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Spartan198
03-15-2008, 21:24
I have a notebook that runs Vista,and recently I've been noticing a few alarming personal security issues (such as emails from individuals or companies claiming I emailed them and requested info on products and such that I'm in no way interested in,for example) and since I got my notebook from Rent-a-Center,I'm thinking about changing it over for something with a different operating system,but I'm not 100% on what exactly I should get?

Any suggestions and reasons why?

Omanes Alexandrapolites
03-15-2008, 21:51
Your problem is not in any way the OS, but more your e-mail application and/or e-mail provider allowing such e-mails through their filters.

These e-mails should not really cause any alarm - spammers target anybody and anyone, although certain combinations of provider and name are more vulnerable.

Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail, for example, is a frequent target since a large number of users use it. A provider such as BT Internet or Virgin Media may not be focused on so much - not many users stick to the e-mail address given to them by their ISP.

User names also can increase vulnerability. A name such as "John Smith" will probably end up being the target of a huge volume of spam - spammers try multiple combinations of first and last names when sending their spam out. More obscure names, such as "omanes.alexandrapolites@emailprovider.com" or "cannibalistic_rune_carver@emailprovider.com" probably would not be found so easily due to the words being used not especially common in e-mail addresses.

You may wish to try setting up an alternate e-mail account and/or turning on your e-mail provider's webmail spam filter (the method varies for different providers, so instructions cannot really be provided).

You may also want to try an application such as Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.getthunderbird.com/). Thunderbird, if trained well, is brilliant at detecting spam. Simply mark a few messages as junk and it will pick out 99% of dodgy mail after that. There also is the option to have rules set by SpamAssasin scan and pick up spam type e-mails in the preferences section too.

You do have to set up your account on Thunderbird though, but most e-mail providers give step-by-step guides to add your e-mail account to a third-party application.

~:)