So Hotmail and Google email accounts, among others, have been compromised by a series of phishing attacks, and login details including passwords published on the internet.

Here’s a quote from a “security consultant”

“This should be a wake-up call to Google and Microsoft to educate their users”
Carole Theriault, Security consultant

I’m sorry but it’s quite clear from this incident that the users in question are blithering idiots and further education isn’t going to change that any time soon.

It’s not only Google and Microsoft either, what about the banks, the social networks, any number of other secure websites. All are being targeted on a daily basis by cyber criminals after users login details. And despite persistent warnings in all the media, both traditional and digital, stupid people still fall for it.

A wake up call to Google and Microsoft?
No. It’s the somnambulistic users who need a damn good shaking.

And if you are one of them, wake up, change your passwords, and please do not fall for this blindingly obvious scam again. None of these services will ever ask you for your login name and password by email.

If you get an email that looks genuine and contains a link to a website that looks genuine and asks for your password and user name, leave. And then go to the website through the usual url or your bookmarks, not the link in the email, to be sure you are actually on the genuine site. And then see if they still want your details for any other reason than to log in to your account.