Internet > Interesting Websites

Websites grabbing your email address the moment you merely visit them

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Weaver:
Spam nightmares. See:
    https://medium.com/@fredbenenson/browsing-your-website-does-not-mean-i-want-your-spam-3821267e902

sevenlayermuddle:
Depressing.   >:(

As a rule whenever a website, even one that I trust, requires me to 'Register', or even just supply an email address, unless there is no other option, I leave the site and take my business elsewhere.  Sometimes, like paying utility bills, it can be done by phone instead, which I generally also do.

But modern life would be impossible without making exceptions to that rule, and I just haven't the time or the legal skills to pour over T&C of every website to see if they might be participating in dirty (but legal) tricks such as this.  :(

Weaver:
In this case it seems to be that the breach of trust begins with Facebook or similar, as they're the only people who know your email address to begin with.

sevenlayermuddle:

--- Quote from: Weaver on August 11, 2016, 03:30:03 PM ---In this case it seems to be that the breach of trust begins with Facebook or similar, as they're the only people who know your email address to begin with.

--- End quote ---

Indeed, but thinking more upon the 'exploit' since it depends upon getting a 'respectable' site to play ball.... I wonder if it can be largely mitigated by forming a habit of always logging out when done, which is an excellent habit at the best of times?   

I would expect 'respectable' services to delete cookies that identify a specific individual once they log out.  Moreover, if the same exploit continued to work after logging out, and the computer were shared between different people, the email address might be wrong.  That would make it much less valuable for onward sale. :-\

Chrysalis:
Tons of sites share email's out its a sad state of affairs.

A couple of years ago I did some tests with spare domains and about 200 email accounrs, about 100 were used to sign up to various forums, game sites, news subscriptions, and posting on blogs (which for some reason require you to enter a email address, odd eh),

Over half of the email addresses started getting spam shorty after been used.  The unused email accounts did not get a single spam and I could see from mail logs then spam was 'not' sent out speculatively (like random@domain.com), they knew these were live addresses.

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