Re: [OT] Has my e-mail account been hacked?
On Tue, 13 Oct 2015 18:57:58 -0400 (EDT), Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
>
> The comment was a general one and directed at all our readers. However,
> earlier you said "Someone discovered my password somehow". You have
> just demolished that guess as having no basis as a likely cause.
Likely, no, but still possible. For example, when I update my web
pages, I use my ISP's FTP server. Suppose someone else on my ISP's subnet
has a network sniffer in promiscuous mode. The FTP server uses ordinary
unencrypted FTP. The userid and password are sent in clear text. I wish
they had an FTPS server, but the last time I checked, they didn't. I use
e-mail solely through a web-based e-mail client. When I login, I don't
know if the password is sent in clear text over the network or not.
That being said, if my password was obtained in this manner, I don't have
much of a defense against it. If I change my password, they can get the
new one the same way as they got the old one.
Another possibility is a malicious web site that I may have unknowingly
visited that managed to find a password in memory, a cookie, etc. So
despite all the precautions that I have taken, it is still possible for
a password to be "discovered".
Having said that, it looks like someone else's credentials may have been
used, based on some other posts to this thread. But I am not an expert
in these matters. That's why I asked for help.
--
.''`. Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com>
: :' :
`. `'`
`-
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