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joe25 · Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 21 Location: Middx

I recently have my name on a forum offering all sorts of things free,it is a hoax.How can someone access this site using my name? and leaving my email address.The forum doesn,t require a login as with most sites ,I have asked the webmaster to pull the post but he hasn,t done.Is there any action I can take to offset this problem.I always understood the way hoaxers work is to login or regiaster with a silmilar name but in this case it,s identical'

ancilenet · Joined: 06 Nov 2004 Posts: 9 Location: UK

Well, it could be any one of 3 things.

1) The forums in use have a security hole in them, of which someone has managed to exploit that hole and gain passwords from the database that the forums use.

2) Your own PC could be infected with a Trojan, of which some forums use 'cookies' to store Login detailson your PC, if someone has gained access to your machine they can list what cookies are on your machine, along with the username & passwords associated.

3) Again on the cookie note - if your Web Browser.. for example Internet Explorer needs updates, and has known security flaws, owners of certain webpages can set up scripts which are designed to extract cookie information from your PC< without you even knowing it - again, this gives them all the details they need to access sites you have logins & passwords to access.

You may wish to visit www.pcpitstop.com and register there for a Windows Security Check & Virus Scan.

Regards,

Stewart @ Ancile Networks UK