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General discussion

people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!

Apr 4, 2004 3:15AM PDT

Could this be the reason that alot of us are bombarded with junk mail. I am not sure how spam works. I don't like my email name and address being sent all over cyber space because someone is to lazy to delete these addresses before forwarding jokes.

Discussion is locked

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Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 4, 2004 3:27AM PDT

Also, I address my emails to myself with all the other addresses as "BCC". Some relatives/friends just do not pay attention, and like you say are lazy. Many are kinda dumb...they open attachments and eventually get a virus,worm, or trojan.

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Re:Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 4, 2004 4:49AM PDT

Another problem is that there are people stupid enough
to respond to spam. This may sound harsh, but I could
see ISPs banning users that are doing this. It just encourages spammers. If it never worked, there would be no money in it for them. chuck

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Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
Apr 4, 2004 6:02AM PDT

Can you elaborate please? You seem to be suggesting that your own AV or Mailwasher? etc screen the email and that this method also screens the BCCs? Or maybe this is only for emails which one wants to forward to a friend?

How does this method work please? as I'm a bit lost here.

Many thanks
Regards
Mo

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Mo, Unfortunately, You Can't Really Control What Other Folks Do
Apr 4, 2004 11:06AM PDT

If another individual receives an e-mail message with your e-mail address in the header, there's not much you can do to stop them from forwarding it on. You can talk to individuals with which you correspond and ask them to never forward your e-mail address along, but if they decide to do so, it's their choice.

You CAN control what YOU do with forwarded mail, so make sure to clean up all forwarded mail by removing all the extra e-mail addresses you receive in the header. It's the reason that I follow the procedures I mentioned below.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
Apr 4, 2004 11:19AM PDT

Hi Mo, good to see you here out of SE. Happy

Well, guess I was a little cryptic. The subject Kinseeker is talking mainly was his email address getting spread out all over the world as a FWD email makes it rounds. His gripe, and it is the same with me towards most of my friends and relatives is that they just add a bunch of addresses on and forward a email out.

Ok, if I consider sending a email on to people...only if it was a good joke or good info that came to me as a FWD, then what I do is one of two things:

1. Copy and paste the text to a new email, deleting all the dozens of addresses it has accumulated, address the new email to myself and BCC to the different people. BCC, as you know is 'blind carbon copy' which each person receiving the email doesn't know who else received the email. So, if they FWD the email, which 99% will do, the other email addresses are not listed, so those addreses will not get sent around the world (if others don't delete addresses). Eventually, Spammers or someone will give/sell the huge list of addresses to Spammers. I delete the email copy addressed to me when it shows up.

2. Just delete all the addresses and FWD it on, addressing the "To" to myself and the intended receipents as "BCC" (like above) without a copy/paste to a new email.

As far as 'security'...most viruses, worms, trojans, are transmitted via email, usually by opening an attachment which activates one imbedded there. Another active way is by clicking on to web a site that is suggested by the text of a email received from a stranger. Another is by clicking on to some sex/porno web sites. Also, kazza is targeted. (Continued)

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Continued (As the forum currently doesn't allow long winded reply posts.)
Apr 4, 2004 11:23AM PDT

There is also a capability of a virus being transmitted by just opening a email without an attachment, but that is rare.

Most people just take for granted their Nortons, McAffee, AVG, etc..anti-virus programs will catch all these things and they do not have to worry. Most will, if it is not a new one. Almost all are new ones which take some time for the different anti-virus entities to identify and put out a fix as well as a definition update (then hopefully you download the update in time). Todays worms can secretly email out enticing things to your friends spreading the worm through your address book without you knowing it if not caught in time.

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=10381&start=0

The Viruses & Security Alerts forum is a good place to get info and have discussions about computer security.

http://reviews.cnet.com/5204-6132-0.html?forumID=32&start=0

Regards,
John

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Re:Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
Apr 11, 2004 8:31PM PDT

John, I appreciate the detailed explanation about the use of the 'BCC'. I'm embarrassed to admit that after 25 years working with networked and stand-alone workstations and PC's I still did not understand the useage of 'BCC'. I hasten to add that like yourself, I always strip out all of the extraneous headers and or addresses. Additionally, I never send anything as an attachment to people I correspond with. I always plug it in in-line. I will happily pass your explanation on to those I correspond with. Perhaps we will reap some benefit.

Howard.

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Re:Re:Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
Apr 12, 2004 3:53AM PDT

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by,'plug it in in-line'? Does this mean the 'attachment' is embedded in the e-mail? and if so, how do you do it?
Thanks in anticipation,
Rab.

