patient2all
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/16/02
Posts: 294
Loc: usa
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Can anyone suggest anything constructive that can be done about the irresponsible OP spam which dominates everyone's inbox? This includes the email accounts of children. This OP spam is rightfully contributing to highly negative perceptions in anyone's mind who doesn't understand the operations of legitimate Telemedicine Providers. It's just one more nail in the coffin.
One of dozens that I received today had as its subject:
Vicoden you know you want it
This is killing us!
patient2all
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patient2all
It's a sad world, getting sadder by the day....
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chris222
Journeyman
Reged: 04/11/04
Posts: 80
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I'm not sure which e-mail service you use, but there are very effective filters that will eliminate most of the spam. I currently use the very popular Microsoft MSN Hotmail service. For the past few months, I have noticed that almost all spam e-mail, including the type you mentioned, are automatically filtered into my junk mail folder, which I can delete without reading, or if you do nothing, it gets deleted automatically. The only thing with this is, sometimes legitimate e-mail goes into the junk folder, so you may want to glance through it. From my experience this happens very rarely. The new Hotmail filters seem to be working perfectly for me. Hope that helps.
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mikevx
Enthusiast
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 280
Loc: LV-426
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I've tried lot's of so called solutions and the best I've used is www.mailwasher.net
It's free, and you can input several emails in it. What it does is allow you to see all emails on the server, before it gets to your inbox. So you need to turn off 'auto email check' for whatever email client you use, check with mailwasher (it can do auto check every minute), once washed, then hit the send/receive button on your email client.
Now once you see the emails on the server using mailwasher, you can delete them from the server preventing them from ever being in your inbox, and even bounce them back to sender. That's the part I LOVE! Blacklist them, etc.. I HIGHLY suggest it. Especially nowdays with all the bs spam we get more and more.
It's very easy to set up and use.
And about 99.9% of the spam pushing drugs are plain flat out crooks. Then all those silly porn ones, etc..
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"cowards die many deaths, the brave only one"
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D2003
Member
Reged: 12/12/03
Posts: 193
Loc: Texas
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I use MailWasher myself and wouldn't be without it now. I get a LOT of work related mail, but before MailWasher was also receiving a couple of hundred spam posts a day. With MailWasher and it's lovely bounce facility....I get maybe 20/day now. It even catches some of the more common virus stuff running about. Between it and my Zone Alarm, I'm no longer concerned about spam mail. I also run AdAware (the freeware version, Spybot Search and Destroy, and AVG. All of these programs are freeware and I've not had a virus attack or an unauthorized intrustion in a couple of years now. Between those five programs, I feel a lot safer cruising the web, or washing the spam out of my mail. AVG intergrates itself very nicely with Eudora and certainly don't glitch my system or hog my processor in any either. MailWasher is my first line of defense. Everything else (especially Zone Alarm) does wonders at keeping my computer safe from just about anything out there that I DON'T need running my computer for me. (Or making long distance phone calls all on its own to some sex talk phone line offshore.)
D2003
(Probably sound a bit rambly today as I didn't actually get any sleep last night. Jeez, and here it is Monday again.)
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wblmpls
Stranger
Reged: 12/09/03
Posts: 11
Loc: East Coast
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That's all fine and dandy to prevent spam in our own mailbox's. It seems the main concern is all of this spam bombarding EVERYONE in the country with this irresponsible "Vicodin you know you want it" Best if kept off the board. P2all is right..it's killing us in the perception game and I don't have a clue what to do about it other than for the gov't to find a couple of these spammers and hit them hard to make an example out of them. Unfortunately it's not likely and the legit OP's are just grouped in with these unethical bastards by the uneducated masses.
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"If there is no God, all things are permissible"
- Dostoevsky
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BriarRoseCO
Member
Reged: 02/10/04
Posts: 101
Loc: Foothills of the Rockies (for ...
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Get this.... the latest spam (with virus included, no doubt) that I'm getting, is really really camouflaged well. It says things like "mail returned undeliverable message" or "network message storage service". ALWAYS with an attachment. It's making it VERY hard for poor people like my mother to tell what she should open and what she should not. I tell her not to open ANYTHING from ANYONE that she doesn't know. EVEN if it says something like "latest Microsoft patch included". I've told her to go to the Microsoft site itself if there is anything she thinks she needs.
Is anyone else getting virus attempts that have these stupid subject lines???? I get about 3 or 4 every day. I don't open any of them. No matter what they say. I have clicked on them and looked at the "source" code... it's always from someone I've never heard of or some kind of mailer bot. And the funny thing is, I never received any type of spam before changing internet providers. And believe me, I've notified them of the multiple attempts. Several times. And it's not getting any better. I wish I had an e-mail address for my IP and I could just forward the e-mails to them. Everyday. Maybe that would get them to finally do something about it.
