On September 3rd, both my hotmail and g-mail accounts were slammed shut simultaneously.....period! I've done some stupid things in my lifetime but this one takes a new kind of cake! I must have set up my hotmail account around a decade ago and used a password that I could remember. I've never felt the need to change it so never have. No worms have ever crawled into my computers and I have managed to keep my computer protection services like Norton current.
Hotmail had limited capacity in the old days for sending and receiving data so someone recommended that I open up a g-mail account around 6 or 7 years ago. I opened up my g-mail account by having someone invite me. Of course when I did so, I used the very same password that I used with my hotmail account; didn't want to forget it or put a sticky on my computer at work. When asked for a back-up e-mail account, I listed my hotmail account.
You are probably beginning to see a pattern here that gets even more idiotic. Not only did I use the same password for both, I incorporated a portion of my name into it. I then ran an easy sequential string of numbers that I wouldn't forget either. 4 letters from my name and 4 numbers in sequence. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
So when a hacker decided to get into my accounts, he or she must have been smiling as to how easy it was. I thought about setting up a contest to see how many of you could guess my passwords but have thought better of it until I finish changing my password at my bank and other places. If you didn't catch it in my last post, here is the blast that was sent out to all of my hotmail and g-mail addresses that I've had for the past 10 years.
"Brutal Experience Need Help!!! I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. I came down here to United Kingdom for a short vacation with my family unfortunately we was mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash, credit card and cell phone were stolen from us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us. I've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and my flight leaves in less than 3hrs from now but am having problems settling the hotel bill and the hotel manager won't let us leave until i settle the bills, i'm freaked out at the moment. Thanks. Ken Keranen"
I'm now working on reconstructing my life on the computer, thinking what other stupid things I've done that I can do something about and working on acceptance. By the way, if any of you can remember (I couldn't) when you set up your account it would be a good idea. It would also behoove you to never, never, use a portion of your name, first or last, in your password(s)!!
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