has come as a setback to the already ailing prospects of the email service of Microsoft. Microsoft has seen its market share been eaten away by Google’s email service. This events marks another instance which may end up loosening the grip of Microsoft on the email service industry. Google has been constantly increasing customer base and that is on account of Microsoft. Such events confirm the choice of users to go for more reliable Google even if it may have certain technical glitches not present in Microsoft’s service.
So hurry up and change your passwords….!
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About the author
I am currently pursuing MBA from MDI, Gurgaon, India and currently studying at ESCP-Europe,Paris. Apart from keeping myself updated with latest in the tech world , I also like to write. Hope you find my writings useful.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Vikram on October 7, 2009 at 7:56 am, and is filed under Technology. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
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