Ok all you computer literate people..

[embabe]

... I need some help!

One of my e-mail accounts got hacked by someone last saturday and sent out a rather inappropriate e-mail to all the people I had in my address book. (which was mostly old college friends, highschool friends, family members, and just generally people I haven't seen or talked to in a LONG time! )

In an effort to fix things, the Hotmail staff suggested I try to track things down so I can file a claim or prosecute or whatever. However, because of some privacy act, they can't give me any info, but they told me how to find the IP address. Problem is, I don't know how or what to do from there. Can someone explain all this computer stuff to me?

 

[Caleb]

you positive it wasn't a virus? thats the typical behavior of a virus.

 

[embabe]

I've scanned my computer with three different programs and they all came back clean. (two of them are installed to protect against viruses in the first place and the third one I tried was something the computer guys the work for my company suggested) I haven't found any viruses or anything abnormal with my own computer, and I haven't opened anything from anyone I don't know.

 

[Caleb]

on a windows machine you don't have to open anything or even execute it. I'd still be willing to bet it's a virus. However, if you can get an IP address do so and I will help you with what I can.

 

[Meat_]

It came from a hotmail account, so unless you have your hotmail account set up in an email program such as Outlook, or Outlook Express your hotmail account probably got hacked. I still have the email (I think) if you need info from the header

 

[embabe]

Yeah, if you've got the IP address that it was sent from....

I think that's the only account I don't have set up in Outlook. :\

 

[Meat_]

I don't know how to get it from the web based mail and I don't have that account set up in outlook.... if I forward it to one that is... the ip changes

 

[Caleb]

do you have a redirect option on Hotmail? If you do then that won't change anything or add anything to the header.

 

[embabe]

This is what the people at MSN told me to do:

However, you can ask for a copy of the message that was sent from your account to one of your friends to track the originating IP address of the message. Every message sent from Hotmail includes the "X-Originating-IP" header. This header contains a number, known as an "IP address," which belongs to the Internet service provider (ISP) of the person sending the e-mail. The IP address is visible in the expanded header information of the e-mail.

If your friend has a Hotmail account, he or she can follow the steps below to expose full message headers:

1. Click "Options" on the upper-right side of the page.
2. On the left side of the page, click "Mail," and then click "Mail Display Settings."
3. Under "Message Headers," select "Full," and then click "OK."

 

[Meat_]

Ok I got it. Looks like it was someone on Verizon


Search results for: 71.244.223.53


OrgName: Verizon Internet Services Inc.
OrgID: VRIS
Address: 1880 Campus Commons Dr
City: Reston
StateProv: VA
PostalCode: 20191
Country: US

NetRange: 71.240.0.0 - 71.255.255.255
CIDR: 71.240.0.0/12
NetName: VIS-BLOCK
NetHandle: NET-71-240-0-0-1
Parent: NET-71-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Allocation
NameServer: NS1.BELLATLANTIC.NET
NameServer: NS2.BELLATLANTIC.NET
NameServer: NS2.VERIZON.NET
NameServer: NS4.VERIZON.NET
Comment:
RegDate: 2004-11-09
Updated: 2005-06-01

OrgAbuseHandle: VISAB-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: VIS Abuse
OrgAbusePhone: +1-214-513-6711
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@verizon.net

OrgTechHandle: ZV20-ARIN
OrgTechName: Verizon Internet Services
OrgTechPhone: +1-703-295-4583
OrgTechEmail: IPNMC@gnilink.net

# ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2006-04-24 19:10
# Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.



I'll PM you the rest of the info

 

[embabe]

Wow.....

Thanks guys!!!