HOME
TOPICS
ABOUT ME
MAIL

 
The low-lifes who send you porn get your e-mail address many different ways.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

How to protect yourself against e-mailed porn


Oct. 2, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   I get letters like this every couple of days: "The junk that comes into my inbox is disgusting. I'm tired of getting pornographic mail. Isn't there something we can do about it?"
   Yes, there is. I can't guarantee that my techniques will work for you, but they're a good start. I rely on a combination of common sense and good software.
   The common-sense part is the easiest to explain and the hardest to do, because we're all too trusting and maybe even too naive. The low-lifes who send you porn get your e-mail address many different ways -- sometimes they simply generate a million addresses, hoping that a few thousand are good ones -- but the way they always prefer is by copying it from something you've posted in a public location.
   If you post a message on a chat site and your e-mail address is shown with your message, you've just donated your address to hundreds of companies that do nothing but copy e-mail addresses from Internet sites. They, in turn, sell these valid addresses to spammers and porn merchants.
   Never post your real e-mail address on such sites or on any other forum or newsgroup. If the software you are using posts your e-mail address for you automatically and you can't turn that function off, stop using that software or stop posting such messages entirely.
   Likewise, if you give out your e-mail address to any Web sites that ask for it, you're asking for porn. Here's a way to find out if Web sites that want your e-mail address are legit: If you got to a Web site by clicking on a link in an unsolicited e-mail message -- if, in other words, you got there by responding to spam -- the site cannot be trusted. (Scum begets scum, and the folks who do this are the lowest of the low.)
   Don't ever respond to spam. Guess what you provide when you send an e-mail to a stranger? Your verified e-mail address. Don't do it.
   And tell your friends and relatives they must not give out your e-mail address to anyone without asking you first.
   Let's move on to software.
   Windows users are naked without protection against scripts. Worms and viruses get into your Windows PC through scripts hidden in e-mail, but so do "viral marketing" programs that grab your e-mail address. Microsoft won't help you in this regard, so you have to install a script blocker. Get Script Sentry; it's free. For a link, go to my site at technofileonline (there's no "WWW") and type "Script Sentry (without quotes) into the search field.
   Macintoshes and all other non-Windows PCs are immune to script dangers.
   You also need to protect your computer from the misuse of cookies. Sleazy Web-site operators can use cookies to steal your e-mail address and other personal information.
   Cookies are telltale notes that Web sites store on your computer. Usually, you'll want to permit some cookies and deny others. You do that with a cookie manager.
   The best one for Windows is Cookie Pal. It's not free, but it's very effective. Go to my site and type "cookie pal" (without quotes" into the search field. Users of older Macs also have cookie managers to choose from, but I haven't tried any and can't recommend one. Users of new Macs running OS X have cookie managers built into Internet Explorer and OmniWeb. They're both useful, but the one in OmniWeb works better.