Stolen Hotmail passwords appear online

Hotmail users have been advised to change their passwords after thousands of email account details were posted online in a massive security breach.

Microsoft said its email users had become victim to a phishing attack when the account details were posted online.

"Upon learning of the issue, we immediately requested that the credentials be removed and launched an investigation to determine the impact to customers," Microsoft said in a post on the Windows Live team blog.

Technology blog neowin.net first reported the security breach last night and said more than 10,000 stolen account details had been posted at pastebin.com, a website used to share code.

Neowin said the list detailed mostly Europe-based accounts starting from A through to B, suggesting more lists could exist. The list has since been removed.

Phishing schemes involve sending fraudulent but legitimate-looking emails to dupe people into revealing passwords and security information.

The emails often direct online users to sham websites, which are difficult to spot as fakes.

Microsoft recommends users change their email password every 90 days and keep anti-virus software up to date.

Those affected included email users whose addresses ended with @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com

- © Fairfax NZ News