Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked

A commonality in hacked Hotmail accounts is a weak password.  A weak password is  not only a sequence of numbers or consecutive keyboard characters such as 3333333 or asdfgh.  Any dictionary word (regardless of language), abbreviations, and words spelled backward are weak passwords.  The list of common passwords also includes personal information, such as your children or pet's name, telephone number, house numbers, etc.

Hotmail Team Action

The Hotmail team is rolling out a new security feature that will prevent you from choosing a very common password when recovering a compromised Hotmail account, signing up for a Hotmail account or when changing your password. In addition, if you are already using a common password, you may, at some point in the future, be asked to change it to a stronger password.

Key to a Strong Password

The key to a strong password is both complexity and length.

Complexity is not merely adding an upper case letter or an obvious misspelling, such as P@$$w0rd.  That just won't pass muster. A list of the 500 worst passwords is in the references below.  If you use any of those examples or even something similar it is time to change it, especially for your e-mail, banking or any site where you pay bills or conduct on-line purchases. 


Although some websites limit the number of characters allowed in a password, the longer your password, the harder it will be for it to be compromised. 

Test the passwords you use with the Password Checker. If your password is weak or medium in strength, make it experiment with the Password Checker adding characters, with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and keyboard symbols.

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

References

• Hey! My friend’s account was hacked!
• Password Checker: Using Strong Passwords
• What's My Pass? » The Top 500 Worst Passwords of All Time

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account

Dealing with hijacked Hotmail accounts has long been a top priority for the Hotmail team.  The Hotmail Safety and Security blog recently reported about an increase in hijacked accounts and spam emails sent to a account owner's contact list without their knowledge.

Some of the symptoms reported to the Hotmail team by people whose account was hijacked include:

• Deleted contacts
• Deleted emails
• Safe sender's list is deleted
• Junk Mail Settings is set to Exclusive, which prevents mail from being delivered to the Inbox.

Unfortunately, the account owner is not always the first person to discover that their account has been hacked.  Instead, it is the recipients of the spam or phishing emails that arrived in their inbox from their friend's hacked account.

How to Report a Hacked E-Mail Account

Now, in addition to contacting your friend about the problem with their account, the Hotmail team is incorporating a way to report a compromised account. 

From the "Mark as" menu option, click the My friend’s been hacked!” option:

You can also report an account you believe is compromised while marking as Junk or moving it to the Junk folder:

What Happens After The Account is Reported

When Hotmail receives the report, the information is added to the other information from their compromise detection engine to determine if the account has been compromised.

If the reported account is a Yahoo! or Gmail account, arrangements have been made with those providers for the information to be forwarded to them to use in their respective systems to recover hacked accounts.

For Hotmail accounts identified as compromised, the following will occur:

• The spammer can no longer use the account
• When the account owner attempts to access their account, they will be referred to the account recovery process.

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

References

• Recent reports of Account hijacks 
• Hey! My friend’s account was hacked!
• Security Checklist to Help Keep Your Account Safe

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail

Multi-faceted Windows Live Hotmail not only includes the ability to add up to four POP3 accounts to your Windows Live Hotmail account, you can also link multiple Windows Live IDs. With multiple Hotmail accounts, this enables you to easily switching between accounts without the necessity of signing in again.

Follow the simple steps below to link multiple Windows Live IDs.

Link Windows Live IDs

Sign in to your Windows Live Hotmail account.  In the left pane, next to Inbox, click the Tools icon , and then click Get email from another account.

In the window that opens, click Windows Live:

Next, click the link for "Linked IDs". 

• Linked IDs
  Link your Windows Live IDs so you can quickly switch between accounts.

For security reasons, it will be necessary to provide your password again in order to access Account options.  Then simply enter the Windows Live ID you want to link to the account that you signed in to and provide the password for that account.  Lastly, click the button to Link the accounts. 

To access the linked Windows Live ID, merely click the down arrow in the upper right next to your account name and select the account.  Windows Live will be redirected to that linked account.

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts

The value of a Windows Live Hotmail account is increased exponentially by including the ability to access multiple e-mail accounts all from your Hotmail inbox. 

