GeekSugar

Geek Tip: Report Shady Twitter Accounts to @spam

GeekSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:07:17 -0700

Isn't it a total disappointment when you net a new Twitter follower, but when you go look at their page to see if they're worth following back, there's just bot-like messages and a creepy profile pic?

Spam followers bum you out, but you don't have to just sit back and do nothing. User Nanimo commented on last week's post about blocking unwanted Twitter followers with a great tip: next time you suspect a Twitter user is a spammer, tweet their handle to @spam, Twitter's spam watcher. @spam checks out the account and removes it if is just a spammer.

Like Nanimo said, just reporting them is "quite satisfying." I have to agree!

How to Complain About Those Factory Warranty Spam Calls

GeekSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:28:18 -0700

I turn into an angry she-Hulk every time my cell phone rings and I dive for it, only to hear "This is the second notice that the factory warranty on your vehicle is about to expire." I all but explode to the recording "But I don't even have a car!"

These spammy calls seem to affect everyone I know - and we're all sick of it. What's the deal? Even if you're on the Do Not Call Registry, these extended warranty companies can still get to you. So what can you do to stop the madness?

You can wait to be connected to someone after the recording, and tell them you'd like to be taken off their list. If you're guffawing right now, that's because you, like me, have already done that and continue to get calls.

To see a solution to end the calls posted on the sharing site Reddit, just read more.

Reddit's suggestions for how to put an end to these spam calls is simple: complaints. No, it's not an immediate end to the calls, but it does feel satisfying to officially put in your protest. Here are some of the places Reddit suggests you express your anger.

File a complaint on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s website.
File an online complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
Call your own cell phone carrier and complain.

Have you been getting these calls? Are you complaining, or just hanging up?

Source

Gmail "Spams" Me - WTF?!

GeekSugar — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:12:16 -0800

My love for Gmail is kind of ridiculous: I've got it pimped out with a colorful theme, video functionality and useful Labs, so why does it repay me with scary Spam web clips?

I subscribed to some fun clips, and I know Gmail often throws up the odd Google Sponsored Link or Gmail tip, but c'mon - Spam clips?

I don't eat Spam, and I've never talked about buying it, eating it, or cooking with it in ANY of my emails or chats. OK, so maybe I've said the word Spam a few times in reference to emails, but why is Gmail so excited to send me some recipes for making Spam casseroles?

Is this happening to anyone else? Is it a sponsored link?

John Hodgman Romanticizes the Words of Spam

GeekSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:00:40 -0700

Only sexy geek John Hodgman (AKA PC) could make unsolicited emails offering you prescription drugs sound this romantic! Watch him read actual spam emails for Boing Boing TV's SPAMasterpiece Theater in his honey-toned voice and see if you don't start clicking "Report Spam" just a little bit later.

Google Squashes Spam Problem in Gmail

GeekSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:16:34 -0700

Notice an irregularly large amount of spam arriving in your Gmail inbox lately? Well Google says it has remedied the problem by fixing the bug that was letting these annoying emails make it past their spam filters.

Google still asks that you report any spam messages that are making their way to your inbox instead of your spam folders.

Getting Revenge on Spammers

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:00:46 -0700

Have you ever wanted to reply to a spammer, not to ask him how his life came to this or did he think that this is what he would be when he grew up, but just to taunt him? A writer for the Boston Globe did just that; when a spammer emailed him, promising him 20 percent of some fake company's profits for just the exchange of his bank account numbers (what a deal!), he decided to have fun with spam.

He emailed the spammer back, playing along for a bit, and got into a pretty funny volley, with gems from the spammer like, "In my last email i ask you to provide me your credit card number and the limit. instead you asking of my own. PLEASE MAIL ME THE DETAILS SO AS TO START BUSINESS OKAY." Basically, it seems as if he drives the spammers insane. Read his story for more vicarious tech payback!

Source

Website of the Day: Innocent Spam

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:05:50 -0700

Being a professional "spammer" is risky business, but for those of us on the receiving end, you can't help but find it humorous when sites like Spam Is Poetry use these messages as their blueprint for artistic expression.

Contemporary artist Janet Nelson has taken email from her spam folder and created an ingenious collection of Innocent Spam drawings that are inspired by spam headlines such as this one - helping to get all of our minds out of the gutter!

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Sending Spam Emails Could Land You in Jail

GeekSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:00:23 -0700

As much as spam emails totally suck when they make their way to your inbox - especially ones like these - I can honestly say I was completely shocked when I read this story on USA Today.

A man from Colorado has been arrested for sending hundreds of thousands of spam e-mails. His sentence? Twenty-one months in prison plus having to pay nearly $715,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

I've met the odd "professional spammer" in my day, and they seriously look like your average Joe that basically gets paid for sending mass emails for various companies. . . usually without even knowing or caring about what the email is about. What's different about this case is the serial spammer was creating emails to deceive stock investors and he actually achieved this. During his spamming stint, he ended up raking in over $3.5 million. Nuf said.

Source

Website of the Day: Spam Is Poetry

GeekSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:50:48 -0700

I can't help but chuckle at the few spam emails that make their way through my filters and into my inbox. Buy this and grow that - oh, the temptation!

Do you ever notice how spam can be somewhat poetic at times? Well Spam Is Poetry has created an entire website that takes spam and creatively transforms it into eloquent and poetic pieces of written work. Now if only it arrived in our inboxes like this!

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Spam Now Makes Up 83% Of All Email

GeekSugar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:00:44 -0700

A few months ago we read a study that said thirty-seven percent of U.S. e-mail users say they are getting more junk in their personal e-mail accounts. Now, we hear that spam is now 83 percent of all e-mail and that number is on the rise.

What's the scariest part about the survey? The number that 83 percent was derived from - 60 billion to 150 billion messages per day.

So what's an internet addicted person to do? read more

If you really want to cut back on e-mails from companies and organizations that require an e-mail address and then stalk you with daily spam, you can create a disposable email address with 10 Minute Mail.
Follow Wired's guide to Hiding Your E-mail From Spam Bots.
Create an e-mail address to use for all your online shopping, company marketing, announcements from companies you like. It will keep your work and personal e-mail cleaner and you can log in every couple of days instead of getting daily Bacn (the e-mail you receive that isn’t spam and isn’t personal mail).

Source