Outlook /email /spam question

[- Bobb -]

On my home Pc (Win2000 and Win XP), I have Outlook and Outlook Express that I use for web-based email. I keep getting spam : viagra,
"buy this stock tomorrow" and changed my email address. I've run Ad-aware, Spybots, Norton etc to clean up the pc but it didn't find
anything. I changed the email address and didn't tell anyone - to prevent others from sending it to me from THEIR address book. A
few days later, I'm getting spam again. I noticed when I've installed new email apps, they "know my email latest email address". I
guess that the app is "pulling" this info from my registry.I'm guessing that some websites ( that maybe the kids get on ? ) are
interrogating the pc and fetch this same info. I then get the spam - is that possible ? Can someone tell me how to prevent this ?
Must I delete my accounts in Outllook, Outlook express to prevent this.

I've gone online - looked around at "what to do to prevent spam" - they're all pretty generic and don't TELL ME -- " if someone goes
to a website, or clicks on some spam URL, might my PC transmit my email address info ? "

To check it, I've created a few garbage accounts as well and will check in a few days to see if they too get spam.

 

[John John]

You won't win that battle! Keeping your main ISP mail account private
is the best possible defense. As for these web mail accounts (Yahoo,
Hotmail, etc) as far as I'm concerned as soon as you create one of these
accounts the mail provider makes it available to just about anyone by
sticking it in its directory search (things like People Finder) or just
sells it to other who want to pay for it.

Try this free application for your ISP POP server. If you want to use
it also for IMAP you'll have to get the "not free" version. This
utility allows you to see the messages on your mail server and delete
them on the server before you download them.

John

 

[John John]

Ooops! Forgot to give you the link to MailWasher:

http://www.mailwasher.net/index.php

John

 

[- Bobb -]

John,

My problem isn't with my yahoo/public email accounts. Their spam filters work OK.
It's with my ISP (comcast/verizon) accounts. THEIR filters are awful. And when I mention it to neighbors , they say - "yeah I get
that too - I just delete all that crap". I suspect everyone does that - no one reports it and these ISPS think things are wonderful.
( either that or that they really couldn't care less)
You know the emails I mean - Rolex watches , Viagra, closeout specials - they are emails - but it's only a gif to a website that's
got about 90 characters in the description - and the subject is 4 random words.

I have started using an "email-fetching" app that works OK, rather than Outlook Express - just in case, but I am just curious - are
these spammers getting my email address from my PC because it's been to ... some website ? When the pc hits that website, can they
pull my email address from my pc via Outlook Express ?
Can they do it with this new app too ? Is it something in the registry they get ?
Like when I installed this new email app - it pulled up my current email settings and asked - " would you like to use these
addresses ? Any others ? " - when I saw that - THAT's what made me think - maybe THAT's how these spammers get my name.

If not happening via Outlook express, then I rather use Outlook express ( to get to newsgroups etc.) than these email fetching apps.

 

[John John]

If your Windows, IE and Office installation are patched properly there
is no way that anyone can see and retrieve that information while you
are on the internet. You seem to use the common precautions by using
spyware and virus scanners and surely you must have a firewall. These
spamers have email harvesting programs that search the entire internet
for anything that might look like a valid email and they try them all!
If you enter your email on any site it could be available to others. If
you created a new Comcast/Verizon address and two days later started
getting spam then you should check the privacy policy of your ISP, they
may automatically set up their customers to automatically "opt-in" to
receive junk mail.

John

 

[- Bobb -]

Excellent - thank you.

If your Windows, IE and Office installation are patched properly there
is no way that anyone can see and retrieve that information while you
are on the internet. You seem to use the common precautions by using
spyware and virus scanners and surely you must have a firewall. These
spamers have email harvesting programs that search the entire internet
for anything that might look like a valid email and they try them all!
If you enter your email on any site it could be available to others. If
you created a new Comcast/Verizon address and two days later started
getting spam then you should check the privacy policy of your ISP, they
may automatically set up their customers to automatically "opt-in" to
receive junk mail.

John

 

[John John]

You're welcome.

John

Excellent - thank you.

 

[Geoffw]

I assume that you do run something like adaware or spybot ?

These can help keep you PC "clean"

Geoff

John,

My problem isn't with my yahoo/public email accounts. Their spam filters work OK.
It's with my ISP (comcast/verizon) accounts. THEIR filters

are awful. And when I mention it to neighbors , they say -
"yeah I get

that too - I just delete all that crap". I suspect

everyone does that - no one reports it and these ISPS think
things are wonderful.

( either that or that they really couldn't care less)
You know the emails I mean - Rolex watches , Viagra,

closeout specials - they are emails - but it's only a gif
to a website that's

got about 90 characters in the description - and the subject is 4 random words.

I have started using an "email-fetching" app that works

OK, rather than Outlook Express - just in case, but I am
just curious - are

these spammers getting my email address from my PC because

it's been to ... some website ? When the pc hits that
website, can they

pull my email address from my pc via Outlook Express ?
Can they do it with this new app too ? Is it something in the registry they get ?
Like when I installed this new email app - it pulled up my

current email settings and asked - " would you like to use
these

addresses ? Any others ? " - when I saw that - THAT's what

made me think - maybe THAT's how these spammers get my name.

If not happening via Outlook express, then I rather use

Outlook express ( to get to newsgroups etc.) than these
email fetching apps.

You won't win that battle! Keeping your main ISP mail account private
is the best possible defense. As for these web mail accounts (Yahoo,
Hotmail, etc) as far as I'm concerned as soon as you create one of these
accounts the mail provider makes it available to just about anyone by
sticking it in its directory search (things like People Finder) or just
sells it to other who want to pay for it.

John

viagra,

address. I've run Ad-aware, Spybots, Norton etc to clean up
the pc but it didn't

find

anyone - to prevent others from sending it to me from THEIR
address book.

A

I've installed new email apps, they "know my email latest
email address".

I

registry.I'm guessing that some websites ( that maybe the
kids get on ? ) areget the spam - is that possible ? Can someone tell me how to
prevent this

?

prevent spam" - they're all pretty generic and don't TELL
ME -- " if someone

goes

well and will check in a few days to see if they too get
spam.