Teh Suckz Thread

[victoriavictrix]

Well, whatever it was, I'm off Hotmail.
I suspect they were running some sort of test on a select number of people to see if they could get away with it.
I called the Hotmail number that is posted by them three different times, and got to the same place every time. Every person I spoke to had a thick Indian accent, but my experience is that, whenever I call anyone about technical problems with anything, I get routed to India.
Besides, everything to do with changing my password, etc., came from my own Hotmail page, and initially I couldn't even get on Hotmail, because that message would pop up saying the site was unavailable. So, unless someone hijacked the entire Hotmail site, I think there was something in those updates that precipitated the whole thing.
I don't know. I'm about as tech savvy as a dead flea. I should probably run an over night scan by MacAfee, though. Wouldn't hurt.

OK let me explain a DNS redirect.

A virus gets onto your computer. It is a virus that is so deeply embedded most virus programs won't find it.

When you want to go to a webpage, say, Hotmail, the virus hijacks you and sends you to a DIFFERENT webpage. It could look like the Hotmail page. It could look like some other official type webpage. But your computer is being sent TO ANOTHER WEBPAGE than the one you wanted, and you will never know.

So if you call the phone number on "your" Hotmail page, it isn't really "your" Hotmail page, it's their phony Hotmail page, made to look just like "your" Hotmail page. Yes, they can do that, it's trivial.

The only way to be sure if it isn't a DNS redirect is to try logging onto your Hotmail page from an entirely different computer. If you get the old Hotmail page and are able to log into your mail, make sure and note down the number and CALL THEM. They need to know there is a DNS virus targeting their users.

I'm extremely suspicious that this is a DNS redirect virus because of the foreign tech support combined with this $100 fee that no one else seems to know about. Scams generally pick numbers like $100 figuring a significant number of people will pay it just to get something fixed.

Unfortunately, if it is a DNS redirect, since the problem would be in YOUR computer not THEIR system, the only person that can fix it is you.

Then find someone who is really, really, really good at getting rid of malware and take your computer to them, because if it is a DNS redirect, virtually everything you are doing on the computer, and everything you HAVE on the computer, is now compromised.

[victoriavictrix]

Actually I have to revise some of what I just said.

It appears that within the last week a LOT of Hotmail accounts were hijacked and used to send out spam. Those accounts were blocked, and people are having one hell of a time trying to get back into them.

HOWEVER not ONE person so far has been told they have to pay a $100 fee to get back in. So you may have two problems, not just one. Your account was hijacked and blocked and you may have a DNS redirect.

[DollyKim]

Final verdict on the car- were we supposed to put oil in it when we test drove it after f**king it up? And the crooked shop says if we pay for the power steering pump they'll fix the car in 3 or a zillion weeks.

They will never touch the car again, it will cost more to replace the engine than it's worth. Somehow the minivan that saved our lives that Thanksgiving must be avenged.

[OkamiKodomo]

Actually I have to revise some of what I just said.

It appears that within the last week a LOT of Hotmail accounts were hijacked and used to send out spam. Those accounts were blocked, and people are having one hell of a time trying to get back into them.

HOWEVER not ONE person so far has been told they have to pay a $100 fee to get back in. So you may have two problems, not just one. Your account was hijacked and blocked and you may have a DNS redirect.

I was one of the people that got my email hijacked, but I just changed my password when it prompted me too, and no problems. It was an old PW that I don't use anymore, and I was just too lazy to change it.

[happyknot]

Fffffffff.....the horn I made for Foofer is too heavy so now I can either throw it away (that's hours of work and expensive clay damnit!) or spend more money on supplies to cast it in a lighter material.

What a drag.

[DollyKim]

Been there and smashed it with a hammer while laughing and crying. If you're happy with how it looks go for a casting, make a few and sell the extras. People always seem to like things like doll horns.

[SetsunaKou]

Fffffffff.....the horn I made for Foofer is too heavy so now I can either throw it away (that's hours of work and expensive clay damnit!) or spend more money on supplies to cast it in a lighter material.

What a drag.

A great reusable casting mold is 'composimold.' I've used it to make resin models, figures, costume parts, buttons, ornaments---anything and everything!

Best thing about it is that it's reusable! I've used my original jar of it for 3 years now, and at least 100-200 meltdowns and remolding.
Only thing is that if your horns are really big, you'll need at least the 16oz large jar and not the 4oz sample jar. The only thing to keep in mind is that it's heat sensitive, so if your mold material gets hot, it may melt the mold down.

For a permanent mold, the best thing is 'Alley Goop.' It sets in 3 minutes into a permanent silicon mold! I've used this to make figurines, doll props, jewels, etc. It creates a permanent, really good mold that doesn't even need a releasing agent!


I use regular old 5 minute epoxy to cast in both Composimold and AlleyGoop. Works like a charm, is lightweight and a form of plastic/resin once hardened. Sometimes, if the mold walls of the composimold are too thin, the heat in the epoxy does melt it, but if you're careful to make the walls thick enough, there won't be any problems. Of course, AlleyGoop, it doesn't matter HOW hot the epoxy is, since it's a silicon mold, but it's much more costly than Composimold and it's a permanent mold. It doesn't go bad, but you can't melt it down and then cast something else, like composimold can.


I use both types, and save the AlleyGoop for whenever I want a permanent mold---like Sailor Moon talismans or a type of doll sword, cat figure, etc, that I KNOW I'll make again and again.

But if it's a one time shot, I'll try Composimold first---it almost always saves the day!
Like just last week, we were making a costume, and found we did NOT have enough decorative buttons! Just missing one! So I took one of the buttons, cast it in Composimold, used epoxy to create the replica, and voila! Duplicate button that you couldn't tell from the original! Problem solved! YAY!

Good luck!

[maywong]

Arrgg! I have a summer cold!

[EAB]

Actually I have to revise some of what I just said.

It appears that within the last week a LOT of Hotmail accounts were hijacked and used to send out spam. Those accounts were blocked, and people are having one hell of a time trying to get back into them.

HOWEVER not ONE person so far has been told they have to pay a $100 fee to get back in. So you may have two problems, not just one. Your account was hijacked and blocked and you may have a DNS redirect.

My son came home and checked everything out and it seems to be okay. He ran some kind of special scan program that he has, and only two minor things came up, neither having anything to do with this. I changed my Hotmail password, and IT even seems okay, but I've transferred everything to gmail anyway.
The people that tried to charge me weren't contacted directly from my Hotmail page; they were on the web, and I probably just was stupid enough to click on something that looked like Microsoft. I really need to be incarcerated in an attic somewhere; I'm not safe out. So much for a 4.0 college average. It means nothing in navigating the real world.
This is the second time I've had trouble with Hotmail. Last time someone hijacked it and sent spam to all my contacts, but I fixed that.
Why do people pick on Hotmail? Is it because it's Microsoft? Like, taking on the industry giant, or something?

[Vetinari]

I think hotmail is just quite easy to hack.
Most of the microsoft software has had the same base since it started so there are bound to be well-known weak-spots unfortunately