Re: Outlook Express Question/Pornagraphic Spam

From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospamcableone.net)
Date: 06/27/04 

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 13:33:00 -0600

Greetings --

    While it's not possible to completely eliminate spam (unsolicited
commercial email), there are some precautions and steps you can take
to minimize it's impact:

1) Never, ever post your real email address to publicly accessible
forums or newsgroups, such as this one. For years now, spammers have
been using software utilities to scan such places to harvest email
addresses. It's a simple matter to disguise your posted email address
so that these software "bots" can't obtain anything useful. For
example, insert some obviously bogus characters or words into your
reply address, for example: "name@NOSPAMisp.com."

2) Never, ever reply to any spam you receive, even to "unsubscribe"
or "remove" yourself from the spammers' address lists; you'll only
compound the problem. If spammers had any intention of honoring the
your desire not to receive spam, they wouldn't have become spammers in
the first place. When you reply to a spammer, all you're doing is
confirming that he/she has a valid, marketable email address.

3) Be especially leery of any offers from websites for free software,
services, information, etc, that require your email address, or that
require your email address so you can "login" to access the offered
service and/or information. Many such sites are supplementing their
income by collecting addresses to sell to the spammers. (Of course,
not all such sites have under-handed motives; it's a judgment call.
If the offer seems "too good to be true," it's most likely a scam.)

4) DO forward any and all spam, with complete headers, to the
originating ISP with a complaint. Not all ISPs will make an effort to
shut down the spammers, but many will. One tool that makes forwarding
such complaints fairly simple is SpamCop (http://spamcop.net).

4) Another useful tool is MailWasher (http://www.mailwasher.net).
This utility allows you to preview your email before downloading it
from the server. Spammers can even be blacklisted, so that any future
emails from them will be automatically deleted from the server.

5) Within Outlook Express, add any spammers to your Blocked Senders
list, so the their messages are automatically deleted from the server
without being downloaded to your PC.

Bruce Chambers 

-- 
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
"Moondove" <writtenparadox@excite.com> wrote in message
news:B9FDE47D-6067-46A6-A6D0-75C2205DD5DF@microsoft.com...
> yGreetings:
>
> In the last month or so I have been receiving spam that is not only
vulgar and disgusting, it is illegal!!  No matter how many times I
have removed form email from their list, nothing works.  I do not know
where these freaks get people's emails.  I suppose where any other
spammer would.   And this mail is just shy of child pornagraphy.  I
have written to microsoft.  No response.
> Their must be something I can do.  I want to report them, because if
they are saying things such as "the "little girl" next door.  I am
sure they will show pedifiles where to go to see that horror!!!!
> Please, help me.
>
> Thank you
> Moondove
> -- 
> "I am building a road along side the clouds...."
> Lakhota Prayer
>
>
> "t.cruise" wrote:
>
> > If the amount of SPAM email messages has escalated to the point
where it's
> > really bothering you:  Get with your Internet Service Provider and
change
> > your email address.  Then take steps to use safe email practices
so that you
> > might prevent or limit SPAM in the future, such as:
> >
> > 1.  Get a free hotmail email account, and use THAT account when
registering
> > software, or any online registration where your email address is
required.
> > Lists are sold, so let those lists have your hotmail account
address.  Don't
> > use your real email address when posting to news groups.
Addresses are
> > auto-harvested from these groups for SPAM.
> >
> > 2.  Many of the newer viruses/worms seek email addresses from the
infected
> > PC, and harvest them, and auto-send SPAM and/or the virus/worm
itself.  So,
> > if you understand how not to open unsolicited attachments, and
what file
> > attachments to never open, to avoid infection on your system, and
use a good
> > antivirus program and update your definitions frequently:  If you
have
> > people in your address book who don't practice the same safe email
practices
> > that you do, when you get the hotmail email address, give those
people your
> > hotmail email address.
> > --
> >
> > T.C.
> > t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
> > Remove [NoSpam] to reply
> >
> >
> > "Will Sutton" <sutton@swiftdsl.com.au> wrote in message
> > news:c5bre0$2q8slu$1@ID-202516.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > >
> > > "dev" <dev@null.invalid> wrote in message
> > > news:e40x%23z9HEHA.1548@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> > > > /Will Sutton/ said:
> > > >
> > > > > I have OE and am now receiving obscene amounts of spam
> > > > > with Microsoft updates etc. These all have viruses but my AV
> > > > > program stops these but I want to stop the messages. So
> > > > > I have set up a filter that deletes any message with
Microsoft or MS
> > > > > in the subject . Problem is that it wont stop these messages
so
> > > > > does anyone know the problem or the solution ?
> > > >
> > > > If these are "Messenger" pop-ups, they can be banished by
enabling the
> > XP
> > > > built-in firewall (which should be done anyway).  See HELP &
SUPPORT for
> > > > easy instructions.
> > > >
> > > > If this is a program that has been inadvertently installed on
your PC,
> > > > running ADAware may enable its removal.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com
> > > > Read the instructions, download, install and run the program.
The basic
> > > > utility is free.  Or try Spybot from
http://www.safer-networking.org/
> > > >
> > > > If the pop-ups are site-related - the page that is being
visited - then
> > a
> > > > pop-up blocker may help.  http://google.com    Search for "ad
blocker".
> > > > Or install and use a new-generation browser that has pop-up
blocking,
> > > > such as the Mozilla suite from http://mozilla.org.  Also has a
built-in
> > > > news/mail client.
> > > >
> > > > It will selectively block pop-ups and images, and is much more
> > > > customizable than I.E.  For more, check in with these groups.
> > > >
> > > > snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.mozilla.user.general or
> > > > snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.mozilla.user.win32
> > >
> > >
> > > Should have made it clearer, these are actual emails that have
been faked
> > > and use the headings like Microsoft Security Update , MS
Internet Security
> > > Patch etc and all contain those dreaded viruses .
> > >
> > > What I cant understand is why when you put in message rules that
state the
> > > message should be deleted if the subject contains Microsoft, MS
etc wont
> > > work ?
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > ---
> > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> > Version: 6.0.656 / Virus Database: 421 - Release Date: 4/9/2004
> >
> >
> >

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