Re: tons of spam

[Michael Klinosky <mpk2@xxxxxxxxx>]

alan:
> And not all spam mail addresses are harvested. Some spammers just guess 
> the obvious ones.

Here's my $.02 ...

Last year, I set up a computer for my 70-something-year-old Mother. I 
had to explain _EVERYTHING_ (e.g. how to use the mouse). Of course, I 
included internet access.

I created an email address from a service that my ISP offers, and 
educated her on the fine art of email. Within a /month/ of this, she was 
getting spam. She has NOT used a maillist yet! That address is not 
available publicly *anywhere* (she barely knows how to surf the web).

Maybe it was harvested from other computers (she gave it to some 
relatives); perhaps someone has a virus that sends the address book to a 
spammer. Or, maybe (for those with Windows), MicroSludge harvests email 
addresses from peoples' computers?

Futhermore, I also created one for myself (as an alternate). I gave it 
to NOBODY. I don't recall getting any spam to that address.