Not only can you can link multiple Windows Live IDs, you can also add up to four POP3 accounts to your Windows Live Hotmail account.  By following the steps below, you can send and receive e-mail from your Gmail, AOL Mail, and Yahoo! Mail Plus.

Note that POP access needs to be turned on in the other account for Hotmail to access the email. Some email services have POP turned off by default, so be sure to check those settings.  Using Gmail as an example, the option is located in Settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP.

Add an email account

After logging on to your Windows Live Hotmail account, in the left pane, next to Inbox, click the Tools icon , and then click Get email from another account.

Enter your account information

In the window that opens, click Add an email account.

 Type the e-mail address and the password for the desired account to be added to your Hotmail account:

Set folders and icons

Select the folder where you'd like email from this account to go. You can also choose a colored icon to indicate mail from that account. When you're done, click Save.

Verify that you own this email address

An e-mail will be sent to the account to be forwarded to your Windows Live Hotmail.  It is necessary to approve forwarding by clicking the link in the e-mail.  

You have set up your Windows Live Hotmail account to send messages from this email address.
By adding this address, you'll be able to write messages and send them from this Windows Live Hotmail account: 

1. To verify that you own this account and want to send messages from it, click the link below:

{LINK}

2. The link will take you to the sign-in page for Windows Live Hotmail. Just sign in to the account that you want to send mail from. Once you've done that, your mail from that account will start being sent from this address.

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

How to use Hotmail Aliases

Whether shopping online, joining an on-line tech forum, registering your account for on-line bill payment or some other service, a valid e-mail address is required to confirm the account.  Although you can use a plus address for easy management of your email, your primary e-mail address is easily discernible.

For situations where you do not want to use your general e-mail address, you can create an alias.  An alias is particularly useful in situations where the account being registered may result in spam.  All mail sent to alias addresses will be delivered to one Hotmail inbox.

To create an alias

1. In the left pane next to Inbox, click the Tools icon , and then click Create a Hotmail alias. You might need to sign in with your Windows Live ID.
   

   
   
   
   
2. In the dialog box, type an email address, and then click Create an alias.  Note, as in this example, you must select a unique address.
   
   

   

   
   
3. Select your inbox or a new folder for the messages sent to your alias.

To send messages from your new alias, click New to create a message.  Then just click the drop-down next to the Hotmail address to select the address you want to use.

Notes: 

• You cannot use an alias to sign in to Hotmail.  Rather, you need to use your original Hotmail email address and password, not the alias, to sign in to Hotmail.
  
• There is a limit of creating up to five e-mail aliases in your Hotmail account each year.
  
• Use the steps below to delete an alias that is no longer needed:

1. Log in to your primary Hotmail account.  
2. Click Options and select More Options.  
3. Under Managing your account, select Account details (password, aliases, time zone).  
4. Below Other Options, located at the bottom of the Account Overview page, select Your email addresses. 
5. Click Remove next to the alias you wish to delete.

Although Gmail offers the option of using plus addresses, it does not provide the capability of creating aliases.  Conversely, Yahoo! allows the creation of aliases but not plus addresses.  Hotmail provides both features, as well as the ability to manage where the mail is directed.

Additional Topics on Managing Your Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

The improvements in Windows Live Hotmail over the years have made it my preference over Gmail and Yahoo! for managing my e-mail.  One little-known feature is the ability to create plus addresses.

Plus addresses provide a simple way to sort, delete or move e-mail messages to specific folders.  .

How to Create a Plus Address

Creating a plus address is as simple as adding a plus sign (+) then a word to your Hotmail address. To create an address specifically for those occasions you register for a newsletter, simply add +newsletter to your address.

For example, if your e-mail address is spring123@live.com, to create a newsletter plus address, you would use spring123+newsletter@live.com when registering for newsletters. 

How to use a plus address

• From your Hotmail inbox, search for email messages sent to the plus address.  From the results, you can delete or move all of the messages to a separate folder.
  

