How to Fix Hacked Email (Dear Friend SPAM)

Updated July 7, 2011:  Included fix for Yahoo Mail. (Found at bottom)

My Gmail got hacked recently when I suddenly got hundreds of notifications from email servers that I’ve been sending out SPAM mails.

The SPAM email contained something like this:

Hey,
How is everything going on?
I just got my Ipad 2 on  (link goes here)  Just amazing! With good quality,
better service and much cheaper price, you'll always find yours! Why
not have a try? Just go!
Hope this may be helpful!
Regards

I did a virus check and my system came out clean. So I thought it was ok. Until I got SPAM alert notifications again recently.

I did some research and apparently, it’s some way for a Chinese shopping website to drive traffic to their site.

What really happens is that the hacker/virus sends out an email to your contact list. The email looks harmless so it’s easy for your contacts to think that it was really you who sent it.  I have no idea how they hacked my account, though it’s probably a direct attack on Gmail servers or through phishing software.

Next, the hacker/virus will set your Vacation Responder to reply to emails that you will receive in the future.  So every time you receive an email, that sender gets a SPAM email from you.

However, the worst part is that the hacker/virus deletes a huge number of your contacts in your address book! Good thing I have a backup of my address book. If you don’t have a backup of your address book, I suggest you do it now.

Here’s How to Fix your Hacked Gmail:

1. Immediately change your password.  Make sure your password has a combination of numbers, letters and special characters.
2. Log in to your Gmail account and click on Settings found at the upper right part of the browser
3. Scroll down until you find Vacation Responder then Turn Off and delete whatever is in the Subject and Message.

That’s it! It should stop your Gmail account from sending out that unwanted SPAM mails.

This is just a temporary solution though. I still haven’t found out how my Gmail got hacked.

Fix For Yahoo Mail:

1. Click on Options > Mail Options.
2. Then click on Vacation Response.
3. Disable the auto-response check box and delete contents.

Hope it helps!  Please share with your friends!