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Hi Surfers,
I was in the process of writing a normal article for Polk County Today.com but, I found there is a greater importance that I need to share.
Microsoft has been facing a serious problem with their free web-based email program Hotmail. Hijackers have been successful at infiltrating user accounts and sending out spam. One of my customers came to me concerned with not being able to access their Hotmail account.
While researching the problem, I came across numerous others who were facing the same dilemma. While Microsoft is placing the blame of the hijacking squarely on the shoulders of its users, it’s my own personal belief Microsoft is pulling a usual tactic of not accepting the blame for flawed software.
If you are using Hotmail as your email program, you really need to back up your address book, messages if it will let you and back them up to a safe place. Likewise, it’s best to have another email account either through your Internet provider or, some other free email service like Yahoo or Gmail.
Having a backup email account is like having insurance, you hope to never have to use it but, if you need it, it’s there to bail you out in a tough situation.
There are several steps you can take, to minimize the risk of having your email or anything else, hijacked. Keep your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware software updated and use them at least one to two times a week at the bare minimum, change your password every 6 months, using a combination of 6 to 8 or more characters made up of numbers and letters and use different passwords for different accounts will help prevent someone from having access.
If you transpose a number for a let such as a 5 for and s or a zero for and o, it will take someone using a software password cracker, more time than they care to spare to crack your password. Here’s a good example of a strong password: P855W0rD. Looking closely, the p is and uppercase letter, an 8 is used for an A, two 5’s for esses, an uppercase W, a zero for an o, uppercase D and a period, will take a password cracker many years to crack. Just having a password of “password” will only take a few minutes to crack.
With the economy in the tank as it is, the criminal elements are stepping up their efforts to part you from your money or to take control of your computer for other reasons.
Just like in real life, you have to do whatever you can to protect yourself, especially, on the Internet.
Until next time, happy safe surfing!
Webmaster JR
J.R. Shoemake is a professional website builder and computer technician. You can visit his website at www.cyberlakepress.com
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