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General discussion

do spammers collect e-mail addresses from receiving or sending animation cards?

Dec 15, 2003 11:09PM PST

or both sending the animation card to someone and receiving the animation card ?

Discussion is locked

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Re:do spammers collect e-mail addresses from receiving or sending animation cards?
Dec 15, 2003 11:35PM PST

Your question brings up a lot of issues. First, can I change your question around a bit?

1. Can animation cards via email be used to collect e-mail addresses for spammers?

I can state that this is true. The recipient address might be entered at the source site.

2. Can animation cards "leak" information?

Yes. Look up URL MANGLING in which some embedded picture URL can contain "somepicture.jpg?userid=47749660" and that mangled URL just passed that userid back to some server to get the picture. IP addresses are also logged.

In short, html email and animations may have to vanish.

Bob

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Will advise my contacts NOT to send html email and animations. Thanks - NT
Dec 15, 2003 11:48PM PST

.

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Re:do spammers collect e-mail addresses from receiving or sending animation cards?
Dec 15, 2003 11:48PM PST

I've heard there is a technique of having an embedded code in an image URL that includes an e-mail address (or some other identification code that can later be attached to an address of a user loading that image) which is then validated should that person open and use it or subsequently forward such mail containing it. I don't think we can assume just what these outfits do!

Most likely however, even though this is apparently possible, it is in my humble opinion that a spammer would have to be pretty despirate for addresses to use this approach. Considering however that most spammers rely on software to screen and accomplish their dirty mission, it should always be considered likely.

Ever wonder about those sites where you select an option that they not contact you or send information, but a few days later the mail starts arriving? You can bet their system is piss-poor. How protected and secure are they?

Ever wonder why many require a valid email address? Perhaps they could be tempted by the right amount of money to actually sell a membership database, or at least the addresses used.

Bill Gaston

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Re:Re:do spammers collect e-mail addresses from receiving or sending animation cards?
Dec 15, 2003 11:55PM PST

>>
Ever wonder why many require a valid email address? Perhaps they could be tempted by the right amount of money to actually sell a membership database, or at least the addresses used.
<<

You mean like, oh I don't know, CNet?

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Forums are in a special situation...
Dec 16, 2003 11:23AM PST

The old forums did not require a valid email address. It was very difficult to communicate with some of the less desirable posters offline because they often used an invalid email address to sign up. At least with the new forums, the site admin can contact them if required. Of course, CNet is also more than happy to send you newletters...

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Re:Forums are in a special situation...
Dec 16, 2003 8:22PM PST

And so the fact that CNet has been losing huge amounts of money recently wouldn't make their database of email addresses a tempting asset to sell?

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NT -- Maybe no money in the bank means, 'they haven't and want'.
Dec 16, 2003 10:15PM PST

.

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CNet has a reputation that they would like to protect...
Dec 17, 2003 1:14PM PST

so that does give me a better feeling about the email address than some fly-by-night ecard startup that has no discernable means of income other than peddling email addresses. ZDNet/CNet got a disposable (but valid) email address from me just like any other online registration I make so it really is moot anyway. If I ever get spam on it, I know who sold it (and I will throw it away).

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Re:do spammers collect e-mail addresses from receiving or sending animation cards?
Dec 15, 2003 11:52PM PST

Can you get spam as a result of sending/recieving these messages? Absolutely.

Will you necessarily? Depends on the website doing the sending. Some will be a bit more ethical and not collect the email addresses people enter in to be sold to the highest bidder(s), and some will do just that and anything else they can to make a quick buck off of your information.

This is why I use Mozilla Mail or Thunderbird for email. I can disable all scripts and plugins for just the email client, I can block remote images from loading. I can block cookies from being set via HTML messages, I can even limit or disable the HTML rendering of messages if I want. Even if Microsoft never needed to issue another security patch for Outlook Express, it's still just too much of a privacy hazzard to even consider using.

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Trust no one...
Dec 16, 2003 12:32AM PST

No matter who you deal with when you place your email address, you are completely at the mercy of that's website on how it handles such. In other words, you have "no control of it" once given. Regardless, of polices and guidelines, give out your email address to those you "feel" comfortable with.

FYI - Once the internet business bubble burst, one asset offered are "users info" and related data. Any FTC or related federal guidelines are truly lacking in how to handle the problem. Even if addressed, legistatures don't have a clue and you can bet they'll be leaning towards business interests rather than the constituatiets(sp). -----Willy

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Very good advice...
Dec 16, 2003 11:19AM PST

If you want to send an ecard, set it up and then email the URL to the recipients using your own email client. If you have to mail it to someone, email it to yourself using a disposable address, take the URL in that note and email to the recipients using your own email client.

A sister-in-law sent an ecard to the kids once. I was very surprised to receive an email from the site a few months later to announce that they had upgraded their site with new content. Sad

If a site asks for an email address, they will be storing it. Review the site's privacy policy before handing it over (or use a disposable email address). As for whether they will sell it or not, assume it will be and you can only be pleasantly surprised when they don't, not disappointed when they do.