  
  Easily search for messages related to the plus address that you created.  After typing the plus address in the search box, select the option to sort by "to".
  
  
  
  
  
• The next step is to create a rule to automatically manage the newsletters.
  
  

  1. From your Hotmail inbox, click Options, and then click More options.
  2. Under Customizing Hotmail, click Rules for sorting new messages, and click New.  
  3. In this example, a rule is created so all new messages addressed to spring123+newsletter@live.com will be moved to the Newsletter folder. 
  
  

  

Although Gmail allows the use of plus addresses, it lacks the flexibility of Hotmail.  The label feature of Gmail merely provides a way of identifying similarly labeled mail, leaving your inbox cluttered.  Yahoo! does not offer plus addresses.

Additional Topics on Managing Your Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Hotmail Now Includes Full-Session HTTPS Encryption

Hotmail now includes the option to enhance the security of your entire Hotmail session with HTTPS data encryption (via secure socket layers, or SSL).  Until now, only the Hotmail sign-in was fully encrypted.

If you regularly use public computers or insecure wireless connections, HTTPS will help keep your account secure from hackers.

In addition, SkyDrive, Photos, Docs, and Devices pages now all automatically use SSL encryption.  As a result all of your data is transferred over HTTPS.

Important Note:

If you HTTPS for Hotmail, the connections below will not be available:

• Outlook Hotmail Connector
• Windows Live Mail
• The Windows Live application for Windows Mobile (version 6.5 and earlier) and Symbian

To enable HTTPS for your Hotmail inbox, calendar, and contacts, go to https://account.live.com/ManageSSL.

Tip:  If you only need a temporary HTTPS connection, enter "https" in front of the web address instead of "http".

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account
• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

Reference:

• Hotmail security improves with full-session HTTPS encryption

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Windows Live, Hotmail, Security, Office Web Apps, SkyDrive

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account

Time and time again I see reports from Hotmail users who have lost control of their e-mail account.  As explained by Walter Harp, Director of Product Management, Windows Live, in Helping people protect their Hotmail accounts:

"In the last two years, consumer webmail and social networking services across the web have experienced an increase in the incidence of hijacking, which occurs when someone illegally gains access to another person’s account – email, social profile - and then uses that account for malicious activity. In a typical scenario, hackers will hijack large numbers of accounts and then use those accounts to send spam or social invites to the victims’ friends or others on the victims’ contact lists."  

To begin the process of recovery, hackers were purged from legitimate accounts that were identified as compromised.  The next part of the process are new security features available in Hotmail.  Now if you forget your password or your account is compromised, your Hotmail account can be recovered.  However, it is up to each of us to add the information to strengthen our account, whether by adding a secret question, alternate email, mobile number, or the newly added “Trusted PC” to your account.

How to verify your Hotmail Credentials

The options below for verifying your Hotmail credentials are accessible by clicking on your account name when logged on to Hotmail.  Select "Account", provide your account password in the requested field.  The options are located in the section on "Password reset information".

1) Designate an alternate e-mail address.  Be careful when entering the alternate e-mail address as it will need to be confirmed.

 
2) Add your mobile phone number and receive a text message with a secret code via SMS that can be used to reset your password and reclaim your account.

 3)  Create a secret answer:

Security Recommendation: 

Although providing a "secret answer" is commonly used as a means of recovering accounts, caution needs to be exercised.  Using easily determined information as your secret answer, is not advised.  Instead, for sites that still use such common personal information, use consistent false information that you will remember.

4)  Set up a "Trusted PC" -- With a trusted PC added, this becomes the only computer that can be used to recover or change your password from somewhere else. 

Note:  To add a trusted PC to your account, you need to have Windows Live Essentials installed.

If your Hotmail account is not accessible, start at Account Compromise - Unauthorized Account Access.  If assistance is still needed, a dedicated support path is available from Microsoft at http://windowslivehelp.com/accountrecovery. 

Additional security features in Hotmail include the following:

Trusted senders

One feature I am particularly looking forward to is the "Trusted Sender". This feature visually identifies legitimate mail from about 100 senders, mostly financial institutions like banks, that are commonly spoofed by identity thieves.

