In article ,
Dave Hinz wrote:
On 9 Jun 2005 20:46:57 -0400, DoN. Nichols wrote:
In article ,
Dave Hinz wrote:
[ ... ]
If your web browser has never been set up for e-mail. it
shouldn't even *know* your e-mail address.
A web browser is not an email client is not a newsreader. Any app which
pretends to be all 3 will do all 3 poorly.
I agree fully -- though they tend to be better at being browsers
than anything else, as that is what they started from. I use separate
programs for each function.
But -- if it has, and if your browser has JavaScript enabled,
the web server (or a JavaScript served by it) can ask for the
information, and write it to a file. Probably the same could be done
with Java or Active-X if you have those enabled.
So, this would be a cookie fetch type thing? Someone drops a "this
guy's email address is (blah)" cookie, that others can fetch? Devious.
I *think* that the JavaScript fills in a hidden form, and posts
the information back to the page owner. I do know that when examining
the HTML in spams, I have found variables which will access whatever has
been filled in as the e-mail address.
Since I use my web browser only for web browsing, *never* for
e-mail, I've never set up the e-mail part, so I don't worry about that.
I'm no longer surprised by the things people do to their computers out
of ignorance/trust/laziness. So while I'd never think of doing it
either, I can see your point.
And some ISPs supply a browser as the default e-mail client
among other things. I think that AOL is a major offender in this
matter.
But -- I haven't seen the start of this thread. It is either
too old and has expired already (over 30 days on *my* server), or it was
posted on or through news servers which I block.
Ah, you block by newsserver as well? Would you be so kind as to mail me
a list to use as a starting point? I'm blocking all crossposts to 3 or
more groups, which helps immensely, but killfiling by newsserver of
origin makes a lot of sense too.
I've sent it.
FWIW, the one which matters to this newsgroup is news.alt.net,
which blocks Cass in all of his various names (since he has been forced
to go to a news server which *never* kicks anyone off -- they are
Libertarians). As it turns out, it also now zaps Ignoramus?? (what are
his two digits?), so I only see him as quoted by others. But he *moved*
to that news system by choice, and I'm not going to turn off the
blocking just because he did that. I can easily live without him. :-)
Enjoy,
DoN.
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