Lesigner Girl
Minerva
Head of Runboard staff
Registered: 11-2005
Posts: 9606
Karma: 132 (+147/-15)
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Disable emailed images by default! Why?
Here's why. I received this email today:
Subject: Yo
From: Debra
I knew it wasn't from anyone I knew, but I went ahead and clicked on it. All it had was an image that was disabled through my email default settings. When I viewed the source code of the message, here's what it said:
<img src="http://www.slytalent.com/unsubscribe.php?email=[email protected]">
[email protected] was actually my email address, and this was obviously a web beacon. If I had images set to load by default, this would have told the sender that my email address exists and is active, which would have made it worth more money to the spammers who buy email lists.
For this reason, make sure your email is set to disable images by default. Every email provider and email client (to my knowledge) makes it easy to enable images on a case-by-case basis, or to put certain senders (like Runboard.com) on a safe list.
Of course, I did send a report to the abuse contact for slytalent.com's domain registrar, since that's where the web beacon was hosted.
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6/25/2014, 6:19 am
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Mark Long
Citizen
Registered: 10-2006
Province: Hyde Park, NY
Posts: 4
Karma: 2 (+2/-0)
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Re: Disable emailed images by default! Why?
Check this link out if you use the Gmail's Web client.
http://www.wired.com/2013/12/turn-gmail-auto-image-loading-off/
--- Mark Long
88 CRX #00 SMC
97 Civic #217 SLS
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7/20/2014, 3:06 pm
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PM Mark Long
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Lesigner Girl
Minerva
Head of Runboard staff
Registered: 11-2005
Posts: 9606
Karma: 132 (+147/-15)
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Re: Disable emailed images by default! Why?
Thanks, Mark!
Stop by any time!
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7/21/2014, 6:29 am
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