Forums > Social Chat > SPAM, will it kill the use of email?

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Yahoo is much better than hotmail for me... I average 50 junk mails a day with hotmail.. with Yahoo... But I never give out yahoo address to anything I enter (except trusted websites)and I have given out the hotmail address in the past.. I'd still say Yahoo between the two.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
zero with Yahoo that is..

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
A-ha! That explains the sudden influx of SPAM (including lots of adverts for porn sites) to my hotmail inbox. It really annoys me . I have set my filter to prevent a lot of it but it seems you block one address and then they just start sending it from another. There doesn't seem to be much I can do to prevent it.

I also have a Yahoo! account and have never received a single SPAM email in this inbox.

I don't think spam will kill e-mail the same way as junk mail will never kill the postal system.

Onelove Thistlefirepixie

Are we nearly there yet?

Posted: 13th Aug 2002
for some reason I'm reminded of a monty python skit. . .

you can't have a war against terrorism because war IS terrorism.it's not about worshipping fire. its about making the fire want to worship you.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I used to get spam from the organisers of a dental convention....

I don't know how....

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I don't know how many times I've had the opportunity to help the Nigerian Government get their money out of the country

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I have a hotmail account. I get soo much junk mail it's really annoying. I went away on holiday for 7 days, and i came back with 120 emails, which 115 were junk mail!

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I have 3 yahoo accounts, I used 1 for a year before the spam started getting too much to keep on top of, so I switched to another.

strangely enough, the spam for the first one has almost stopped, but the other address is getting it now, even after filling up the blocked addresses list - Like Thistle says, they just change the address slightly and keep on sending.

The third address is one I set up because I was bored and I rarely use, that gets no spam at all.

Even with all the spam, I'm not going to stop using emails - it's far comvenient, I can instantly contact people without leaving my desk.
I don't think it's going to die, just because there are loads of lazy people like me who'd keep using it

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I think people learn to automatically delete spam. I get loads of spam! I've had the same email address for nigh on 4/5 years. I use mail rules in Outlook to delete anything spam like, but sill have to delete a few each day.

I'm intrigued by the spam offering me bigger breasts, but I don't think I need even more human growth hormone. Weirdest spam - Do you need a new septic tank? er, no, we have plumbing in the UK thank you!

When I sign up for most bulletin boards or post to newsgroups I use a hotmail account that gets loads more spam. Spammers get your email address from newsgroups and website like this board (which is why I turn off the option to make my email address viewable).

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Personally, I'm curious about the spam offering to give you a large penis - you could get a few and make novelty candles.

Oh...wait a minute....I've just realised what they're actually offering.
Never mind.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
who likes having to do deletions to cope with spam?

tonight dreamer of SD and i were both telling everyone how we'd got daily spam recently from a claimed south african ministry bigshot with $82million to park in your account, and you get 10% as a thank you, when we mark it spam block, it comes from a different addy.

i copy dulce, i use yahoo a lot, cross fingers, little spam... don't forget some sites hack you as you visit and find your e-mail addy for spam, hotmail users i know have tons of spam, plus yahoo doesn't delete your contents after a month of non-use as the MSN-hotmail family do, and you can rescuscitate a dormant account months later, good for secondary accounts for newsletters, etc., and quasi-officially permit multiple accounts for you at yahoo.

and for non-commercial community use, malcolm, must give you props in the tenor in which you've connected us all through HoP, many of us have successfully and happily met others in our area to share this passion as a legitimate shared special interest. everyone i know is thrilled you have a location search, and so many... like any other rare taste... feel isolated until they discover other active, learning and experienced pyros in their area... and yes, i'll make a community service announcement, they meet and practice more safely for it, too.

molten cheers,

~ FireMike

FireMikeZ@yahoo.com (personal messages welcome, no promo spam, please!)
Laguna, California, US

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Hotmail drives me mad! I signed up before it was MSN and have had no choice about what Microsoft do to it, but hey, it's free, can't complain too much.

I get hundreds of junk emails a week (something like 45 junk emails in the last 24 hours!) so I started up a lycos account, which (touch wood) is junk free so far.

I keep the hotmail a/c to keep out to dodgy sites, and also because it is the one way that EVERYONE I know can contact me, which is important as I move around a lot.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I see that being possible. Here in the states its insane!!! I get 10-17 junk emails a day and I can't get rid of them!! Even if I spend an hour unsubribing to them I will still get them..

I dreamt that I ate a 10 pound marshmellow and then when I woke up, my pillow was gone!

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Thanks for pointing out the change in availabilty thing - just more proof that MSN = Scum.

