My email account appears to have been hijacked, and is now spamming me ( and others ) What can I do?

First my google search started sending me to unrequested websites, now appears sorted. But my e mail account looks like it has been hijacked. I have Norton anti-virus but it has found nothing wrong. What do you think?

My email account appears to have been hijacked, and is now spamming me ( and others ) What can I do?
Change your password. And possibly your security questions. Are you using browser based email (like Yahoo!, Gmail, etc.) or an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird?





If you're using a client, then your computer likely has a virus or is botted. If you're using browser-based, somebody's phished your password, or is just spoofing your account.





You could always examine the MIME header of the emails to see if they're coming from your IP.





Are you using the latest Norton virus definitions? Antivirus software is useless if you don't update it at least weekly. Run Liveupdate NOW.
Reply:Your account doesn't have to have been hijacked for it to be used for spam e-mail. If spammers know your e-mail address, they can spoof your address.





However, if you want to be safe, it would be a good idea to update your password. Make sure to use something with capital and lowercase letters and numbers (and special characters too if you can) that is at least 6 or 8 characters long (but longer is better).
Reply:Ok so u seem to be infected with spyware...


ONE THING NOT TO DO IS BUY OR USE A CREDIT CARD UNTIL YOU ARE TOTALLY CLEAN...


Programs i reccomend to get rid of spyware..


Do in this order...


1.Xoft spy


2.SUPER ANTI SPYWARE


3. Spybot search and destroy


4.Malware Bytes


5.Run another scan with Nortan.


6.Spy hunter





Now Spy hunter u have to pay for i think and xoft spy but if u look at some torrent site u might get them


eg. MININOVA


No im not advising piracy and strongly discourage u to do it and buy the software if you have the money...


But google Those programs and run scans with each one/....


Pm if you have anymore questions?
Reply:here is a list of online virus scans safety.live.com (that was microsoft's) housecall.trendmicro.com symantec.com sophos.com comodo.com...since you have norton give symantec.com a try it is norton's online scanner it has a bigger data base than your onboard antivirus has
Reply:People can fake your e-mail address if they know what it is.





Start a new Google Mail account, and use it. That way, you'll have a fresh start, with no hackers!