Good Afternoon Everyone,
This fromOct/Nov99, "The Family Tree", [The Ellen Payne Odom
Gen. Library newspaper], Sec A, pg 31:
"You may receive email advertising messages with a place to
click 'if you do not wish to receive further advertising.'
"Be aware that such links may be rigged to steal you[sic]
password!!
"This is particularly true of porn ads, which are illegal in
bulk e-mail. They steal your password and send multiple ads
through your account to avoid being identified. This
warning is based on personal experience and information from
AOL."
This was an unsigned article.
I knew that answering any message was bound to ID my addy as
valid, but "steal my password"!!!??? So, I have asked some
Geru friends, and none have validated the information in
this article. My conclusion at the moment is that this is
another hoax that was gullibly printed. It is certainly a
good policy of not matrixing your spam by acknowledging your
"correct" addy though.
There are ways, of course, to use some ISPs without IDing
the sender That is another matter. And, one Geru answered:
"Well the email itself can't, but who knows about AOL and
how they store passwords. Maybe the way AOL stores
passwords in their program allows outside programs to cause
it to be retrieved.
"There have been numerous patches to Microsoft email
software because
of possible security intrusions, so I wouldn't find this
beyond the
realm of possibilities."
If there is any information to counter this, please e-mail
me. Should I be proven wrong, I will likewise repost a
message to that effect. Thank You.
Wild Bill
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