Newsgroups: MS should WARN us FIRST not to use real email addresses here!!
"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Hi Dan.
While it would have been nice, I don't think you can lay this all on MS.
There are hundreds of non MS newsgroups and the same holds true for them.
They don't give this advice either. It isn't just a Microsoft Newsgroup
issue.
I don't recall your exact problem before, but I was glad to help.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~
"Dan" wrote in message
...
This is not a request for assistance, but rather a warning for newer
users here, to hopefully prevent you from the same frustrations I have
experienced as a result of using this forum.
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!!!!!!!!!!
When I set this up, it required me to enter an email address in order to
post here. Nothing warned me that my REAL address would be easily
accessible to all here, NOR did instruct me that I could enter a false
address to thwart the spammers when entering the REQUIRED email address
during sign-up!!!!
Had Microsoft offered this very simple instruction in the beginning, I am
absolutely convinced that I would have NEVER, EVER, received ANY SPAM!!!!
This is on their network afterall, and their NEGLIGENCE to provide this
security information has caused me a great deal of headache, that now
seems will NEVER go away, making me wish I had never, ever used this
newsgroup in the first place!!!
Thank you to Bruce Hagen for recognizing and informing me about this
dangerous security breach. It would have been better if Microsoft were
RESPONSIBLE enough to have given this information in the newsgroup setup
instructions and process!!!!!
The RESULT of this NEGLIGENCE on Microsoft's part is that after just a
few postings before Bruce's alert to me, I am now bombarded on this email
account daily for the last 9 MONTHS by spammers, and ONLY on this
account. I have NEVER received spam on ANY OTHER email account I have.
Many of these spams have been VIRUSES & WORMS!!!! And luckily my
Anti-Virus scanners have been able to remove them. Although I immediately
followed Bruce's intructions to change the email address displayed, it
was too late, and I don't think there is anyway for me to remove the
previous postings with the real email address. So Microsoft has left me
with breach in security which it seems I can NEVER fix, unless I CANCEL
this email account. That is really SAD!!! and worse yet, it was TOTALLY
UNNECESSARY!!!
If Microsoft were honestly SERIOUS about network security, they would
alert ALL people to this security breach before allowing them to use
these newsgroups!!
I don't even want to imagine how much worse this would be if Bruce had
not alerted me to this issue at all, but I hope this message will
possibly assist others in avoiding the headaches I have had.
And Thanks A Lot Microsoft... I thought your mission was to provide
solutions to the masses, not to cause extra problems... but what do I
know anyway.
Best of Luck to All,
Sincerely,
D.
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