New steel industry discussion board

Date 12-20-2004 14:13

The last time I took the bait and joined in on a Yahoo welding chat room, I was inundated with spam for all types of unwelcomed topics, almost noe of whicj was welding related. I couldn't even remove my address from the group list to get it stopped. Why should I trust that your board is any different?

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 12-22-2004 09:12

Hey Chet!

I agree if you're using Internet Explorer as your web browser!!!

Now if you want to avoid alot if not all of the spamware that gets into your puter, then use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser.
You'll see the difference almost immediately...
Of course it does'nt hurt to have Spybot and Adaware SE to clean out your system of the nasty spyware that's floating around in cyberspace.

If I want to explore the "unknown" while I'm online, I use Mozilla because the spamware, spyware, malware or whatever you want to call it- that's out in cyberspace is designed to be used with Internet Explorer, not with Mozilla Firefox!!! Best of all is that it's free to download, so check it out.

On another note, I want to wish everyone a Happy and SAFE HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Respectfully,
SSBN727 Run Silent... Run Deep!!!

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 12-22-2004 15:40

Merry Christmas Mighty Submariner!

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 12-24-2004 03:59

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO MY FRIENDS!!!

SIR LAWRENCE of AMERICA!!! CHET the ANSWERMAN!!!
I have'nt heard from JOHNNY be GOOD WRIGHT but, same to you buddy!!! Whoops!!! I almost forgot BILL, BRANDE, CHALL, DGXL, GRoberts, Pipewelder1999, and RON G with his quick wit!!!
In case I forgot anyone, MERRY CHRISTMAS to EVERY ONE on the AWS FORUM!!!! You too WEBMASTER Keiko!!!

Seriously Gents, I do'nt know how I would've made it through this year without all of your help, support and wisdom so, thanks to you ALL!!!

Respectfully,

SSBN727 Run Silent... Run Deep!!!

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 12-25-2004 08:19

Concurring wishes to you and all, and appropriate wishes to those who may celebrate other holidays at this time of year.
Bill

By CHGuilford (****)

Date 12-22-2004 17:17

Thanks for the info Henry. Actually, I don't even have the internet at home anymore. I got a virus that disabled my anti-virus program and wreaked general havoc so I cancelled my ISP for now. I had all the upgrades (subscription for the Norton program, Windows updates and Spybot) but............. I don't have enough time to keep up with all the new 'stuff' so it's on hold for the moment.

I do remember the Yahoo buletin board being clogged up with male enhancements, female enhancements, home equity loans, personals, insurance ads, get rich quick scams, x-rated ads, and so forth. When someone did say something about welding, they often got flamed by the self-appointed experts. As it was at that time, I saw no value in participating but could not get removed from the board to save my life. I will not make that mistake again.

Thank you on the safe wishes. I hope you and yours are safe, warm, and happy this season.

Chet Guilford

By HgTX

Date 12-23-2004 23:45

Are you talking about spam from the group, or just increased spam in general because your address got into the clutches of the spammers? If it came through the group, you can contact the group administrator and have them make sure that only group subscribers can post, and then if subscribers are spamming, they can get thrown off the group. If that doesn't help, you can complain to Yahoo and they can shut the group down if it's abusing its own charter.

One way to protect yourself while checking out a new group might be to sign up but check the box that says, "Don't send me anything; I'll read it all on the website". Then if it looks like a decent board, you could switch to having it send you the emails. I think there are also settings for how public your address is made on those groups (which will minimize the chances of spammers harvesting it, but if your email address is posted anywhere on the web, like on your own business website, it's vulnerable).

And a way to protect yourself from almost all viruses is never to open attachments. Make sure your mail program is not set to open them automatically, make sure Windows is set to show *all* file extensions (otherwise xxx.jpg.exe could like like a perfectly safe xxx.jpg), and when someone sends you something, email them back and ask them if they really did send it.

These days I have virus software and firewalls and all that good stuff, but for years I didn't have any virus software at all and never had any problems. I keep a Yahoo account just to handle attachments--when someone sends me an attachment, I forward it over to Yahoo and use their online virus checker before I open it.

By CHGuilford (****)

Date 12-27-2004 14:22

Actually, Hg, I believe I got spam from both sources. I really don't remember all the details, but thought I had taken the proper steps. I don't have much time for keeping up with all the intricacies of Yahoo discussion groups, so I don't go there anymore. But I do clearly remember that particular board being overrun with ads that had nothing to do with welding. And many of the few welding topics ended up being flaming sessions where the participants verbally traded blows when often both were wrong anyway.
As I have mentioned before, I appreciate this AWS bulletin board because of the helpful and knowledgeable folks who offer their advice without passing judgment. What few problems we have seen have been quickly resolved.
I am sure there are other websites that are just as good, and I wouldn't want to talk anyone out of checking those out. I simply feel that a caution is in order to avoid problems.

Chet Guilford