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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 0:44:01
Ok, I'm suddenly getting spammed like crazy by people who want me to have a larger penis, or no problem getting hard. I can also find larger beasts (sic) out there, too.
While I've done ok not taking it too personally, I can't find a way to stop them. They have an opt-out link, but it goes to an error page. I tried to contact their isp and that got bounced back. The emails are sent from many isps (even aol and yahoo), but they are apparently not real accounts.
The subject lines and 'from' fields are very variable, so trying to make rules for Outlook to put them somewhere else is nearly impossible. I'd have to make it so broad that all my email would go there.
I know there is a system or something that will only put through emails from people in your address book, but I hate to take it that far if there is an alternative of just stopping these bozos.
Is there any way to stop them? I'm getting a complex about my penis...do they know something I don't know?
:D
Thanks,
Shar
Posted by Penny on February 3, 2004, at 8:03:30
In reply to Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts...:), posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 0:44:01
Well, I can't tell you how to stop them, as I work for a computer science department and still get them, especially at my work email. But I can tell you what not to do - don't ever click the links 'to no longer receive these emails' - typically these links are not valid but instead let the spammer know that your email address is.
Most often these emails are sent out from a false email address, sometimes one belonging to a real person who has no idea that their email is being used for such a thing. Spammers use web crawlers to search for anything that resembles an email address (hence never putting your email on the web in the yourname@aol.com format, and not even in the yourname at aol dot com format) and will start sending emails to all of them. So, certainly don't take it personally - most of us are getting them.
I've found that certain email programs have a better way of filtering messages than others. I used to have a free hotmail account, but closed it when I was getting so many spam messages that my inbox was filling up every day and I wasn't getting my legitimate messages. I switched to Yahoo and I'm still getting a fair number of spam emails, probably due to my using the address in registering for this thing or that, but Yahoo has done a pretty good job, for me anyway, of filtering those messages to a bulkmail folder.
At work, I receive emails in my inbox from several email addresses - my 'real' address and several aliases (as I'm the publications manager, so I have several work-related aliases), and the aliases are what are all over our website. Thus, I get soooo many stupid emails, like the ones you mentioned, that are probably from web crawlers finding my address on so many pages. I set up my email to filter as many of them as I can to my trash folder. I get a lot of the "URGENT: PLEASE HELP" emails from someone in (insert foreign country here) who wants me to help his/her father/brother who was killed/taken prisoner by some militant group and needs to use my bank account to do something with their money - of course I would be rewarded generously for my assistance. Thank you! Yeah, right...
Anyway, I'll be interested to hear what others have to say on this topic, but my recommendation would be, if you have the ability to do so, to set up message filters for common words in the subject lines of spam mails (don't use the sender name, as those are always different), which might filter at least some of the emails to your trash. Of course, the spammers are always changing the subjects as well - leaving out letters, like with 'larger beasts' so your filters won't catch them. Sigh.
Some folks have too friggin' much time on their hands.
P
Posted by NikkiT2 on February 3, 2004, at 9:26:24
In reply to Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts...:), posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 0:44:01
Right, firstly..
The reason you are getting so many could very well be because you are clicking the "opt out" link.. this lets the spammers know that you are indeed recieiving the emails, and thus they send you more!!
Never ever try and opt out of spam.. it always makes you get more!!Also, these people get your email address from sites you have signed up to, or posted your email address to. Thats why you see alot of us posting our email addresses long hand (eg, using at instead of @ and dot instead of . ) as then the web crawlers that search sites for email addresses can't pick this up.
Getting spam has nothing to do with being hacked, I can assure you of that!
I don't use outlook (for security reasons as I don't trust it enough!!), but at Hotmail you can set your account so that you only receive emails in your inbox from people you have told hotmail you want emails from (eg, those in your address book).. everything else goes into my junk mail folder which I canm double check for anything that looks like it might be spam.
One thing I would reccomend though.. do not open anything that looks like it might be spam as this can also send a message back to the origintaing company telling them you are looking at the emails, and thus you will end up with more!
Unfortunately, ist virtually impossible to be spam free. I have one acount that I have never given out on the internet, or signed up for anything with, and thats spam free.. But thats not a very practical way to live *l*
There is software out there that will check your email for you before it enters your outlook account.. Its not perfect, and you do have to check that software to tell it whether or not you want something let through (but you can set up rules for letting certain stuff through automatically)
Let me know if you want more info on that.Spam is annoying.. but as a rule thats all it is.. so I wouldn't panic!!
Nikki xx
Posted by leo33 on February 3, 2004, at 10:54:34
In reply to Re: Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts...:) » shar, posted by NikkiT2 on February 3, 2004, at 9:26:24
Just to confirm the previous posters advice is correct about email spamming. It is a cat and mouse game that will unfortunately continue as long as the internet is here (Just like viruses and virus scanners). I too receive penis enlargement emails constantly as well as many other offensive things that were unsolicited.
