untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
UNCLASSIFIEDHFeR eFFl61AL I:ISE 8NLY
of his free page users started sending newsgroup and email spam in violation of
Joe's rules. When Joe terminated the user's free account, the spammer retaliated
with forged messages that appeared to be from Joe Doll. The angry recipients of the
spam that appeared to be from Joe in turn retaliated by attacking Doll's website,
shutting it down for 10 days.
Because Joe jobbing is so easy to accomplish-sometimes nothing more than
changing the Reply-to address is required-it's very hard to prevent. The best way
to avoid being Joe jobbed is to follow the general rules for spam avoidance (and we
all know how well these work). However, Joe jobbing tends to involve retaliation and
is personal whereas spam is about as impersonal and universal as anything can get,
so most people will be victims of the latter but not the former. Still, these are wise
precautions for avoiding both the Joe job and spam.
~ Don't unsubscribe from anything. Unsubscribing lets spammers know they
have a valid email address.
~ Don't open web-based emails as it also alerts spammers to a valid address.
~ Don't open spam; simply opening spam may activate a script or web bug that
alerts a spammer to a valid email address.
~ Don't send and receive HTML email; it may contain code that alerts a
spammer to a valid email address.
~ Do not sign Guestbooks or, if you must, use a disposable email address, such
as a Hotmail or Yahoo email account.
~ Do not post your email address on a website. Email spiders can easily find
and harvest your email address for spammers.
~ Be very careful about signing up for anything free that requires your email
address, especially newsletters.
~ If you have ever posted to a newsgroup using your real email address.Jt's
gone. Spammers have it. Get a new address.
For even more ways spammers gather email addresses and ways to avoid being
harvested, see:
How Spammers Get Your Email Address
http://www.junk-mail.org.uk/articles/spam.html
558 UNCLASSIFIEDHFeR 8FFl6IAL I:ISE m~bY