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Re:Re:Re:Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
May 12, 2004 9:48AM PDT

Still no takers on this one???????

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Re:Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
May 12, 2004 5:07PM PDT

What Howard said:

"Additionally, I never send anything as an attachment to people I correspond with. I always plug it in in-line."

He didn't answer you as he has probably not returned to this thread. I interpet what he says and means as a slang for 'typing or placing into the body of an email, text, photo's or numerous other things that could also be copyied/pasted, instead of making an attachment to go along with the email.' Course' to do so you need to be plugged in to dial-up, DSL, cable, or satellite.

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Re:Re:Dear John: This sounds like a very handy tip - if only I understood the implications...
Apr 17, 2004 8:12PM PDT

Just want to thank you for explaining this. I've often
copied & pasted to new mail but not always because I didn't realize the potential dangers. + did not know what BBC. Can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

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You're welcome wsh and Howard. (nt)
Apr 18, 2004 7:59AM PDT

.

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Kinseeker, I Don't Ever 'Forward' E-mail
Apr 4, 2004 5:20AM PDT

You've posted a good topic....

In my opinion, if the message isn't good/important enough to create a new one, it's not worth sending on. If I find something worth passing on to someone, I create a "new" message and copy/paste the relevant stuff into the new message. If only takes a minute more and it forces me to think about what I'm doing.

In addition, if I get a forwarded message, I delete it without reading. Unfortunately, like so many others here, I have friends and family that simply pass along every little "ditty" that comes in their mail. Like you said, it's just "junk mail" and I don't waste my time reading it.

If you had to purchase and place a postage stamp on the message, would you send it on? It's a good method for judging whether you want to forward a message on, or not.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Re:Kinseeker, I Don't Ever 'Forward' E-mail
Apr 4, 2004 12:18PM PDT

Boy, I'm glad I sent the first message. This must be a problem for alot of folks. I have been forwarding but I do clean up the whole list of 20 or so (some even longer) before I forward it. I use bcc for all of my emails but after reading the reply's I will copy and paste. Thanks for all the input.

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(NT) Kinseeker, Glad We Could Help !
Apr 4, 2004 1:32PM PDT

.

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Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 11, 2004 3:10PM PDT

HOW does one clean up emails before forwarding/sending them on. Please detail procedures

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Re:Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 15, 2004 4:38PM PDT

There are many different ways, but what you are essentially doing is only including the text, the "meat", of the email you want to forward.

To use the tools built into Windows, here's one way:
1) just select the "meat" and copy it (press ctrl-C)
2) then open up a plain text tool (like Notepad),
(I have Notepad assigned to a hotkey (also called shortcut key, so it is easy to open Notepad)
3) then paste the text you had copied (press ctrl-V)
4) clean off any odd line characters (like leading ">'s)
5) select all the text again, and copy
6) go to your mail tool, and paste it into a nice clean mailnote.
Address it, add a subject line, and send it off.

If you are asking why copy/paste/copy into & out of a plain text tool (like Notepad) it is because that action will strip off any odd font settings (sizes, color, underlining, bolding, etc.)

Sure it is a lot of steps.
But there are freeware tools that will do all that and more for you, automatically. All you need to do with some of those tools is select the text, and right-click copy. Then paste.

Pretty simple. Check out "E-mail Stripper" at:
http://www.winsite.com/
or "Clippy" at:
http://wots.coolfreepage.com/clippy-features.php

That's just two, both free. There are more. Do a search on "email stripping"

I think some mail tools might even have those "Strip >" functions built right into them. But I don't know which.

Have fun stripping!

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Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 11, 2004 4:26PM PDT

I don't like my email name and address being sent all over cyber space either, i'll share something with you and anyone else who reads.
I have a friend who lives in another state, we are in the same forum well, she wasn't coming in for quite along time, finally she did and explained her story.
This is a true story and it's because of the addresses being left in the forwarding emails.
someone was forwarding something like a joke or what not and like you said it was all the enternet well some weird-o freak i guess took a likeing to her,
he found out about her just by haveing her email, he ended up stalking her first through the web than he got real and was stalking her at her home.
so don't think it can't happened, because it sure can.

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Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 11, 2004 6:54PM PDT

I agree wholeheartedly. Furthermore when sending one e-mail to multiple recipients I put the names in the BCC field so they cannot see each other's addresses.

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Re:people that do not clean up their emails before forwarding!
Apr 11, 2004 7:24PM PDT

I have found the best way to avoid spreading email addresses around is to
a) delete all previous references to email addresses

b) send the forwarded email to yourself with all other addresses put in the "blind copy" section.

In this way no one will know the nems etc of the other recipients.