Account security information

The new Hotmail encourages you to increase the security of your account by adding security information that you can privately associate with your Hotmail account. For example, you can use your cell phone or other items as proof of account ownership. Then, should a problem arise with your account, you can be sent an account recapture code via an SMS message or enable regaining account access.

Single-use codes

For times when you will be using a public computer (i.e., at an internet cafe, airport, coffee shop), All it takes is clicking "request a code", and a one-time use authentication code will be sent to a private proof point (mobile phone or alternate e-mail address). By using a single-use code on a public computer instead of your password, you avoid the chances of it being stolen by key-loggers.

Full-session SSL

Hotmail currently supports SSL encryption at Wi-Fi locations but will be adding full SSL encryption later this fall.

Update: Hotmail Now Includes Full-Session HTTPS Encryption

Additional Topics on Managing Hotmail

• Hotmail Security, Common Passwords Blocked
• Hotmail Full-Session HTTPS Encryption
• Hotmail Security, How to Report a Hacked Account
• How to use Hotmail Aliases
• Link Windows Live IDs in Hotmail
• Use Hotmail to Manage All Your E-Mail Accounts
• Using Hotmail Plus Addresses

References

• Account Compromise - Unauthorized Account Access
• Helping people protect their Hotmail accounts
• Hotmail: Tips to help protect your account - Help protect your account
• Hotmail security updates protect you from account hijackers
• Security upgrades in the new Hotmail

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Windows Live, Hotmail, Security, Microsoft, Windows, How To, Information,

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Waledac Botnet: R.I.P. b49

A botnet is a network of computers hijacked by bot-herders to spread malware, send spam and commit other forms of cyber crime, such as click fraud and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on websites.  In the case of the Waledac botnet, the network comprised tens of thousands of hijacked computers.


Waledac botnet background described by USA Today:

"The Waledac botnet was a major source of spam and PC infections, at its peak in 2009 delivering 1.5 billion spam messages daily. Microsoft added detection and filtering for Waledac infections to its free malicious software removal tool. But cleaning infected PCs one by one did not stop the command PCs.

By December, Microsoft Hotmail accounts were getting swamped with more than 650 million e-mail spam messages sent out by Waledac. That helped motivate the company to pursue a court order to shut down the command domains.

Even after the botnet's command center got knocked out, tens of thousands of infected PCs continued trying to phone home for instructions."

Waledac botnet take down:

Through the efforts of Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, in partnership with Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing team and the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, Microsoft undertook a combination of technical measures and previously untried legal techniques to disrupt and control the Waledac botnet, referenced by Microsoft as Operation b49,

The result of this effort takes us from this:

to this:  

Image from Accelerating Change through Technology

Additional background information is available in my earlier post, Waledac Botnet Takedown.

Clean-up:

The exciting news is that the legal action by Microsoft to permanently shut down the botnet was successful.  As a result, Microsoft is now in a position to work with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and CERTS to help customers remove the Waledac infection from their computers. 

Although communications with the Waledac botnet remain dead, there are still If you believe  your computer is infected by Waledac, free help is available at the Microsoft Virus and Security Solution Center.

Prevention:

The standard advice applies:

1. Keep a software firewall turned on at all times.
2. Update not only your computer operating system but third-party software (i.e., Adobe products, Quick-Time and Java, as well.
3. Maintain up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware software.

The future of botnets from the Microsoft Blog:

"The Waledac takedown is the first undertaking in a larger Microsoft-led initiative called Project MARS (Microsoft Active Response for Security), which is a joint effort between Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), Microsoft Support and the Trustworthy Computing team to annihilate botnets and help make the Internet safer for everyone.  We believe the Waledac takedown will be the first of many successful endeavors for Project MARS and we’re already working to apply the lessons we learned from this operation to future initiatives.  

We’re also seeing other members of the security industry and law enforcement taking proactive action to both study and dismantle other botnets, such as the recent actions against Mariposa and Pushdo/Cutwail.  While the approaches to these actions have differed somewhat from the Waledac takedown, all of these efforts demonstrate that the industry is beginning to take a more aggressive stance against botnets."

References:

• Microsoft B49 Virus Removal: Virus and Security Solution Center
• Microsoft Blog: R.I.P. Waledac: Undoing the damage of a botnet
• Microsoft on the Issues: Cracking Down on Botnets
• MMPC: An Update on Operation b49 and Waledac
• MMPC Blog: What we know and learned from the Waledac takedown
• USA Today: Microsoft gets legal might to target spamming botnets

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Microsoft, Windows, Security, Vulnerabilities, Information

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Important service change regarding Twitter with Widows Live‏

Social Networking has become not only a popular way for friends to communicate. It is also a great means of sharing information. I have found that I generally get technical news and information faster via Twitter than my large collection of RSS feeds.

For Windows Live users who have not seen the announcement, effective June 30, 2010, twitter posts will no longer be imported from Twitter and shared with your Windows Live Messenger friends. Following is the e-mail notice from the Windows Live Team Newsletter:

"Dear Windows Live Customer,

Thank you for connecting your social networks and other services with Windows Live. We are contacting you because you have added your Twitter feed to Windows Live and we want to notify you of an upcoming change.

Beginning June 30, 2010 your tweets will no longer be automatically imported from Twitter and shared out to your Windows Live Messenger friends due to policy changes made by Twitter. We are working hard with Twitter to make this service available again and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We remain focused on making Hotmail, Messenger, and your PC with Windows great companions to social networks and other services. This change has no impact on your ability to connect Windows Live with our other 75+ other social networks and other service partners, which include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, and more.

Sincerely,

The Windows Live Team"

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Microsoft, Windows Live, Windows Live Messenger, Instant Messaging, Twitter, Information,

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Windows Live Hotmail

The Windows Live Hotmail Team has good reason to celebrate. Microsoft has started rolling out the “new Hotmail” features. Because the Hotmail servers are grouped into hundreds of clusters, and only one cluster is upgraded at a time, the migration is not expected to be complete until the end of summer (winter in the Southern Hemisphere!). If you do not see the new features yet, please be patient. They will be coming your way soon.

Initially, there are some features, like the integrated Office Web Apps and the ability to send files via SkyDrive, that are available only in certain countries. For example, the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland are receiving Office integration first and it will be rolled out to other countries later this year.

Some of the enhanced features of Windows Live Hotmail include the new Sweep menu, freshly integrated Office Web Apps, via SkyDrive, new attachment limits up to 10 GB, and the ability to create and send photo albums right from Hotmail.

However, I am most interested in the improved security features, briefly described below. For more detailed information on the improved security features as well as the other new features in Hotmail, see What's new in Hotmail.

Trusted senders

One feature I am particularly looking forward to is the "Trusted Sender". This feature visually identifies legitimate mail from about 100 senders, mostly financial institutions like banks, that are commonly spoofed by identity thieves.

Account security information

The new Hotmail encourages you to increase the security of your account by adding security information that you can privately associate with your Hotmail account. For example, you can use your cell phone or other items as proof of account ownership. Then, should a problem arise with your account, you can be sent an account recapture code via an SMS message or enable regaining account access.

Single-use codes

For times when you will be using a public computer (i.e., at an internet cafe, airport, coffee shop), All it takes is clicking "request a code", and a one-time use authentication code will be sent to a private proof point (mobile phone or alternate e-mail address). By using a single-use code on a public computer instead of your password, you avoid the chances of it being stolen by key-loggers.

Full-session SSL

The new Hotmail will soon support the option to maintain SSL encryption between you and Microsoft servers during the entire Hotmail session.

References:

• The new Hotmail is rolling out now!
• Office Web Apps
• What's new in Hotmail
• Windows Live SkyDrive
  

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Windows Live, Hotmail, Security, Office Web Apps, SkyDrive

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Essential Windows Live

How often do you think about the programs you use every day? How many times do you automatically launch the desired application without thinking about it? That has certainly become the case for most people who use Windows Live Essentials programs.

