BIG uptick in E-mail hacking attempts -- anyone else notice?

i think bob wilson mentioned this as well, iirc. are you gmail?

 

i wonder if google does a better job of blocking this stuff.

 

well, they're probably still in the closet.

 

Think of the let-down for bisco though ... have you no empathy?

-Chap

 

So this evening I was checking my Gmail SPAM trap and there was one from AutoWeek, a magazine I respected:

Dear Autoweek Clan of the Car member,

I suppose I could have opened with the greeting, "Dear Subscriber (or Current Occupant)," but that would not have properly reflected the relationship you have with Autoweek or the relationship Autoweek has with you. As someone who spends nearly 83 minutes with each issue, who is part of an industry-leading renewal rate, with a publication that is only available by subscription—no newsstand—your relationship with us, and with the car, is deep and unique.

That's why you've been chosen to take this survey: You care about cars, you're involved with the car as a lifestyle and your friends come to you for your opinion.

Now it is our turn to come to you for your point of view.

You are a member of the Clan of the Car, and for that we are eternally grateful. For this reason, we'd ask you to take the enclosed survey about Chevrolet advertising and let us know what you think.​

I should have walked away but I hit 'submit' and popped into Survey Monkey. Yes, there were two Chevy ads, On-Star and Volt, and questions about the ads. Well I called them trash and a waste of my time. But that was probably not their goal. This 'sophisticated' SPAM was out to waste my eyes looking at their cr*p.

So I forwarded this to the AutoWeek "customer service" not that it will do any good:

Dear editor,

Never send me crap like this again. Near as I can tell it was a scam to get me to 'read' two f*ckin' Chevy ads which I completely hated because:

1) No technical content
2) No engineering specifications
3) No performance graphs or characteristics

If it is your intention to turn "AutoWeek" into the "Esquire" of automotive magazines, well we may have to part ways. I left Consumer Reports because of their blatant bias towards cars that resemble "the comfy chair" of Monte Python. The news stand cars are full of snark about hybrids and pretty much written for "Trump voters" (i.e., low information.)

I like your magazine because it includes factual historical information and you are completely fair regardless of the technology including EVs, hybrids, diesel, and gassers. That is the information I seek. But these two Chevy ads about their 5 year old technology ... boring with all gloss and weak technical content. No, it was a waste and abuse of my normally good and pleasant nature.​

Bob Wilson

 

I've noticed myself doing less of that since I cut back the caffeine.

-Chap

 

This is a problem you should bring up with mailworks.

I highly doubt the two are related. Even if hackers gained access to EVERYTHING on your PC account, I don't see why that would make them any more likely to try to hack you. Stuff like your e-mail address, name, and even location are very easy to find for anyone who wants to put a tiny bit of effort in. I doubt they could get anything from PC that would make them think they could be much more successful at hacking you than they would be otherwise.

If you can remember it, then there's certainly a chance it can be hacked, especially if it's not 20+ characters. I use a random password generator and an encrypted password manager to store all of my passwords. I don't know a single one of mine, and they are all as long and complicated as they are allowed to be. Two-factor authentication should always be used when available as well. If I were you, I would start using a password manager. If you need help with that, shoot me a message (you seem savvy enough that I'm sure you can figure it out, I'm just offering).

I just registered that username. If you want it, you'll have to buy me a brand new '16 Prius.

 

I'm going to get large amount of money from a Nigerian King

 

lol.....that is awesome

 

Now if I could only get those emails from the Russian women wanting to date me. Lol.

 

Ha ha ha, OMG, too funny. That looks like the girls that "want to meet me" on POF.

 

Holy &*^$.......she means business. And I'm glad I stuck with online dating sites