Dec
15th
Mon
15th
Don't Get Your Messenger Account Stolen
Curiosity kills cats, and it probably snagged you as well if you ever typed your MSN Messenger (oops, its “Windows Live Messenger”) user name and password into a website.
Most likely, these sites are offering a seemingly invaluable service, like:
Find out which of your bastard friends actually have the gall to block you, instead of telling you that they hate you right to your face!
When you type your Windows Live user name and password into one of these sites, they:
- Store your Windows Live credentials
- Login to Messenger
- Take a few seconds to send out adverts to all your contacts
- Logout right away
- Wait for a couple of hours, then go back to step 2
As you can see, your Messenger account is now used for advertisements. Some even track if you’re doing your part in furthering their viral spamming goals by asking your friends to click on URLs like yourname.abcxyz.com.
You’re at great risk:
- Someone else knows your user name & password
- They can pretend to be you and IM your friends, or use your Hotmail
- Worse, they can change your password, after which you will not be able to use your account ever again
- Your friends are sent links to the website, and will also get conned
- Messenger will disconnect periodically. Your brain will tell you that its a glitch with the flaky Windows OS you’re using. But no! Its someone logging in to Messenger and kicking you out.
What should you do right now:
- Login to your Windows Live account and change your password. (Another way for Hotmail users.)
- Promise that you won’t bother finding out who is blocking you
- Promise that you’ll never ever type your Windows Live credentials into a website that doesn’t belong Microsoft or a trustworthy IM provider (e.g. Fring, Meebo)
