unauthorized access to my e-mail account

[Gunter]

Outlook Express 6 is my E-Mail client and running Windows XP Home.
We have several e-mail accounts, on the same computer, each with their own
password.
Strange things have been happening in my account, and I suspect that someone
has my password and is accessing my mail. My question: Is there a log that
shows when my account has been accessed? If YES, pleas advise where and how.
I have changed my password and have not had any strange occurrences - but
I'd like to confirm that someone else did access my account when I was not
around and it's not something else. Thank you.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

There might be such a log, but if there were one, it would be on the mail
server--i.e. at your Internet Service Provider, or employer, or whatever
service provides your email address.

Typically, this would be a log covering access to the server as a whole, and
not a log directly related to your account, so I don't think this would be
something worth pursuing, unless it is a very small company and you know the
admins, perhaps.

Changing your password is the right thing to do.

You might want to describe the circumstances--perhaps there are alternative
explanations?

Additionally - you should consider how the password might have been
compromised. Is your antivirus up to date? Have you run a tool designed to
detect rootkits recently?

Checking the machine carefully for malware--viruses, spyware,
rootkits--should be done if for no other reason than to help eliminate those
from your thinking about whatever happened.