Do they really stop spamming?
Stephen Esrati
victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
Brian
John Doue
--
John Doue
XS11E
It depends.... If you receive a spam email from a legitimate company
such as an insurance company, etc. the unsubscribe link is legitimate
but most are not from legitimate companies and the link is a scam.
--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://improve-usenet.org
The Real Bev
> On 23.12.2008 17:21, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Stephen Esrati
> to generate the following:? :
>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>
>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>
> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
folder at the website.
--
Cheers, Bev (Happy Linux User #85683, Slackware 12.1)
===============================================================
When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a thumb.
John Doue
> squaredancer wrote:
>
>> On 23.12.2008 17:21, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Stephen
>> Esrati to generate the following:? :
>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>>
>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>
>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
>> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>
> Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
> because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
> rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
> of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>
> Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
> folder at the website.
>
--
John Doue
The Real Bev
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> squaredancer wrote:
>>>
>>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>>>
>>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>>
>>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
>>> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>>
>> Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>> because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
>> rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
>> of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>>
>> Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
>> folder at the website.
>>
> Fortunately! Gmail is a magnet for spam as are all free Web mail service.
When it first started, I believe that hotmail sold its own subscriber
list to the spammers. It attracted huge amounts although I NEVER used
the address for any purpose at all. More recently, their newly-added
filters get rid of almost all of it. Gate$ probably stole the filters
from google.
John Doue
> Date: 12/26/2008 12:59 PM, Author: The Real Bev Wrote:
>> squaredancer wrote:
>>
>>> On 23.12.2008 17:21, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Stephen
>>> Esrati to generate the following:? :
>>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail
>>>> address.
>>>>
>>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>>
>>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam"
>>> post from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>>
>> Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>> because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed
>> list rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the
>> number of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly
>> can't hurt.
>>
>> Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the
>> spam folder at the website.
>>
>
> executable attachment. By default Windows hides the extensions of known
> file types (including .exe) so "picture.jpg.exe" would display as
> "picture.jpg". also _file names_ ending in .com are executable under
> DOS (and Windows) so a "link" to "opt_out.com" could in fact be an
> executable attached file. Whether it would execute would depend on your
> OS it's configuration. I still use the ancient utility "list.com" to
> view the contents of virtually any file type so .com files do still work
> in WinXP.
>
> If you subscribed to a newsletter or checked the "send more info" box
> when making a purchase then the un-subscribe link is probably legit.
> Otherwise, don't click on _anything_ in the message, just mark as junk
> and delete.
>
>
Funny you would mention list.com. I still have it installed on my
machine, although it's been quite a while since I last used it. I open
such files with ultraedit for instance but list.com does brings back a
lot of memories ...
--
John Doue
The Real Bev
> Date: 12/26/2008 12:59 PM, Author: The Real Bev Wrote:
>
>> Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>> because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
>> rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
>> of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>>
>> Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
>> folder at the website.
>
> You are probably safe on Linux but the "link" could point to an executable
> attachment. By default Windows hides the extensions of known file types
> (including .exe) so "picture.jpg.exe" would display as "picture.jpg".
If that isn't the first setting you change when you get a new windows
installation you deserve everything that happens to you :-(
kapla...@example.com
<bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:
>squaredancer wrote:
>
>> On 23.12.2008 17:21, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Stephen Esrati
>> to generate the following:? :
>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>>
>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>
>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
>> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>
>Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
>rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
>of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>
>Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
>folder at the website.
Despite knowing better, I clicked on 5 or 10 of those unsubscribe
links earlier this week and within a day or so the amount of spam
ending up in my yahoo mail spam folder doubled. :(
Moz Champion (Dan)
Most likely just happenstance then. It takes time for spammers to
access new lists, because they have to be made up, and then sold to
other spammers. So if you are seeing an increase in a few days, then it
is most likely nothing to do with visiting the sign off sites.
The Real Bev
> <bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>squaredancer wrote:
>>> Stephen Esrati wrote:
>>>
>>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>>>
>>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>>
>>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
>>> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>>
>>Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>>because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
>>rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
>>of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>>
>>Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
>>folder at the website.
>
> Despite knowing better, I clicked on 5 or 10 of those unsubscribe
> links earlier this week and within a day or so the amount of spam
> ending up in my yahoo mail spam folder doubled. :(
Guess the guy was full of it, but you can take comfort in the fact that
you are now more valuable than you were last week.
The Real Bev
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> squaredancer wrote:
>>> Stephen Esrati wrote:
>>>
>>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow
>>>> the victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your
>>>> e-mail address.
>>>>
>>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a
>>>> genuine offer?
>>>>
>>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam"
>>> post from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>>
>> Somebody once posted the idea
>
> that was/is the guy whoes filters catch 99.9% of all spam, so that
> for 1 spam in his Inbox, there are 200 in the junkfile (I think 200
> was his latest count). He also stated a few days back, that he only
> gets 15 spams a day now, and he has "killed" 10.000 profiteering
> websites!
>
>> that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links because then the spammers
>> will put you on their expensive confirmed list rather than the
>> cheaper unconfirmed list,
>
> If you CONFIRM your eMail to a spammer, then THAT SPAMMER is going to
> continue using it... NOT sell it! "Farmers" collect and sell mail
> address-lists. SPAMMERS do not sell lists - spammers BUY lists and
> SEND bulk mail... logic rulez
Would it be proper to inquire as to exactly how you have intimate
knowledge of such things?
