Have I mentioned lately how much I HATE the Evil Empire?

Very recently, I had my address book on hotmail hijacked and a nasty virus link emailed out to everyone on that address book. Some folks that know me well avoided the link like the plague because the wording of the email sounded nothing like me. Some folks that know me well, and should have known better, decided to click on the link despite their "spidey sense" warning them not to and they got infected. And then there are some ignorant ones (that would be in the lack of knowledge sense, not the stupid sense) that blindly accepted the fact that my name was on the email as the sender so they trusted the link and clicked on it. God love the last group because it touches me that they trust me that much. However, when it is all said and done, one of my favourite shows of all time said it best: TRUST NO ONE!!

You can pretty much tell by text if someone is trying to sell you the latest penile miracle growth liquid or if they are peddling thousands of dollars of software on a CD they only want $30 for. You tend to avoid these people like the plague. But we all would like to think an email from a trusted friend or family member is legit, and that executable file or picture attached must be the latest funny or the latest picture of the nephew doing something. And yes, in trying to verify everything sent to you, you will have to generate an email to inquire of the sender the validity of what you received; and another email will be generated in the response to your query. That simply is the price we pay for the path we computer-using people have chose to take; suckling on the Micro$oft teat.

I contacted the hotmail group and informed them of the problem. I was incensed at the reply because it basically reads to me like they are asking ME to do something about the issue because I probably contracted a virus on MY computer that is doing this. Ahem. Let me remind folks that Hotmail has been tampered with on many occasions. Let me remind folks that I only have a hotmail account because I was forced to use one at the time I wanted to use MSN. Let me remind folks that I RARELY use hotmail to converse with anyone, so much so I have had to create my account three or fours times over the years from inactivity and Micro$oft automatically deactivating the account.

So, when I received the following and, admittedly, skimmed through it, I had had enough. When I calm down, I will write (and then post here) my carefully worded reply to this nonsense. To set the tone for what is to come, Micro$oft can lick my left nut!!!

IBS (incredible bullshit) to follow:

From : MSN Hotmail Support
Sent : May 9, 2006 7:03:07 PM
To : (dtrini's hotmail account)
Subject : RE: SRX1013728269ID - MSN Hotmail:I need something fixed:My Account:My account has been taken

| | | Inbox


Hello (Dtrini),

Thank you for writing to MSN Hotmail Technical Support.

I apologize for the delay in answering your e-mail. We appreciate your patience as we handle every customer request as quickly as possible.

My name is Earl. You mentioned that someone has access your account and send e-mail message to all of your contacts.

I apologize for the inconvenience this matter may have caused you. I understand the importance of this to you and I am glad to be of assistance.

Thank you for taking the time to report this to us. After a thorough investigation, we have verified that you have received a large amount of delivery notifications due to a worm virus currently propagating itself through email and instant messaging.

The worm sends various messages that entice users to click on a malicious link. Clicking on the said link downloads a copy of itself onto message recipients' computers. Upon download, it then gathers email addresses saved on the recipient's computer and sends itself out to all of those addresses. It also creates email addresses using common names appended with a domain name.

The virus, most likely, has acquired your email address from one of your contacts. The virus then forges the "To" field of the email making it appear that it came from you. When a recipient's email server rejects the email, the delivery notification is then sent to your email address. This explains why you have received several non-delivery reports for messages you have not sent.

There are a number of ways you can protect your computer against these viruses:

- Obtain the most recent virus definitions. You can visit your anti-virus company's website or call them to get more information.
- Be cautious about opening messages that contain links to websites.
- Do not open attachments unless you are expecting them.
- Download the latest Microsoft updates frequently. To download the latest updates for Microsoft software, please visit the following links:

http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/
http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates

If you feel that a virus has already infected your computer, you can get online support (or toll-free telephone support in the U.S. and Canada) for security-related issues such as viruses and security updates from the Microsoft Security Help and Support Team. Please click on the link below:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/securityhome

For more information on how you can protect your computer, please click on the link below:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx

In addition, to ensure the security of your Hotmail account, we highly recommend that you change your Hotmail password and Secret Question. To do this, please follow the steps below:

To change your Hotmail password:

1. Sign in to your account at: www.hotmail.com.
2. Click "Options" located at the upper-right side of your screen.
3. Click "Personal" located at the left side of your screen.
4. Click the "Password" link. Follow the instructions.

To change your Secret Question:

1. Sign in to your account at: www.hotmail.com.
2. Click "Options" located at the upper-right side of your screen.
3. Click "Personal" located at the left side of your screen.
4. Click the "Secret Question" link. Follow the instructions.

We want to assure you that your security and protection online is our top priority and we are dedicated to help you obtain support for security-related issues such as viruses and security updates.

Thank you for your continued support of MSN Hotmail.

Sincerely,
Earl E.
MSN Hotmail Technical Support