Hi Folks,

And yet another good reason to stay away from Hotmail and Yahoo - stick with gmail!

Q:
Do you have any information about a new Trojan hitting Hotmail and Yahoo!? I heard a snippet about it the other day, but I would like to know more about it. If you know anything, please share it with us!

A:
Well, unfortunately, you heard right. As of July 6, 2007, it seems as if various Hotmail and Yahoo! accounts have been hijacked to send out spam messages. And we're not talking about just a few spam e-mails here. They have been sending out thousands upon thousands since the beginning of all this. Also, just in case you're wondering, all of this information is coming from the security firm of BitDefender. Alright, now that you know the basics of the situation, let's look into this a little more.

The reason all of this is happening is because Hotmail and Yahoo! have been hit by a new Trojan virus called Trojan.Spammer.HotLan.A. Once the Trojan hits either a Hotmail or Yahoo! account, it starts to generate spam messages and sends them out. The Trojan is also able to generate new Webmail accounts automatically. And on top of all that, the malware has also found a way to get past the CAPTCHA tests that are used for anti-spam purposes.

This is basically what goes on. The Trojan accesses a Webmail account and then goes and finds encrypted spam messages to use. It then decrypts those messages so they can be sent out to any legitimate e-mail address it can find. So, as you can see, users can be hit unexpectedly and very quickly if they don't keep their eyes open. And that includes you if you have a Hotmail or Yahoo! account.

Now, in your Inbox, the e-mail you'll see is from a Web site that is trying to sell pharmacy products. This is something that can be tempting and it can seem very legit, so it's easy for the Trojan to confirm your e-mail address and then get ahold of even more by rooting through your contacts list.

As of now, according to the head of the BitDefender antivirus lab, approximately 500 new accounts are being created every hour. But as a whole, over 15,000 Hotmail and Yahoo! accounts have been used. Therefore, it's really hard to determine how many spam e-mails have gone out, because the Trojan is able to multiply them without any trouble.

Please remember that I'm not trying to frighten you with this information. It is my job to keep you informed and that's what I always intend to do. I know this news is pretty scary for any of you who are using Hotmail or Yahoo!, but please don't panic too much. Just keep your eyes open for suspicious e-mails and delete any unusual e-mails as quickly as you can. Once you delete them from your Inbox, make sure they are deleted from your Trash folder as well. Also, be sure to run your antivirus, spyware, etc. scans on a regular basis. If there's anything going on within your system in terms of a Trojan, your security programs will be able to catch it.

Again, don't panic. Just be cautious and use some common sense when you're checking your e-mail each day. If you do that, you're going to be just fine. And by that time, the pros will probably have an easy fix for this and they'll put a stop to it anyway. There's always hope in tomorrow!

~ Erin

Q:
I know you've done tips before on e-mail stationery, but I was wondering if I could use my own pictures for that. I would like to send e-mails out that have my own pictures there as the background. Is that possible? If so, please tell me how to do it!

A:
That is such a cool question! Yes, some e-mail programs (like Outlook Express and Thunderbird) come with some nice stationery options, but who wouldn't rather use their own pictures? I know I would! They would just make the e-mails you're sending so much more personal and it would also be a joy for the people you're sending them to. For example, Outlook Express has a nice sunflower stationery choice that I really like, but when I get an e-mail from a friend, I'd much rather see a picture they took. It would just make receiving e-mails so much more fun!

So, the main question was: "Is that possible"? Well, if you haven't guessed already, it sure is! And believe it or not, it's so simple to do. To get started, you must already have the picture you want to use on your computer. You can either upload it from you digital camera or if you have a scanner, you can scan it on to your hard drive. Either way, it has to be in the form of a file on your computer in order to use it for your e-mail stationery.

Once you've got that done, open up your e-mail program. As far as I know, this tip will only work for Outlook Express, Thunderbird and MS Outlook. (I know this isn't an MS Office tip, but I will give you some quick directions on how to do this in Outlook as well). Most Web based e-mail programs (like Yahoo! and Hotmail) do not offer a stationery option, so you won't be able to do this through those. Alright, here are the instructions for the three e-mail programs listed above.

In Outlook Express, go to Tools, Options and select the Compose tab. Then click the Create New button and a "New Stationery" wizard will pop up. Just hit Next and follow along with the wizard. When you're done, you'll have your very own picture stationery. You can do more than one picture if you so choose as well, which is cool, because then you'll have lots of options! When you're ready to send an e-mail using your new stationery, just use the little drop down arrow next to the Create Mail button and then choose Select Stationery. Then just find your picture in the list and click OK.

In Thunderbird, click the Write button to create a new e-mail message. Click your mouse in the body of the e-mail and then click Format, Page Colors and Background. Next, go to File and then select the image you want to use. Click Open and OK. You'll then be all set. You can do this for multiple pictures with Thunderbird as well.

And lastly, in MS Outlook, you first have to be sure that you're sending the e-mail in an HTML format. Then open a new e-mail message and click your mouse in the body of the e-mail. Then go to Format, Background, Fill Effects. Hit the Picture tab and then choose Select Picture. You can then search for the image you want to use and insert it in. Click OK when you're done.

There you go. That's all there is to it! Now, I must warn you that the picture you decide to use will take up a lot of the background space of your e-mail. Therefore, it might be a little hard for your recipients to read the message you write if the text is not dark enough. Be sure your font color and the picture you use mesh well with each other. If they don't, your friends and family won't be able to read what you write and that will just defeat the whole purpose! Also, keep in mind that some people find this kind of thing a little annoying, so if you don't think one of your recipients is going to appreciate the work you put into it, just send them a regular e-mail and leave the cute ones for someone else.

Other than that, have fun with this one. You can really create some cute e-mails by inserting your own pictures into the stationery spot. They're perfect for special occasions or to just send something new and different to an old friend. I love it!

~ Erin

Please feel free to forward this to anyone that you think might be interested in it.  If they wish to subscribe, they can click on the link below.

If this was forwarded to you and you wish to subscribe, please click here: Subscribe
If you wish to be deleted from the mailing list, please click here: Unsubscribe