When the Microsoft Clubhouse manager posed the Challenge, What Windows Live product can you not live without? I thought about all the Windows Live products I have installed on my computers and wondered which one I could give up for a day.

Although I have had fun with Movie Maker, I knew I could survive a while without it. I could certainly use another mechanism as a substitute for Writer to create blog posts. I know I would be hard-pressed to not have access to Photo Gallery. However, the answer came quickly when I thought about sacrificing Windows Live Mail for a day.

Windows Live Mail provides the capability of including multiple accounts in one program. The junk filters in place now are extremely good. I very seldom receive any spam in my In Box. The incorporated calendar has become essential for tracking not only appointments but also works exceptionally well for adding reminders of tasks I can put off but do not want to forget to handle.

With Windows Live Mail you can connect to all your email accounts and manage them in one place. You can still use Windows Live Mail to check Gmail and other webmail services even if you do not have a Hotmail account. (Note: Yahoo! requires a Plus account.) Another useful feature is that it is even possible to reply to mail sent to one account from another one, You can also drag messages from one account to another.

Sharing pictures with family and friends is a snap with Windows Live Mail. Instead of attaching pictures to a regular e-mail, select New > Photo e-mail (Ctrl+Shift+P). The photos are uploaded to SkyDrive and thumbnails are incorporated in the e-mail. When the recipient clicks on the thumbnail, they are taken to a web photo viewer. From there, they can view the images in a slide show, comment and download some or all of the pictures.

To learn more follow the Windows Live Messenger and Mail team at The Windows Blog, Inside Windows Live.

Windows Live Download Links:

• Messenger
• Mail
• Writer
• Photo Gallery
• Movie Maker
• Family Safety
• Toolbar

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, challenge-experiment, Windows Live Essentials, Mail, Messenger, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Family Safety, Toolbar, Microsoft, Story

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Waledac Botnet Takedown

The Waledac botnet had the capability of sending 1.5 billion spam e-mails per day. During a three-week period in December, 2009, approximately 651 million spam emails attributable to Waledac were directed to Hotmail accounts alone. Waledac also has the ability to download and execute arbitrary files, harvest email addresses from the local machine, perform denial of service attacks (DDoS), steal passwords, and more. Hundreds of thousands of computers have been infected with Win32/Waldac.

What is a botnet? As described by Microsoft Associate General Counsel, Tim Cranton:

"Botnets - networks of compromised computers controlled by hackers known as “bot-herders” - have become a serious problem in cyberspace. Their proliferation has led some to worry that the botnet problem is unsolvable. Under the control of a hacker or group of hackers, botnets are often used to conduct various attacks ranging from denial of service attacks on websites, to spamming, click fraud, and distribution of new forms of malicious software."

With support from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit used both legal and technical steps to effectively caused the shutdown of the Waledac botnet. The legal result was a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order which cut off 277 Internet domains believed to be run by those known as the Waledac botnet.

The result of the restraining order was described by Tim Cranton as follows:

"This action has quickly and effectively cut off traffic to Waledac at the “.com” or domain registry level, severing the connection between the command and control centers of the botnet and most of its thousands of zombie computers around the world. Microsoft has since been taking additional technical countermeasures to downgrade much of the remaining peer-to-peer command and control communication within the botnet, and we will continue to work with the security community to mitigate and respond to this botnet."

Although the connections to the infected computers has effectively been shut down, that effort has not cleaned the infected computers and they are still infected with the original malware. Below is a copy of map of Waledac infections around the world in a recent 18 day period.


To help make sure your computer is not one of those dots on the map, run Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool which removes the malware.

Efforts by others involved in the campaign are described by PCWorld in Microsoft Recruited Top Notch Guns for Waledac Takedown.

References:

• The Official Microsoft Blog: Cracking Down on Botnets
• Microsoft On The Issues: Cracking Down on Botnets
  
• Microsoft Malware Protection Center: Dismantling Waledac
• PCWorld Business Center: Microsoft Recruited Top Notch Guns for Waledac Takedown

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Microsoft, Windows, Security, Vulnerabilities, Information



Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...