Act Acting » Acting Drama » OT:-How Does One Fight Back Against SPAM?

OT:-How Does One Fight Back Against SPAM?

Question:

John Smith < Most places HAVE to remove you from their email lists if you ask them to. Look for an unsubscribe option in the letter they send you.  These are all automated scripts and most have this feature even if they do not say so.

As Daniel and others have pointed out, this is just wrong.  E-mail advertising is unregulated, and responding in any way only confirms they’ve got a live address. Tc

Response:

I don’t know if this has ever worked for anyone – but I love it.

Yes it has, or so I’ve heard.  A friend of mine on a graphics’ newsgroup billed them for a $500 reading charge, and after one bill, he never heard from them again. — Opus (: "Joe Hackett at a Pearl Jam concert??  Pearl Bailey maybe…"– Lowell Mather on aging. http://www.carla.coble.com -Acting site http://members.home.net/coble/OpusGraphics -Original graphics

Response:

Okay, …now I’m begging for help here.

 Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly.

HEY! *I* thought we agreed to buy the Passat! You know, the value version of the Audi A-4! Hm, not even married yet, and already you’re screwing around with my fortune????? Carl PS Which sig were you referring to? "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey Rudayyyyyyyyyyyy, Good bye!" – CASalonen * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

Never enter your real email address for anything. Use a free email service like hotmail when you are just looking for information to be sent to you. Keep your private email hidden as well as possible and you won’t get on as many spam lists. Most places HAVE to remove you from their email lists if you ask them to. Look for an unsubscribe option in the letter they send you.  These are all automated scripts and most have this feature even if they do not say so.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, …now I’m begging for help here.  Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. HEY! *I* thought we agreed to buy the Passat! You know, the value version of the Audi A-4! Hm, not even married yet, and already you’re screwing around with my fortune????? Carl PS Which sig were you referring to? "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey Rudayyyyyyyyyyyy, Good bye!" – CASalonen * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

There is no legal remedy, except filtering.  The difference between telephone and computer still continues to confound congress.  There have been bills introduced to remedy, but I believe they are still in comitee.  You can’t effectively ask them to stop.

Well, with all due respect, I didn’t give her an illegal option.  The program I recommended is completely legal.  No, you can’t effectively ask them to stop, but believe you me, when they begin getting tons of returned mail sent BACK to them, they’re going to get sick of having to poise their finger on the delete key, and they WILL get the message. The message that says your account has been canceled.  No need to send any more.  No, that’s not illegal at all. — Opus (: "Joe Hackett at a Pearl Jam concert??  Pearl Bailey maybe…"– Lowell Mather on aging. http://www.carla.coble.com -Acting site http://members.home.net/coble/OpusGraphics -Original graphics

Response:

I dunno if anyone mentioned this or not, you could try sending them a notice (anail mail – certified?) that henceforth all received unwanted email solicitations will be accepted – for a "reading charge" of $5.00 per line – billed monthly. State that receipt of another email solicitation AFTER about 10 days of the date of the letter, will constitute their acceptance of your "offer". Then "bill" them for the first month’s worth of spam reading, with an oficial invoice. I don’t know if this has ever worked for anyone – but I love it. Robert Owen http://www.mindspring.com/~robert_owen/

Response:

Well the easiest way is to filter it out.  There are several good spam filters.  Check www.download.com for a few (I remember one or two were actually free).  The other thing is that you can tell Netscape or Outlook to  block that domain or user name.  Both programs can also filter by e-mail title or parts of title, for example blocking out all e-mails that have "BMW" or "XXX" or "Hedgehog" in them.  You would never know you got them. If you want revenge you have very few options.  The header of the e-mail, not the part normally shown but all the routing info, shows who really originated the e-mail.  Most spam has a phoney reply address. Simply sending it back, or even flooding the several won’t help.  It would take too many simultaneous e-mails to crash their server, and the reply address may just be a unknowing third party.  E-mail reply addresses can be changed by a competent programmer.  Scanning the header of the e-mail though will show its entire path throuh the ‘net.  Not every server that the message passed through, but definately the originator.  I would advise against trying the overload attack though. It worked fine for your friend, but keeping e-mail 100% anonymous may be impossible.  Also there is the problem mentioned above with volume.  Aso the FBI is currently looking for the people who crashed a server by flooding it.  A virus is another possibility, an illegal one, but a possibility.  I hope your bloodthirst hasn’t reached that level yet. There is no legal remedy, except filtering.  The difference between telephone and computer still continues to confound congress.  There have been bills introduced to remedy, but I believe they are still in comitee.  You can’t effectively ask them to stop.  Usually the SPAM sharks smell your blood and flood you with even more, and they distribute your name even further. Hope this helps. v/r David – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, …now I’m begging for help here. I’m betting with all the creativity in this group, someone will be able to think of a creative and effective solution to my problem. How does one fight back against SPAM? I keep getting SPAMMED by a publication called The Buy and Sell newspaper. Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. They won’t stop sending me this crap, and complaints to them or their ISP has done no good. I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight. They walked into their office in the morning to find their fax machine empty and their floor covered in reams and reams of fax paper bearing the junk fax they had sent to him. Upon reloading their machine, they discovered it had saved pages and pages of the same junk fax when the machine ran out of paper, …and it proceeded to spit out even more pages of the same junk. After that, they got the message, and stopped sending him junk faxes. How can I get this organization to stop sending me emails trying to get me to purchase early access to BMW ads? They are really beginning to piss me off! Thanks, Drama Queen — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