~~Briar
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mikevx
Enthusiast
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 280
Loc: LV-426
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Quote:
Is anyone else getting virus attempts that have these stupid subject lines???? I get about 3 or 4 every day.
Yes. You name them, I get them. The spam/viri makers are trying anything and everything to try and fool us. Emails that try and sound like it's from a friend, a patch, an important message, as you said, a 'supposed' undeliverable email, etc, etc, etc.
Only way to be sure these days is to accept emails only from those you are positive about.
The others I use mailwasher to delete/bounce back on the server, before they get to my inbox. See, some use a script. Even looking at the email in your inbox can give you the virus/trojan. No attachement needed.
btw, as D2003 mentioned above, AVG is an excellent FREE anti virus program.
A very good FREE firewall is Kerio
And Ad Aware to remove spyware. Which many web pages infect you with.
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BriarRoseCO
Member
Reged: 02/10/04
Posts: 101
Loc: Foothills of the Rockies (for ...
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Thanks Mike... didn't know that all I had to do was look at the darn thing and I would get a virus. I thought you always had to open the attachment (did I spell that right????) in order to get the virus. I do have Ad Aware and run it often. And I usually delete all that "undeliverable" or "network update" stuff even before I look at it. I don't even give it the chance. I just click and delete. Which, one day I'm sure, will be all it will take to activate the virus. *sigh* Who knows what they will come up with next.
~~Briar
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mikevx
Enthusiast
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 280
Loc: LV-426
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You're welcome Briar. 
Quote:
attachment (did I spell that right????)
You did, I didn't.
As far as the script, outlook/an av will stop most that are harmful. But some are clever.
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Sky_Queen
Fly Girl
Reged: 12/03/02
Posts: 1967
Loc: Texas
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Just to throw in my .02 - I use Earthlink and they have a very nice spam filtering system - if an email address is not added to your address book the email will go straight to a "suspect email" in-box and you never even see it, works quite well. It's about half OP spam and porn for me - and no.....don't go to those sites.
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patient2all
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/16/02
Posts: 294
Loc: usa
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Wblmpls, thanks for clarifying that for me. I appreciate all the spam help, but as Wblmpls suggests, I am not concerned about the 30+ email addresses that I maintain, but it seems like two years ago or so when I mentioned getting my medication online, folks seemed surprised that you could do that. Now, people seem horrified when I tell them.
Telemedicine Providers used to be a low key segment of internet commerce used only by those who truly needed legitimate ongoing medical treatment. Now any twelve year old knows about the "dangers of Online Pharmacies".
I'd love to hear of something constructive that could be done to combat these spammers who run the very real risk of enticing recreational users, including children, to try to con Telemedicine Providers.
I've noticed over the past year or so that I don't seem to get as much of the blatant porn spam as I once did. Either it became unprofitable for them or ISP's got hip to them and are able to keep them from turning up either in your inbox or bulk mail folders. This is despite the fact that it has become even easier to generate spam now through easily obtainable programs which can infiltrate anyone's computer through open ports (especially under WinXP) and turn it into a "spam zombie". In fact, many of us probably have spam of various types going out under our user ids. One of my user ids was used to generate 5000 "Meet women in your area for sex tonight" emails under my name. At least that was halfway tame by today's standards!
It might be helpful to our cause if ISPs could use the same filtering logic that reduced porn spam somewhat to get rid of much of the medication spam too. It may help if this Best if kept off the board was out of the public eye for a while. However, they must do it without banning Telemedicine Providers outright in the process! After all, adult sites are still there for those who desire them. They just aren't "in your face" as much.
patient2all
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patient2all
It's a sad world, getting sadder by the day....
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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
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For people not using Ad Aware, I strongly suggest you go to download.com or wherever and get it. It's free and you will be amazed how much spyware is on your computer and how much faster it runs (especially your browser).
-yawkaw
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BriarRoseCO
Member
Reged: 02/10/04
Posts: 101
Loc: Foothills of the Rockies (for ...
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My cousin just paid for ZoneAlarm. And from what I've heard, she just wasted her money. She bought the best version out so far. The 4.0 plus version. And she's waiting for my visit to Louisiana to help her install and add it to her brand new hewlett packard system. *sigh* This girl is 25 going on 12 (I'm NOT KIDDING) and thinks every pop up is a virus and every e-mail from someone she doesn't know has infected her computer just because it's in her inbox. *double sigh* It's like trying to teach a Zebra to read the sports section.
