Delete All
I never used to get any Spam. Most people don’t believe it when I tell them, but it’s true. No notifications of UK lottery winnings, no hidden millions in Nigeria, no drugs from Canada. None of it. I controlled my email address religiously. When a website asked me to enter one, I took a line from Homer and entered nobody(at)nowhere.com. I only gave it to people who had a need for it. It worked well.
That is until recently. I started using my email for my networking contact. That has proved to be a major mistake. Now, about 10 of the Spammers get through to my inbox on a daily basis. Fortunately, they are all conveniently delivered by Yahoo! to my “Bulk” mail folder where they can all be deleted with one mouse click.
What does this have to do with It’s Not Rocket Science? It absolutely amazes me that otherwise seemingly intelligent people are still falling for these email solicitations and (even worse) opening them. The most egregious offenders even forward me their Spam chain letters. Now that so many people have me in their address book, my formerly super-double-secret email address is at the mercy of the email harvesters.
It’s really my fault. I assumed that after so many years of media coverage of Spam, viruses, and worms that everyone was as diligent as I was about avoiding becoming a victim. I assumed that since virtually every PC sold in the US comes pre-installed with a virus checker that people would actually use it. I assumed that since so many excellent Spyware and worm checker programs are available for download for free from reputable sites that people would actually download and use them. Well, you know what they say about assuming.
Let’s do a quick reality check. Do you know anyone who ever received cash from Microsoft for forwarding the “We’re testing a new email tracking system” email? How about anyone who obtained the hidden millions in Nigeria? Oh, sorry, I forgot. Everyone knows that one is fake, but this one from Ethiopia must be real!
I keep hearing people talk about how “the government should do more to stop Spam.” I have a great idea: let’s follow the well-publicized email rules regarding suspect emails. The chance that I miss something important when I receive an email from an unknown person with a subject like “check this out!” is a tiny fraction of the chance that I will spread unwanted Spam by opening said email.
That is until recently. I started using my email for my networking contact. That has proved to be a major mistake. Now, about 10 of the Spammers get through to my inbox on a daily basis. Fortunately, they are all conveniently delivered by Yahoo! to my “Bulk” mail folder where they can all be deleted with one mouse click.
What does this have to do with It’s Not Rocket Science? It absolutely amazes me that otherwise seemingly intelligent people are still falling for these email solicitations and (even worse) opening them. The most egregious offenders even forward me their Spam chain letters. Now that so many people have me in their address book, my formerly super-double-secret email address is at the mercy of the email harvesters.
It’s really my fault. I assumed that after so many years of media coverage of Spam, viruses, and worms that everyone was as diligent as I was about avoiding becoming a victim. I assumed that since virtually every PC sold in the US comes pre-installed with a virus checker that people would actually use it. I assumed that since so many excellent Spyware and worm checker programs are available for download for free from reputable sites that people would actually download and use them. Well, you know what they say about assuming.
Let’s do a quick reality check. Do you know anyone who ever received cash from Microsoft for forwarding the “We’re testing a new email tracking system” email? How about anyone who obtained the hidden millions in Nigeria? Oh, sorry, I forgot. Everyone knows that one is fake, but this one from Ethiopia must be real!
I keep hearing people talk about how “the government should do more to stop Spam.” I have a great idea: let’s follow the well-publicized email rules regarding suspect emails. The chance that I miss something important when I receive an email from an unknown person with a subject like “check this out!” is a tiny fraction of the chance that I will spread unwanted Spam by opening said email.
posted by exsubdriver at 12:48 PM
3 Comments:
Hey,
I always get spams and the one I hate the most is " Send this to
20+ people and win a fortune".
Haha, Am I on your mailing address?
Val
I get virtually no spam from my "private" email address. Less than 1 or 2 per month. That is because I do not use it for any activity that makes my address publicly available. Of course, I know that my isp does some level of filtering before I get the stuff. So I could be the recipient of stuff that I never see.
On the other hand I get lots of spam on my "public" email account.
One area where I am vulnerable for my "private" account is receiving an email with tons of addressees in the TO or CC columns. I wish that folks would learn the value of BCC to eliminate mass dissemination of email addresses.
Roger that. Death to "Reply to All!"
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