Response:

I use a program called AdSubtract that automatically blocks all ads on all web pages, and can selectively block cookies that you specify.  If anybody’s interested, the URL is www.adsubtract.com Tc

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – One more piece of advice DQ (and everyone) don’t visit this site without first  setting your browser to warn you about accepting cookies and then denying them. also, you might try editing your cookies file(s). It could be that you are being "tracked" and the ad is coming before of the presence of a self-sustaining cookie. If you need help doing this, email me. Robert "it says computer expert on my resume" Owen http://www.mindspring.com/~robert_owen/ Thanks, I currently do that now. It’s a bit of a pain, but well worth it. Those darned cookies are everywhere. I know when i visit the Actor’s Underground, they try to set a cookie everytime the darned ad changes, …which is quite frequently. I’ve seen other sites that tried to set as many as 26 different cookies on one page alone, =8^0) …cookies that lasted for the next 32 years! Can you believe it? Drama Queen

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, …now I’m begging for help here. Thanks to everyone who responded with advice both publicly & privately. Between all the suggestions I’ve received, I’m sure there’s something there that will make them think twice about continuing to bother me. Thanks Again, Drama Queen — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

One more piece of advice DQ (and everyone) don’t visit this site without first  setting your browser to warn you about accepting cookies and then denying them. also, you might try editing your cookies file(s). It could be that you are being "tracked" and the ad is coming before of the presence of a self-sustaining cookie. If you need help doing this, email me. Robert "it says computer expert on my resume" Owen http://www.mindspring.com/~robert_owen/

Response:

I use a firewall keeps those pesky ads away, and asks me if I want to block or add cookies either just for the visit or permanently. ConSeal or atguard (which is no longer supported) purposes:

## ## ##Drama Queen Kelly http://members.tripod.com/shocktroupe AFTRA/Actor/Warrior Stage manager/Fool/Director "The Theater is the last live place on Earth. We’ve got to keep it going." – Lauren Bacall  If at first you don’t succeed, then sky diving is not for you…

Response:

I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight. That could be considered criminal activity, so I’d advise against anything like harassment.

For e-mail, it’s known as "flooding", which is in violation of most major TOS. — Opus (: "I wish the stage were as high and narrow as a tightrope so that only the most highly trained would dare to venture out upon it." –Goethe http://www.carla.coble.com -Acting site http://members.home.net/coble/OpusGraphics -Original graphics http://scoobydoo.acmecity.com/witchdoctor/345 -Alt.Acting Newsgroup Gallery

Response:

Okay, …now I’m begging for help here.

Thanks to everyone who responded with advice both publicly & privately. Between all the suggestions I’ve received, I’m sure there’s something there that will make them think twice about continuing to bother me. Thanks Again, Drama Queen — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

Response:

One more piece of advice DQ (and everyone) don’t visit this site without first  setting your browser to warn you about accepting cookies and then denying them. also, you might try editing your cookies file(s). It could be that you are being "tracked" and the ad is coming before of the presence of a self-sustaining cookie. If you need help doing this, email me. Robert "it says computer expert on my resume" Owen http://www.mindspring.com/~robert_owen/

Thanks, I currently do that now. It’s a bit of a pain, but well worth it. Those darned cookies are everywhere. I know when i visit the Actor’s Underground, they try to set a cookie everytime the darned ad changes, …which is quite frequently. I’ve seen other sites that tried to set as many as 26 different cookies on one page alone, =8^0) …cookies that lasted for the next 32 years! Can you believe it? Drama Queen — Support the concept of Canadian World Domination! …coming soon to kick bloated Yankee bootie  8^)   http://www.standonguard.com/front.html

Response:

go to their website and email their webmaster… he or she should be able to take you off of their list pretty easily…

Thanks for the suggestion bozak (hee hee) but I tried that back in Sept. The end result; the spam started coming in doubles. Drama Queen (Carl’s sig seems kind of appropriate right about now)  8^) — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

Response:

