Potential Yahoo email security hole

[EdwinEdwin is verified member.]

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/61965-yahoo-causes-a-storm-in-the-inbox-for-consumers-and-marketers

Basically, Yahoo will release "old" email accounts that haven't been used for at least a year. I can imagine that some domain owners may have used a Yahoo email account at the beginning (especially in .com) then never really thought more about it but just kept renewing the domain (or their hosting company/web designer did it for them)

So there's the prospect for somebody with malicious intent to try and pin down which Whois-associated Yahoo email accounts are no longer in use, register them, and hijack the names.

Note: this is only a problem if you've not logged into the Yahoo account in the last year - but I can imagine Yahoo could get more aggressive still in future, and shorten the lead time before re-releasing the email address.

 

[Retired_member41]

Thanks Edwin,

so all the old folk or professionals that are too busy to use them, or havent had a need to use them, who have had email accounts set up by their phone/broadband providers will have them deleted?

Can see lots of problems for users of sky bt and the like in the future, especially when you have a problem and need to contact them.

 

[DarrenDarren is verified member.]

Easy enough to get a list of domains registered with Yahoo emails using Google alone.

site:dntoolchest.com/whois-popup.php? "@yahoo.com"

 

[DarrenDarren is verified member.]

DRT can also be used to harvest emails from whois results :???: