Inbox keeps getting vapourised

[The Flying Tench]

Me again! I use the word 'vapourised' to make clear they are not just being moved to the delete file.

 

I have been using Orange web mail for the last 10 days since my previous computer was stolen. It's been OK, but from 4pm yesterday till this morning when I tried to access the emails I got a sign saying they were working on the site and normal service would be resumed asap.

 

So I was pleased this morning to discover I could get to my emails again, but then I realised apart from 3 new ones all the others had been vapourised. I deleted 2 of the new ones, and then I realised that the other one had disappeared like the rest.

 

I have experimented with sending test emails from my wife's computer. If I keep the inbox page open they will stay there for a while (the longest I have tried is 40 minutes). Logging off/on very often causes them to disappear, though not always. It makes no difference if I access my inbox from my own computer (which could have a virus?) or my wife's. Presumably they don't both have a virus? And I did an AVG run last night, which came up with just one threat which it said it had removed.

 

I spent a long time talking to someone on Orange technical support this morning. He assured me there were no known problems at the server, and he said there were only 2 possibilities. Someone had got my password or a virus. Only 2 people know my password, and they are computer people who have helped me with stuff. I fully trust them both. And I've already said in the last para why I'm a bit puzzled by the virus option.

 

For the time being I will transfer all emails which I want to keep at all to a 'saved' folder, but I'll never be sure some haven't been vapourised before I even see them.

 

I would welcome any thoughts or advice!

[Andy_1984]

It sounds as though the email client on your computer that got stolen is set to delete emails from the server?

 

Whoever has your computer now may very well be accessing your emails using the software on it ?

 

Change your password for your email address and it will prevent the client on the stolen computer accessing webmail, downloading them and deleting them.

 

Perhaps you have also set the setting to delete emails from one of the email clients on your new computer ?

Edited May 6, 2013 by Andy_1984

[kirisute]

first up:

its webmail! its web based!! no virus on your laptop will remove emails from a website based email system!! 'taint gonna happen!!

the moron you spoke to at Orange should have known that!

second..they have work on maintenance on the webmail server? then chances are they have buggered the database and either dumped your old emails or not linked it all back correctly.

 

finally. Andy is right; your old laptop might be being used to download and access your emails; if you used outlook express on it then chances are you had it set to remove your emails from the server.so if someone has logged on and opened outlook express it will remove your emails from the webmail based server.

and, as he states, change your passwords across the board to everything you can think of asap!!

[The Flying Tench]

Thanks to both of you. The theory that makes most sense to me is your main suggestion that someone is downloading my emails. As you guess, Windows Mail on my stolen computer was set to download everything in the Orange inbox when I went into Windows Mail. A slight puzzle is that I didn't lose emails more quickly than I did, and why it was so linked to my logging in and out of my email account in Orange. But I have changed the Orange password as suggested, and that seems to have solved the problem.

 

Now I need to think what other passwords I need to change. Bank accounts should be OK as I didn't receive any of those via email, but I need to go through my card system of passwords I guess.

 

A related question occurs to me. Supposing whoever has my stolen computer is leaving it logged on to Windows Mail. Could that account for why the friend who is trying to set up Outlook for me finds that it is a send only account?

 

Thanks again

 

John

[kirisute]

not really...it would only account for there being no emails to receive. not on being not able to receive emails if there were any.

if that makes sense.

change every password you can think of; even bank ones.

most bank system use a combination of memorable word, random number from a given sequence and a customer number....but usually the customer number can be set to be remembered...if that's the case with other data from the system they might be able to contact your bank and change the other details; it would only take date of birth and address etc

to be safe change everything you can!

this is one reason why a windows log on password is always a good idea! its doesn't stop someone who really wants to get the data..but its enough to stop the casual thief from getting in.

[The Flying Tench]

I don't understand. There are 2 bank accounts I access on line - through the web, not email. If you were saying that the 3 access codes/passwords I have to put in were somehow stored in my stolen computer I would understand the danger.

 

But I don't think you are, Kirisute. Sorry, I may be missing your argument. I can see they will get my name, address and date of birth from my computer, but those are not exactly hard to get anyway. I don't see how getting my computer helps them beyond that?

[kirisute]

Because all they need is to call your bank, quote your banking customer number, answer some crap security info ( usually DOB, address or similar) then the "not so smart customer support" operator will kindly reset your Internet banking details or give them the required info.

The point isn't whether they will or can do it; the point is its stupid to even risk them doing it!

Changing them all and informing your banks is just the intelligent thing to do.

I've had personal experience of how lazy a bank operator can be with security....ok it was me they were talking to with my data but I ended up talking to their manager because of how easy it was to obtain the details I wanted without true security being passed!

You would honestly be very very shocked at what can be grabbed from the data on your average persons computer!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1121436/Throwing-old-Think-It-8217-s-time-pickaxe-.html

It's an older article but worth a read anyway, and there are plenty of others if you look.

Even free recovery software can recover documents thought long gone! If someone is willing to take a bit more time over it then data recovery can be very efficient indeed and pick up thing thought long deleted.

 

Exemplar:

Amazon account automatically logging in.

Credit card details stored on the account.

Thief now has last four digits of credit card or debit card. That's a common bank security question.

Edited May 8, 2013 by kirisute

[Andy_1984]

It's incredibly easy to speak to banks with only name, DOB, address, account number. All of which any tech savvy person could get from a computer.

 

I used to do it in the letting agents all the time when the boss wanted me to chase up problems with our "OWN" accounts. Can't stress that part enough, he asked me to look into our own accounts many a times ive been known as Mohammed as far as the bank knew.

 

Id change em to be on the safe side mate. They could even request a new password to be emailed depending on the bank's own security.

 

You really don't know which emails have been downloaded then deleted by the stolen computer, you wouldn't even know. It could have happened when you were not sitting at the new computer.