DQ,  (Forgive the pseudonym; wasn’t sure if you had me killfiled, and I really wanted you to see this information.) I am sympathetic with your plight.  Remember, that when you go to some web-sites, they will drop a "cookie" into your browser.  This piece of information remembers your unique IP address, and thus sometimes you’ll see the message, "Welcome back DQ!" displayed on your screen when you return.  I know you’ve not returned to this site, but I’m using that as a point.  To avoid future occurrences of this, you may wish to go into your Netscape preferences and under "Advanced", either choose "Disable Cookies", or "Warn me before accepting a cookie". As for what to do, since they gleaned your e-mail address over a year ago, they’ve obviously decided that they are going to be impervious to your pleas for ending their tirade on your inbox. You can do one of two things: 1.  Set up an e-mail filter for it, that will automatically send all of it to the trash bin, unread, or 2.  Go to http://www.anonymizer.com, re-visit their page, (This way they can’t capture your IP address again.) tell them who you are, that you’ve changed your e-mail address and re-sign up under a web-based account that you will never check or give to anyone else. 3.  We have a shareware program called Bounce Spam Mail, that will automatically send spam back to the sender, as if your mail account has been disabled.  If it weren’t so small (300k) and so easily accessible, I’d send it to you, but here’s the URL for the download: http://www.sharewarejunkies.com/8zwd9/bounce_spam.htm I hope this works! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, …now I’m begging for help here. I’m betting with all the creativity in this group, someone will be able to think of a creative and effective solution to my problem. How does one fight back against SPAM? I keep getting SPAMMED by a publication called The Buy and Sell newspaper. Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. They won’t stop sending me this crap, and complaints to them or their ISP has done no good. I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight. They walked into their office in the morning to find their fax machine empty and their floor covered in reams and reams of fax paper bearing the junk fax they had sent to him. Upon reloading their machine, they discovered it had saved pages and pages of the same junk fax when the machine ran out of paper, …and it proceeded to spit out even more pages of the same junk. After that, they got the message, and stopped sending him junk faxes. How can I get this organization to stop sending me emails trying to get me to purchase early access to BMW ads? They are really beginning to piss me off! Thanks, Drama Queen — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

– Opus (: "I wish the stage were as high and narrow as a tightrope so that only the most highly trained would dare to venture out upon it." –Goethe http://www.carla.coble.com -Acting site http://members.home.net/coble/OpusGraphics -Original graphics http://scoobydoo.acmecity.com/witchdoctor/345 -Alt.Acting Newsgroup Gallery

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, …now I’m begging for help here. I’m betting with all the creativity in this group, someone will be able to think of a creative and effective solution to my problem. How does one fight back against SPAM? I keep getting SPAMMED by a publication called The Buy and Sell newspaper. Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. They won’t stop sending me this crap, and complaints to them or their ISP has done no good. I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight. They walked into their office in the morning to find their fax machine empty and their floor covered in reams and reams of fax paper bearing the junk fax they had sent to him. Upon reloading their machine, they discovered it had saved pages and pages of the same junk fax when the machine ran out of paper, …and it proceeded to spit out even more pages of the same junk. After that, they got the message, and stopped sending him junk faxes. How can I get this organization to stop sending me emails trying to get me to purchase early access to BMW ads? They are really beginning to piss me off! Thanks, Drama Queen

go to their website and email their webmaster… he or she should be able to take you off of their list pretty easily…

Response:

go to their website and email their webmaster… he or she should be able to take you off of their list pretty easily…

NEVER, NEVER respond to a spammer.  More than likely they will add the address to their "confirmed" list.  Instead, report the spam to their ISP. This is OT for this newsgroup, but if you want to follow these issues more closely, see this newsgroup: You can read there how I’m helping to persuade two major ISPs to clean up their act and respond responsibly to spam complaints. — Daniel Norton

Response:

How does one fight back against SPAM?

Start here:   http://www.tmisnet.com/~strads/spamhunt I keep getting SPAMMED by a publication called The Buy and Sell newspaper. Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. They won’t stop sending me this crap, and complaints to them or their ISP has done no good.

If their ISP isn’t responding, they could be eligible for RBL nomination:   http://www.mail-abuse.org/rbl I’ll help you put together a nomination if you’d like. I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight.

That could be considered criminal activity, so I’d advise against anything like harassment. — Daniel Norton

Response:

Okay, …now I’m begging for help here. I’m betting with all the creativity in this group, someone will be able to think of a creative and effective solution to my problem. How does one fight back against SPAM? I keep getting SPAMMED by a publication called The Buy and Sell newspaper. Last June, I visited their web site while contemplating purchasing a new car. I entered a search for BMW ads, and since that time I have been bombarded with eMails telling me how many BMW cars, motorcycles, parts, accessories etc. they have listed weekly. They won’t stop sending me this crap, and complaints to them or their ISP has done no good. I had a friend who fought back against junk faxes, by hooking up his computer to send the same piece of junk fax to the original sender continuously overnight. They walked into their office in the morning to find their fax machine empty and their floor covered in reams and reams of fax paper bearing the junk fax they had sent to him. Upon reloading their machine, they discovered it had saved pages and pages of the same junk fax when the machine ran out of paper, …and it proceeded to spit out even more pages of the same junk. After that, they got the message, and stopped sending him junk faxes. How can I get this organization to stop sending me emails trying to get me to purchase early access to BMW ads? They are really beginning to piss me off! Thanks, Drama Queen — "The physicians cure you, the lawyers can handle your conflicts, the businessmen move the money, but we artists make life a little more worth living."                                          –Edgar Bergen

Response:

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