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Many (I'm willing to bet most) of you who read my journal do not need these instructions and can probably even list out the more common (and more efficient) ways for spammers to get your email address.
This is not for you.
This is for those few who do not know this very simple message and for the more knowledgeable among you to steal as a template to send to those less-knowledgeable friends and family you have (I know you have them!) if it strikes your fancy.
I get emails all the time with hoaxes, urban legends, chain letters and glurge (which are bad enough in their own right) that have 5 pages of headers on them listing every email address known to man as my family blissfully forwards out yet another story about a young child dying of cancer and how Microsoft will donate $5 for every name signed down below or how this really cool thing will pop up on your screen if you just send it to 500 people (seriously, it works, I just did it and you HAVE to see it!).
And it drives me nuts. Not just for the bullshit that gets passed around as "fact". But this isn't about the content of those emails, it's about not using the very simple BCC field to hide the email addresses to those dozens of family members that absolutely have to know that you can't tell the difference between an internet hoax and a real issue.
Send these instructions to those who desperately need it:
One of the many ways email spammers get your email address is by YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY forwarding an email to you (and dozens of their friends and family) and publicly listing your email address in the To: field.
Here's what you can do to help:
1) When you forward an email to several people, even if they all know each other, put all of their email addresses in the BCC field (that's Blind Carbon Copy). This will keep all those email addresses hidden when your friends and family then forward your email to other people. If your email client will not let you send email with a blank To: field, then put [email protected] in that field. Always remember to delete the headers that the previous people left behind (all those other email addresses that someone else didn't bother to protect).
[email protected] is an empty email box that is not maintained by anyone and it was created for the express purpose of catching emails that you just *have* to send to your family and friends but need something to put in the To: field.
2) You can also use this address if you cannot resist the temptation of sending an email "to 15 of your friends so something cool will happen - this really works!" without actually bothering your family and friends who know better.
3) And finally, you can forward this email with these instructions (using your new BCC skills) to all of your friends and family so that they can do the same and thereby protect your email address when they forward emails.
This is not for you.
This is for those few who do not know this very simple message and for the more knowledgeable among you to steal as a template to send to those less-knowledgeable friends and family you have (I know you have them!) if it strikes your fancy.
I get emails all the time with hoaxes, urban legends, chain letters and glurge (which are bad enough in their own right) that have 5 pages of headers on them listing every email address known to man as my family blissfully forwards out yet another story about a young child dying of cancer and how Microsoft will donate $5 for every name signed down below or how this really cool thing will pop up on your screen if you just send it to 500 people (seriously, it works, I just did it and you HAVE to see it!).
And it drives me nuts. Not just for the bullshit that gets passed around as "fact". But this isn't about the content of those emails, it's about not using the very simple BCC field to hide the email addresses to those dozens of family members that absolutely have to know that you can't tell the difference between an internet hoax and a real issue.
Send these instructions to those who desperately need it:
One of the many ways email spammers get your email address is by YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY forwarding an email to you (and dozens of their friends and family) and publicly listing your email address in the To: field.
Here's what you can do to help:
1) When you forward an email to several people, even if they all know each other, put all of their email addresses in the BCC field (that's Blind Carbon Copy). This will keep all those email addresses hidden when your friends and family then forward your email to other people. If your email client will not let you send email with a blank To: field, then put [email protected] in that field. Always remember to delete the headers that the previous people left behind (all those other email addresses that someone else didn't bother to protect).
[email protected] is an empty email box that is not maintained by anyone and it was created for the express purpose of catching emails that you just *have* to send to your family and friends but need something to put in the To: field.
2) You can also use this address if you cannot resist the temptation of sending an email "to 15 of your friends so something cool will happen - this really works!" without actually bothering your family and friends who know better.
3) And finally, you can forward this email with these instructions (using your new BCC skills) to all of your friends and family so that they can do the same and thereby protect your email address when they forward emails.
Save this address in your address book and protect your privacy and that of your friends and family by simply hiding their email addresses when you just *have* to send a bulk email.
Also, please bookmark http://www.snopes.com and visit that site every time you are tempted to forward an email to check if it's true or not. This website has all the internet hoaxes, spams, glurge, and urban legends. This will also stop the spread of false internet legends and hoaxes and help cut down on the opportunity for spammers to collect your email addresses, since you will not be forwarding as many emails once you check their origins and learn how false they are. (This email address is not affiliated with Snopes.com. It just happens to be a good resource that goes along with this message).
