Gary,
I was reading the thread when all of a sudden this message
flashed right
over the top of post i was reading. My folders were all closed
and all I
had open was the usenet. Never saw that sort of thing before
but I will say
that I've been getting 50 to 100 spam a day - 50% in Korean.
I'm so sick of
it I haven't posted anything anywhere and I was hesitant to say
anything
about this event. The whole spam thing is so tiresome that if
it happens
again I think that'll be it for the newsgroups.
Rgds,
Scott

If you are using a PC and a mail or news reader that allows you
to block senders, you can get rid of MOST of the Korean spam by
creating three "rules" to block them.

The first should block this character ± in the FROM box
The second should block the same character in the SUBJECT box
The third should block that character in the MESSAGE box

You create that character (±) by holding down the ALT key on your
PC and typing (from the numeric keypad) 0177

There's another character (the A with an umlaut over it) that you
should also make those three rules for, but I forget the ALT
numeric characters for it.

As for the other spam, most will come from bogus addresses, so
you need to get creative about blocking them. One method, that
gets rid of a number of them, is to block the phrase "feedback
form" in the MESSAGE box. Another is to block "to be removed" --
although that could catch some mailing lists which include that
phrase at the bottom of the messages, like we used to. You will
have to read some of that junk to find other repeated phrases,
then create blocks for them. There probably are common phrases
in those African relatives who offer to let you share their
wealth -- or that *&^%$#@ evangelical who bombards me about God
knows what.

A useful program that catches a lot of spam before it reaches
your mailbox is Mailwasher. www.mailwasher.com, I think. Or do
a search for it on Google.

Your popup sounds like something you caught from the web, not
from a newsgroup. The only advice I can offer there is:

1. to be very careful where you go, and
2. set your browser to accept NO cookies (which means you will
not be able to participate in interactive web pages), and
3. Use Ad Aware regularly (it's free). Also, visit their website
and get updates and the new data files with some regularity.

Those popup blockers that some folks tout are so much trouble to
set up that they're not worth the effort (IMHO). They also seem
to foul up your system if you have IE set to open pages in new
windows.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL -- Bonsai List
manager

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If it's a pop-up internet browser window, then you are the victim of
targeted spam. One such 'service' is EMERGEMESSENGER.COM. You should take
steps to anonymize your surfing and/or cloak your computer's IP address.

David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7)
Bunabayashi Bonsai On The World Wide Web: http://www.bunabayashi.com
email:


-----Original Message-----
From: Internet Bonsai Club ]On Behalf
Of sclark
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 11:15 PM
To:
Subject: [IBC] Pop ups on the news group


Gary,
I was reading the thread when all of a sudden this message flashed right
over the top of post i was reading. My folders were all closed and all I
had open was the usenet. Never saw that sort of thing before but
I will say
that I've been getting 50 to 100 spam a day - 50% in Korean. I'm
so sick of
it I haven't posted anything anywhere and I was hesitant to say anything
about this event. The whole spam thing is so tiresome that if it happens
again I think that'll be it for the newsgroups.
Rgds,
Scott

"Gary Woods" wrote in message
...
"Scott Clark" wrote:

I was reading about "fish tank water" and got a pop up selling a method
I'd
rather not describe.

What are you using to read the newsgroup? Your client shouldn't open
attachments without permission, and HTML in a newsgroup is very bad
manners. Or, was this something direct to the bonsai mailing list that
didn't get posted to the group?

This group has been remarkably spam-free so far.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G

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**************
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**************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++


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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

the web browser mozilla, which is used as the

Folks, she asked to be contacted PRIVATELY. Please do.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL -- Bonsai List
manager

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I was reading about "fish tank water" and got a pop up selling
a method I'd
rather not describe. Has anyone else experienced this. The
spam is bad but
if this is the new thing then my participation on the web is
over.
Let me know.
Rgds,
Scott Clark

You need to start practicing "safe computing." ;-)

The pops were NOT a part of the IBC. Nor, I suspect were they a
product of the originator of that message, though I suppose it is
possible.

News groups are a more "dangerous" method of reading material on
the web than mailing lists. They are open to everyone -- which
is very democratic, but offers the unscrupulous many ways into
your computer.

The IBC is accessible via news group AND mailing list (same
messages).

Mailing lists require a subscription, and while I do not have the
list set up to require my personal approval of each subscription
I DO require the subscriber to verify his subscription. MOST
spammers, etc. don't do this. I also have the list set up in a
way that does not allow attachments (which would include the
popups, or viruses), something that I cannot do for the NG.
Folks on the mailing list didn't get any popups from the "fish
tank water" post. I also "watch" new subscribers for a while,
and can (and have) zapped the very few that misbehave.

The popup MAY not have had anything to do with your use of the
news group. The most common way to "catch" these is to visit an
unscrupulous web site that is filled with tons of bells and
whistles ("dancing bears, etc.), including ads. These folks
often -- VERY often -- will plant things on your computer that
can come back to haunt you.

Go to www.lavasoft.nu and download a copy of Ad Aware and its
latest data file, then scan your computer and see how many
nasties of this type it finds. Then clean them away.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL -- Bonsai List
manager

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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Spam is a way of the Internet. Check some of the archives, which help
to eliminate spam.

Carl L. Rosner

Scott Clark wrote:

I was reading about "fish tank water" and got a pop up selling a method I'd
rather not describe. Has anyone else experienced this. The spam is bad but
if this is the new thing then my participation on the web is over.
Let me know.
Rgds,
Scott Clark




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