Jay Garcia
--- Original Message ---
> kapla...@example.com wrote:
>
>> <bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>squaredancer wrote:
>>>> Stephen Esrati wrote:
> >>>
>>>>> At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the
>>>>> victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
>>>>>
>>>> you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post
>>>> from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
>>>
>>>Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links
>>>because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list
>>>rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number
>>>of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
>>>
>>>Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam
>>>folder at the website.
>>
>> Despite knowing better, I clicked on 5 or 10 of those unsubscribe
>> links earlier this week and within a day or so the amount of spam
>> ending up in my yahoo mail spam folder doubled. :(
>
> Guess the guy was full of it, but you can take comfort in the fact that
> you are now more valuable than you were last week.
>
I NEVER click on ANY unsubscribe link!! There are some bona-fide sites
that I visit and register with a throw-away email address just to get
the activation link. I also get some email from sites where I did use my
real address but checked the box to NOT receive any email, update
notices and so forth. If I DO get email from those sites, they get
promptly reported to SpamCop. I also run my own mail server and there
are other ways to deal with those bums that do that.
--
Jay Garcia - Netscape/Flock Champion
www.ufaq.org
Netscape - Flock - Firefox - Thunderbird - Seamonkey Support
Jay Garcia
--- Original Message ---
Me tinks he's intimately fulla crap .. :-)
As spammers receive feedback with real "confirmed" email addresses they
add those to their databases and SELL them when they reach as certain
number.
The Real Bev
I used to get offers to sell ME spamlists at excellent prices. That seems
excessively circular in some way...
Is it wrong to wish spammers a painful death? I really hate vandalism, and what
they're doing is just vandalism on a monumental scale.
The Real Bev
I've got 3 normal addresses: One totally public (this one) that I use for
general signups and posting and family and friends who insist on sending
cute/funny/inspirational messages to their entire addressbook in spite of
requests to desist; one for casual acquaintances, banks and other sites that
provide some actual benefit to me; and one for family and close friends. A
couple others for special purposes like moderating a newsgroup...
I remember back in the old days when we only needed ONE address and we LIKED it
that way...
Dave Warren
I don't know about the previous poster, but some of us have spent some
time studying spammers.
This includes unsubscribing from lists using addresses that were never
subscribed in the first place and seeing what happens to show up on that
formerly-virgin address.
Several of these experiments take months or years to run as spammers
don't all share addresses in similar ways, or instantly pump your
address out across the internet. One of the most spammed addresses I
have was my general usenet posting address for exactly one day, used in
groups where I post regularly, then that address was unsubscribed from
each and every piece of mail coming in. It receives a couple orders of
magnatute more spam then the address used the following day in those
very same threads.
--
Dave Warren, da...@djwcomputers.com
Office: (403) 775-1700 / (888) 300-3480
Phillip Jones, CET
I'm looking for the day where you can send a signal in Tbird, SeaMonkey That will
send a signal back to the spammer address that will cause all his her equipment, to
catch on fire and burn up. The signal would be based on reverse look up. If it blows
up an ISP, so be it, what They get for hosting spam.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |MEMBER:VPEA (LIFE) ETA-I, NESDA,ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |pjo...@kimbanet.com, ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!
mailto:pjo...@kimbanet.com
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>
Jay Garcia
--- Original Message ---
Making them eat Hormel Spam 3x daily for ONE full year is a punishment
worse than death.
Jay Garcia
--- Original Message ---
I run FreeBSD on my server along with Sendmail. Sendmail has a neat
feature called 1 + addressing. For example, if I want to see if a
company is selling or giving away my address, I enter my address on
their form as:
Any mail that I receive TO: jay+adobe@ and comes from somewhere OTHER
than Adobe, I know exactly where they got the address from.
I already caught Macromedia doing that once before they sold to Adobe.
The only caveat to the one+ addressing is that some forms treat it as an
invalid address (illegal character).
Joy Beeson
Only if they weren't spamming in the first place.
Joy Beeson
--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/ -- sewing
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.
Don
> Only if they weren't spamming in the first place.
>
> Joy Beeson
An interesting situation occured when I called to
complain to a tech at Roadrunner's tech support. He
told me to change my e-mail address and the problem
would probably go away. I was getting something like
600 "SPAM" messages a day, each with that preamble
affixed to the subject! With the new account of 4
weeks I've gotten none!
Interestingly enough this all stated when Time Warner
finally got their act together and notified us we were
"officially" Roadrunner and not Adelphia. I'd been
using the Roadrunner link for a year with very minimal
problems with SPAM.
goodwin
<snip>
>
> Guess the guy was full of it, but you can take comfort in the fact that
> you are now more valuable than you were last week.
>
splorgh
Andrew DeFaria
squaredancer wrote:
On 23.12.2008 17:21, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Stephen Esrati to generate the following:? :
At the bottom of many spam messages, there is an offer to allow the victims to unsubscribe. Most require you to provide your e-mail address.
Is this just another scam to get your address or is it a genuine offer?
you should ONLY use the "un-subscribe" link when viewing a "spam" post from someplace that you KNOWINGLY visited.
Somebody once posted the idea that you SHOULD respond to opt-out links because then the spammers will put you on their expensive confirmed list rather than the cheaper unconfirmed list, thereby decreasing the number of spammers who have your address. Might work, and certainly can't hurt.
Gmail has excellent spam filters -- almost all of it goes into the spam folder at the website.