Dealing With SpamWritten by Oswyn James
I do not have an account at Citibank , neither am I an American citizen however I keep getting emails asking me to check my account details at Citibank as they are going through some restructuring. I even received one that said that a check had been returned and that I should check my account online by following a link to make sure all is well.Another date in question I received one that said that I had won a free DVD player and for me to collect prize I just had to send my details of address and so on. Wow internet has spurned a new era of con artists. There are those who are trying their best to get your info especially your credit card number while others use it to control your surfing habits with all these viruses that force your browser software to surf to one URL no matter how hard you try to avoid it. (Porn sites are notorious for that!) One has to be very careful when one opens his or email these days as more often than not you inbox is flooded with all kinds of filth. Persons get your email address even though you have never surfed to their website. How do they get you email address. Robots that is how, these little programmes surf net trapping email addresses from webpages, your own mail and forwards. These are stored by companies which sell these lists out for cash. Yes surprising that yourname@coconuttree.com is a hot item. You have no control over it you just have to live with it.
| | The Hidden Dangers of HTML EmailWritten by Kathy Burns-Millyard
As a veteran Internet user, I can honestly say I remember a time when HTML email was not possible. Back then RTF wasn't available either and for that matter, email programs did not even wrap lines for you or allow file attachments. Today however, I receive a steady and annoying stream of email in all shapes, colors and sizes. Almost all promotional advertisements and many newsletters come in Html format. Now, Spam is annoying, Spam in droves even more so, but Spam with "twirlygigs" is intolerable -- and dangerous. HTML is for websites. I visit them all time and enjoy their various amusements. Email however, is a tool. A communications method used for getting work done. I get plenty of regular email, hundreds of pieces a day usually, due to support, consulting and writing services I provide. If all of those emails are in HTML format then I'm stuck looking at potentially hundreds of web pages and thousands of graphics. HTML email takes extra time to download, and for me it takes extra time to read. You see I don't trust HTML email. I've coded many websites in my day and I know that scripts can be hidden in pages. Now when you couple that fact with daily news about viruses and worms being sent, well that's just downright scary, so I do not allow my email program to automatically open HTML formatted email. Now I rarely use Outlook and Express (sorry Microsoft but they feel just a bit too dangerous to me now days) however I'd rather be safe than sorry no matter which email program I use. So, I have my email software configured to show all HTML messages as attachments.
|