The only spam I get is the same damn e-mail saying I can buy university diplomas from some American firm... I get the same one every week just from different addresses. My Hotmail account apart from that is Spam Free whereas my girlfriend's get's a silly amount.
Personally I think that if you choose an address with your name in it you're gonna get shafted whereas mine is "durbsuk" (DurbsUK) which doesn't get spammed by mass mailers.
A good piece of software to get BTW is called Ad-Aware from https://www.lavasoft.com
which is a free program that removes all "spy-ware" from your PC. Quite interesting how many things it finds on your first run.

But heck - at least it's free and easy...

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I would like to point out a few things worth noting...

First Microsoft owns Hotmail, and they changed their Privacy Agreement awhile back..due to everyone clicking "I Agree"...they did not need to notify all of their subscribers of this change of policy. They added a few new privacy settings onto all their accounts, and conveniently checked it for everyone sharing their email address, personal information, and some other information.

Secondly...I think SPAM is a problem that the software industry has yet to address. This is a SERIOUS problem with email, and I'm surprised none of the major email client software companies have solved it. It really isnt *THAT* complicated of a thing to fix. Anyway, there are two ways these spam companies get your email. One is by signing up to websites and giving them your email address, and the other is actually THROUGH your email provider. If you don't sign up to any webpages and you receive spam, there is a good chance your provider has given out your email address.

Generally people who have email addresses that are NOT on the major providers(hotmail, yahoo, msn, etc), generally dont have to worry about their providers sharing their private information.

To help alleviate the problem of spam mail, there are a couple things you can do. The first rule to spam, is *NEVER* reply to them. Most of them have reply addresses that point at a server that verifies your email address. So when you reply, your email address is marked as a "good" email address, and can later be sold in bulk(with other people's email addresses). The second thing you can do, is sign up for a second email account..specifically for signing up to websites & nothing more.

If spam starts to become a really big problem for you, generally there is an email address at most providers that is specifically for this. At my provider the email address is spam@intnet.net If someone starts harassing me too much, I forward them the email, and they stop the emails coming to me, at their server. This way, I never even have to delete them. You shouldnt do this unless it becomes a really big problem, as it does take some work to do this on the provider's end.

Anyway, I hope all my senseless babbling actually helps someone. I worked for a local Internet Provider as the head Technical Support manager, so I know all about spam, email, and most of the intricacies of the systems.. (=

PLURR
Max

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
I think it's really conveiniant that through modern technology I get spam sent directly to my computer (where I do a lot of my eating) instead of me having to go all the way to the grocery store to get it...............

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Sorry, but you know someone was going to say it.

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
Those african money scams just want you to give out your bank account numbers and enough info so they can strip your account. I get about onthree of thos a week, and I sometimes get viruses sent to me (about once a week) I just don't open stuff from people I don't know anymore. I used to have hotmail, gave out my address for some free stufff (they gave me 100 dollars....in coupons) after that I go spammed. I have a yahoo, and it is good. They even advertise that they have the best spam filters...

we eat and we drink and we smoke and we try!

Posted: 14th Aug 2002
i think the problem is that the internet is not really regulated right now. i mean, i am have a free e-mail account through yahoo, and i get spam, but i don't pay for anything on the internet, so what do i expect? i mean, they make their money somehow, like commercials. the internet has to stay in buisness somehow.... i don't like it, don't get me wrong, but remember, we still have junk mail, telemarketers, radio advertisements and commercials!

-ivy. = ^ )

Ralph, jesus did not have wheels.--sunday school teacher, the simpsons

Posted: 15th Aug 2002
I'm with hotmail and it just about kills the account in a week if i dont check it, all porn sites and viagra, it makes me angry. yes spam sux!!! gather the villages and grab the pitchforks !!!

It's all good

Posted: 15th Aug 2002
I get about 100 - 200 spam messages a day.
about 1/2 of them go straight to my "spam"
folder that I clean about 5 times a day.
I use a few filters to catch this 1/2...
1st I filter any email with a "unsubscribe"
in it, to the spam folder. then I fileter
for "remove in subject". the other 1/2 of
the spam I get, there is really nothing I can
do about. They all come from spoofed servers
with fake email address. Blocking the server
does not help (as it is a spoofed server).

Also, never try to unsubcribe to a spam that
you never subscribed to in the 1st place...
This only serves to make your email addy more
valuable to the spammer. what they will do is
send a spam to 1000s of names at a domain. some
make it to real address, some dont. if you
reply with an unsubscribe, they know its a real
address and that a body some where is reading it.

hope this helps a little.

I smell something burning.

Posted: 15th Aug 2002
wow yall are populer!! It takes me atleast a week to get any decent amount of spam

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"

Posted: 15th Aug 2002
I'M WISH I HAD SOMETHING TO FILTER MY MAIL. eVERY DAY ABOUT FIFTY MESSAGES ABOUT EVERYTHING I DON'T NEED.