Outlook Banter - View Single Post - Newsgroups: MS should WARN us FIRST not to use real email addresses here!!

**Mary Roberson**

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Thanks PA Bear, but please note: I already know this, now. The issue the
gets me stirred up is that there is not any warning in the help files of
OE about setup so that a user knowns this in 'advance' before the problem
appears and its already too late. There is no reference to additional info
on the web there either. I am aware that this information does exist
elseware, but it forces the user to search the net possibly extensively
for this info, and during a search, a variety of help pages on this issue
neglect to mention this also, including some of Microsoft's own pages such
as: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...ups/howto.mspx Note
that this page only says, "enter your email address" which misleads a user
to enter a real address, no mention of alternatives. So even a user who
attempts to search for additional info may continue thinking no risk
exists and end their search there. A user must get lucky to come across
the proper info first such as:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/ou...snewreader.htm which is 3rd
party, or:
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...mailAndPrivacy
which at first glance appears to be directed at the web based application
and might be discounted by those looking for OE info. (Thankyou to Michael
Jennings for pointing me to this one also in his recent post.)

I know some people don't even read instructions before they do things, but
I do. So I, like many others, could not possibly foresee the solution,
without any indication that a problem exists in the first place. Some have
suggested that it is my fault and I just should have known this, I guess
through 'devine' revelation, but I think most understand my point. I also
take acception with the fact that an email address is even displayed
rather than just a username, as it appears to have absolutely no necessity
for the functioning of ng's. I realize that this software was likely
written long ago, but probably neglected for upgrade to address the
current internet environment. If there is no intention to begin blocking
the email address after the username in ng's, I think that at least a
patch should be added which will prominently display and warn the user to
this risk during setup for ng in OE, or a warning text in the help files
for ng setup. And pages on MS's site like the first link example above
should be updated.

While the real problem is the spammer scum and the gov'ts lack of enacting
and enforcing internet protection, a few small actions as noted above
could go a long way toward combating at least large part of this problem.

Thankyou to you also PA Bear for all the generous help you have provided
to users here, you are appreciated.
Merry Chrismas, and Happy Holidays to you,
Dan

"PA Bear" wrote in message
...
QP
About e-mail addresses and privacy
It is highly likely that you will receive unwanted messages (spam) in
your regular e-mail account if you use your actual, unmodified e-mail
address as your display e-mail address in a discussion group. Note that
your display e-mail address is different from your notification e-mail
address. Your notification e-mail address must be a real e-mail address
in order for you to be notified; it is stored privately by Microsoft. It
is not visible to the Community. However, your display e-mail address is
public and visible to everyone in the Community.

People who send unwanted bulk e-mail (spammers) regularly gather e-mail
addresses from discussion groups. To help prevent spam in your regular
e-mail account, the default display e-mail address when you post a
message in a discussion group is
. The following are the display
e-mail address options you can choose from:

Use a false display e-mail address we generate for you
The default address will be
used when you post a message if you do not change your display e-mail
address.

Use a modified display e-mail address
Use a different version of your e-mail address that others will
understand, but that spam tools can't automatically pick up. For example,
if an actual e-mail address were , we would recommend
modifying it to one of the following:

.(donotspam)

_SPAM

In this case, the spam tools will send mail to an invalid e-mail address,
and others will know to exclude the invalid information when they send
you e-mail.

Use a secondary e-mail account
Set up or use an e-mail account, such as a Hotmail account, that is
separate from your primary account for posting to discussion groups.
/QP
Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...mailAndPrivacy

The above is admittedly from an MS page about using the web-based
newsreader and the same caveats /should/ be prominent on pages about
using NNTP newsreaders (e.g.,
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...ps/howto.mspx).
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)

Dan wrote:
snip
Let me say that I have found this forum EXTREMELY helpful for solving
problems. Bruce Hagen, if he is still around, did an excellent job
assisting
me. He also alerted me to the fact that my real email address was
available
to all on this forum, BECAUSE MICROSOFT FAILS TO WARN & INSTRUCT USERS
WHEN
SETTING UP OUTLOOK EXPRESS TO USE THESE NEWSGROUPS, that you should NOT,
I
repeat NOT, NOT, NOT enter your real email address...