Can anyone give me any info on ZoneAlarm and how it should be set up so that she won't have to worry about unwanted cookies and the like? I think she ran a trial version of Ad Aware and wound up with 30 "at risk" files and FREAKED OUT and called me for help in the middle of the night. I tried my best to explain to her (in a way that she could understand) that these were files from cookies that "attached" themselves to her computer from pop up ads. All this because she endlessly searches the net for God knows what....
But anyway, back to my question, if you don't want to go into a long rant about how to set it up, can anyone at least tell me if it's easy to install and configure. I'm not looking forward to fooling with something that I've heard doesn't work worth a .. um... well, you know what. My time at home with my family will be very limited and I do NOT want to spend 1/2 of it fooling with someone else's computer!!!! Not that I don't love my cousin, but I'm not her personal IT department. And that's how she acts. If her screen goes to blue death, she calls me. If her e-mail can't connect to the server for the moment, she calls me. If her computer is running slower than normal, she calls me. And this child (I use that term very meaningly) has dial up just to make matters worse.... *triple sigh*
So anyone willing to help me out before I get to LA and have to fool with this thing, I would GREATLY appreciate it.
~~Briar
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patient2all
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/16/02
Posts: 294
Loc: usa
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If I recall, the install takes you through a wizard which request preferences. For a novice user, I would suggest that you answer so that she is faced with the minimum # of alerts. Otherwise, the user is confronted with questions like "Do you want to allow Internet Explorer to access the Internet?" If they answer "No", you'll be visiting again sooner than you expected.
In other words, answer the wizard prompts so that it does most of its work in the background, informing the user of little. Advise the user that if ZoneAlarm should ask a question during an internet session about whether said program should be allowed to access the internet or act as a server, if they halfway recognize the program name (like MicroSoft Word), they should answer "Yes". They should not check the check box in the ZoneAlarm window that says "Always use this answer".
I've installed it on a lot of novice's computers and normally have not heard from them which I take as a good sign.
patient2all
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patient2all
It's a sad world, getting sadder by the day....
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BriarRoseCO
Member
Reged: 02/10/04
Posts: 101
Loc: Foothills of the Rockies (for ...
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Thanks patient.... I had a feeling that there would be a wizard of some sort. Everything comes with it's own wizard nowadays... and setting to the minimal number of alerts would be a good thing. Because if she gets that messages asking if Internet Explorer can access the internet, she's going to freak out and not understand. So, your advice is good. I'll set it (just as you suggested)to do most of the work in the background.
Thanks!!!
~~Briar
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buey
Old Hand
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 453
Loc: USA
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I agree with the original poster and also think some are missing the point. I posted about this about a month ago when I got a spam that said something like "Buy Xanax to come down from your coke high". I was appalled. It's people like this who are making it more difficult for CP and anxiety suffers to get the help they need. Sending out spam to entice rec drug users to purchase controlled substances online is totally irresponsible. Again, it is people like that who are going to be the death of OPs. It is also a huge concern that these emails may be going to children. I seriously doubt places like that screen out kids when they sell their drugs. These places are nothing more than pushers.
I wish something could be done about them and their marketing tactics. I also own and use mailwasher and love it. But that's not the way to solve this problem.
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patient2all
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/16/02
Posts: 294
Loc: usa
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Thanks, Buey!
I posted these on the "Open Discussion" board, but they didn't get any discussion there. Felt everyone needed to know this stuff. So I'll repost here:
Quote:
Measure targets drug e-mails
Bill requires Internet pharmacies operating in Fla. to have permit
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By BETTY PARKER,
Published by news-press.com on April 22, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Those e-mails promoting an array of drugs with no prescription needed could be reduced if a bill by Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, is set for final Senate approval.
The bill got its first floor debate Wednesday, where no objections were raised, and it's now ready for final passage.
The measure would require any Internet pharmacies operating in Florida to have a permit, and that would requires a licensed pharmacist.
A pharmacy also would be subject to regulatory discipline for providing drugs without a prescription.
Some of these pharmacies actually advertise no prescription necessary for some pretty heavy-duty drugs, Saunders said. This bill says if you operate in Florida, you have to have a licensed pharmacist.
Saunders cited cases where teenagers were able to order drugs including painkillers and muscle relaxers, by only providing their name, address and a credit card.
That has to stop, he said.
Sen. Skip Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, said the e-mails and the easy provision of drugs are a problem. This is a good thing for the Senate to get rid of, he said.
Saunders said the bill won't eliminate the whole problem. We can only deal with the ones operating in Floridahe said. But it's a start, and maybe Congress will do something.
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Post #2
Interesting site concerning pharmacy spam
Rated 'R' for strong language and I wouldn't suggest taking their advice literally!
Funny, the filter on this board banned my use of the term "cr$p" earlier.
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patient2all
It's a sad world, getting sadder by the day....
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