Response From Yahoo!

Post date: Dec 30, 2009 3:21:21 AM

On Sunday, my Yahoo email account was probably hacked by a worm that sent a SPAM email to all of my contacts. I was outraged because if anyone SPAMs my contacts, I want it to be me! Well they were kind & prompt enough to send me a reply with steps to protect my account, so I felt compelled to share their suggestions with the world. This is advice we could all use:

Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Mail Customer Care.

I understand that you suspect that someone has sent an email from your

Yahoo! Mail account. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have

caused.

At Yahoo!, your account security is of the utmost importance to us. I'm

going to help you by outlining a few steps that you can use to keep your

account as secure as possible. In addition, I have provided some

information about some viruses that may be generating emails from your

account. Although this email may be long, I'm sure it will prove to be

quite helpful for you.

First, here are some tips on how to better secure your account:

1. Sign out completely each time you exit your account. This is

especially important for users who are connecting from a public

computer. Here's how to sign out:

a. Click "Sign Out" in the upper-right corner of the page.

b. On the following page, click "Return to Yahoo! Mail."

2. Change your password. To do so, follow these steps:

a. Sign in to your Yahoo! Mail account.

b. Click "My Yahoo!" at the top-right corner of the page.

c. On the password verification page, enter your password.

d. On the "My Yahoo!" page, click "Account Information."

e. Click "Change Password."

f. In the space next to "Old Password," enter your current password.

g. Enter a new password in the field provided.

3. Change your alternate email address and/or challenge question and

secret answer. We use either your alternate email address or your

challenge question/secret answer as confirmation before giving you a new

password. If you think somebody knows the answer to your challenge

question, or has access to your alternate email address, you can change

this information.

To edit your alternate email address from within your account, follow

these steps:

a. Click "My Yahoo!" at the top-right corner of the page.

b. On the password verification page, enter your password.

c. Once you're at your "My Yahoo!" page, click "Edit" in the "Member

Information" section.

d. The next page will have a field with your alternate email address,

under "Email Information."

e. Make the desired changes.

f. Click "Finished" to save them.

g. To return to your account, simply click "Finished" at the top or

bottom of the next screen.

4. I also suggest that you updated your Challenge Question & Secret

Answer on your account. Our Online Help section for Account Security has

some great some good instructions on how to do that. Please go to our

Account Security Secret Question & Answer Help page at:

http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/acct/info/acct-104.html

Secondly, a virus may be the cause for emails being sent from your

Yahoo! Mail account without your knowledge.

There are many viruses in existence today (often called "worms"), that

propagate when an email attachment containing the virus is sent to an

email address found in an infected user's computer (e.g., address book,

local files, etc.). In cases such as these, Yahoo! users may receive an

email with an attachment that indicates the email has been sent from

their own Yahoo! account, when in reality, it most likely was not.

I highly recommend that you do not open or download any file attachment

that was sent to you from someone you do not know. Those files may

contain viruses that could generate and send emails to people in your

Contacts.

I hope that answers your question. If you need any further assistance,

please feel free to contact us again.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Mail Customer Care.