Posted by Tootercat on February 3, 2004, at 11:37:49
In reply to Re: Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts., posted by leo33 on February 3, 2004, at 10:54:34
Hey y'all,
I use Eudora Pro as my email program and I get NO, I repeat, NO penis emails, viagra emails, bigger boob emails and so on! (and never have thank God) It will cost you $49.95 for the full program but it is absolutely worth it! I have used Eudora for years and have never had a problem. Good luck!
Tooter
P.S.I HAD TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION (6.0)FROM THE INTERNET CAUSE I COULDN'T FIND AT ANY OF THE STORES.
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.
Posted by noa on February 3, 2004, at 12:42:57
In reply to Got the answer in my pocket protector... » shar, posted by Racer on February 3, 2004, at 12:32:07
I hope I don't jinx it by saying so, but I've been using Earthlink and they've been very good at screening out the spam. I only seem to get junk email from places I've actually done business with, like bookstores, etc. Otherwise, no spam.
Similarly, our network administrators at work have been superb at filtering out spam. Once in a while, though, this has led to getting legitimate email screened out because of certain key words. It's kind of amusing that that happens.
OTOH, my web-based email address that I use to sign on here and at yahoo, gets spam all the time. It seems like it is definitely from the yahoo participation. Somehow, people seem to be able to get my email address from groups I am signed on for at yahoo. I don't really care so much because I only use that email for my online identity. Every so often I just delete everything from the inbox there.
Posted by NikkiT2 on February 3, 2004, at 13:08:06
In reply to Re: Got the answer in my pocket protector..., posted by noa on February 3, 2004, at 12:42:57
Thats interesting!
I have a Yahoo account I use soley for here and Yahoo Groups.. and get one spam email every couple of weeks from yahoo, and thats about it!!
Maybe you didn't un check all their "would you like info on xx xx and xx" boxes when you first signed up.
I did check and no one can get the email addresses from yahoo (well, they claim that) and I do believe that, as I've had this email 4 years now, and used it at groups for all that time!
Nikki x
Posted by noa on February 3, 2004, at 13:35:36
In reply to Re: Got the answer in my pocket protector... » noa, posted by NikkiT2 on February 3, 2004, at 13:08:06
I did fill out the privacy form to get no junk mail from them or any affiliates, etc.. The junk I get isn't the kind they were talking about I don't think. Most of the emails are for viagra-like medications, etc., tho some are for financial stuff like get out of debt or cheap mortgages, etc., but they are all from different names--ie the same type of message from different email addresses, like real hijacked spam, as opposed to the kind of marketing mail Yahoo would associate its name with.
I dunno....the supposedly hidden email addresses on Yahoo are so easy to decipher. They have the first name and @ and then the first letter of the domain, and it's easy to guess most of them. I'm sure there are some that are less familiar, but most are easy like a=aol and h=hotmail, etc.
Well, maybe it isn't the yahoo thing, but I don't know what else it could be.
Posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 14:33:45
In reply to Re: Got the answer in my pocket protector..., posted by noa on February 3, 2004, at 13:35:36
Posted by Angielala on February 5, 2004, at 8:38:51
In reply to Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts...:), posted by shar on February 3, 2004, at 0:44:01
What kind of email account do you have? There are some easy ways to block Spam like that.
> Ok, I'm suddenly getting spammed like crazy by people who want me to have a larger penis, or no problem getting hard. I can also find larger beasts (sic) out there, too.
>
> While I've done ok not taking it too personally, I can't find a way to stop them. They have an opt-out link, but it goes to an error page. I tried to contact their isp and that got bounced back. The emails are sent from many isps (even aol and yahoo), but they are apparently not real accounts.
>
> The subject lines and 'from' fields are very variable, so trying to make rules for Outlook to put them somewhere else is nearly impossible. I'd have to make it so broad that all my email would go there.
>
> I know there is a system or something that will only put through emails from people in your address book, but I hate to take it that far if there is an alternative of just stopping these bozos.
>
> Is there any way to stop them? I'm getting a complex about my penis...do they know something I don't know?
>
> :D
>
> Thanks,
> Shar
Posted by Angielala on February 5, 2004, at 11:16:30
In reply to Re: Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts., posted by Tootercat on February 3, 2004, at 11:37:49
This one worked for my pre-hubby's biz pretty well, and I think it's open, so I think it's free for a single user :)
http://www.gnu.org/directory/spaminator.html
> Hey y'all,
>
> I use Eudora Pro as my email program and I get NO, I repeat, NO penis emails, viagra emails, bigger boob emails and so on! (and never have thank God) It will cost you $49.95 for the full program but it is absolutely worth it! I have used Eudora for years and have never had a problem. Good luck!
>
> Tooter
>
> P.S.I HAD TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION (6.0)FROM THE INTERNET CAUSE I COULDN'T FIND AT ANY OF THE STORES.
Posted by 64Bowtie on February 6, 2004, at 0:13:07
In reply to Re: Calling computer Gee..um, Hack....um, Experts., posted by Tootercat on February 3, 2004, at 11:37:49
Tooter,
When you downloaded Eudora 6.0, how much did it cost for upgrade?
Rod
This is the end of the thread.
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