Posted by Racer on February 3, 2004, at 12:32:07
In reply to Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts...:), posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 0:44:01
Heeheehee, couldn't resist!
Seriously, everyone is right: never click on any "to stop receiving these email..." buttons. The only thing they do is confirm your email as valid, so that whoever is sending the spam can sell your email address as valid.
Second, I've had pretty good luck with setting up a free email account and using it anytime I have to use a valid email address to set up any sort of account, like signing up to use a bulletin board, making online purchases, etc. Doesn't stop spam, but sure does cut down on what comes to my home email address.
Third, my answer to the spam problem is go to my own ISP to get help. My ISP is small, and very responsive to their customers. (Dr Bob can tell you, since he used them to track me down last summer...) Larger ISPs may be more difficult to get results from, but remember the Salient Detail: YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER. You *pay* them. It's their job to help make your experience of their service as optimal as it can be. Make them do their job, or find another who will do that job. Simple as that.
I did get one spam that I wanted so much to answer, though: "Hi, I'm a hot, juicy, 18 year old babe who just longs to do whatever you want me to do..." Nearly wrote back to say, "I'm a lukewarm, dry, middle aged woman, and I really want you to vacuum my house..."
Never respond to spam, but here's another note: my aunt gets more than 1000 spam messages per week. I watched her online once, and she didn't use Safe Computing. One page came up with what looked like a Windows Error Message box in the top left corner. It blinked, and said something like "Do you want to reset the time on your computer?" She clicked on it immediately, without pausing to consider what it really was: a nice invitation to spam, and the possibility that whoever was behind it might be getting other info from her system, too. READ what you click on, and think about it. Make sure you're not mistaking a banner ad for a legitimate error message, and don't ever give out your email address if you don't have to.
There. Too many words, too few ideas, but hope it helps anyway.
poster:Racer
thread:308752
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040131/msgs/308910.html