[SC-Help] Re: Spammers getting smarter?

[Mike Easter]

Jeff wrote:
> Do you know how to open these e-mails without
> notifying the Spammers that it was opened?

There are several issues here, but I'll try to focus on one small area
at a time.  My personal opinion is that you shouldn't be opening or
previewing spam or virms.  The spams should have been sorted into the
Junk folder with some kind of filter which can 'comb' through the
headers and body effectively identifying spams so that they don't
populate your Inbox.  I use SpamPal.  You should *not* be examining spam
subjects and spam froms with your human eyeballs which are connected to
your human brain which is connected to your human interest and curiosity
and confusion and amusement to decide what is spam and what is not and
most definitely you should not be opening spams to see if they are spam.

Now, given that all of the spam is in the Junk folder and not the Inbox,
there is no reason to open the spams in the Junk folder unless you are
some kind of 'advanced' spamfighter who is an investigator of some kind
who has need to either render known spams or visit spamsites for
purposes of the advanced attack on some element of the spammer's issue.

Most people who are using spamcop are simply reporting that spam, and it
is a rare spam which needs to be rendered in order to accurately report
it.  So, you can spamcop report spams without opening them by either
accessing them by the message properties to paste the item into the
webparser or by mailing the closed item as an attachment to the submit
address.  During the examination of the spamcop parse such things as
innocent bystanders in a spam can almost always be perceived in the
spams which have never been opened or previewed.

In the very unusual situation that a spam needs to be opened, it can be
opened in OE6 without rendering html by configuring to read as plaintext
in OE/ Tools/ Options/ Read tab - check read messages in plaintext.  You
can also toggle OE to go offline by putting an online/offline toggle in
your toolbar, or by using File/ Work Offline to prevent webbug access if
you are rendering spams for some reason in spite of my opinion.  Your
preview function should be disabled in OE/ View/ Layout - Preview Pane -
uncheck Show preview pane.  The other configuration that some people use
is in OE/ Tools/ Options/ Security - check do not allow attachments to
be opened or saved.  Those of us who don't open spam or virms can be
configured differently than those who do.


-- 
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin