• Gmail Conspiracy

    From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to All on Tue Feb 25 18:36:44 2025
    I try not to take my cellphone with me anywhere because I don't like to receive phone calls or texts while I'm out and about. And since my wife always takes her phone everywhere, I thought that I could log in to my Gmail account on her phone if needed.

    I was wrong. I can't do that. It said "You're trying to log in on an unknown device." So then to verify that "it's really me," Gmail offered to send a code to my phone. But that wouldn't work because I didn't have my phone with me. There was a button that said "Try another way.." but that literally was a fake button and it didn't do anything.

    So Google is trying to teach guys like me a lesson: "Take your phone with you everywhere, or else you won't be able to touch your Gmail account."

    And the other part of it is "We're in charge, we're gonna monitor your movements, we're gonna emit radon from your phone's battery, and you're gonna sniff the shit out of it, or else you ain't gonna be checkin no email."

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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Aaron Thomas on Wed Feb 26 06:06:43 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to All <=-

    I try not to take my cellphone with me anywhere because I don't like to receive phone calls or texts while I'm out and about. And since my wife always takes her phone everywhere, I thought that I could log in to my Gmail account on her phone if needed.

    Why would you need to check your gmail account? Are you on call?

    There's a lot to be said, as I'm sure you've seen, of going for a walk
    and being present. I listen to podcasts on walks, but leaving the house
    with just me and my dog is a welcome change.

    We could all be more present.




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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Kurt Weiske on Wed Feb 26 07:49:44 2025
    receive phone calls or texts while I'm out and about. And since my wi always takes her phone everywhere, I thought that I could log in to m Gmail account on her phone if needed.

    Why would you need to check your gmail account? Are you on call?

    Sometimes I'm out somewhere and I decide that I want to buy something, but then I'll need to do a transfer in my online banking, and my online banking requires 2 factor authentication.

    There's a lot to be said, as I'm sure you've seen, of going for a walk
    and being present. I listen to podcasts on walks, but leaving the house with just me and my dog is a welcome change.

    There's a lot to gain by leaving your phone at home (until you need to check your Gmail.) People look like dicks when they are glued to their phones all the time. Have you ever had a conversation with a person who was staring at a phone? (It's not friendly.)

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to Aaron Thomas on Wed Feb 26 10:16:00 2025
    I try not to take my cellphone with me anywhere because I don't like to receive phone calls or texts while I'm out and about. And since my wife always takes her phone everywhere, I thought that I could log in to my Gmail account on her phone if needed.

    I was wrong. I can't do that. It said "You're trying to log in on an unknown device." So then to verify that "it's really me," Gmail offered
    to send a code to my phone. But that wouldn't work because I didn't
    have my phone with me. There was a button that said "Try another way.." but that literally was a fake button and it didn't do anything.

    So Google is trying to teach guys like me a lesson: "Take your phone
    with you everywhere, or else you won't be able to touch your Gmail account."

    This isn't a conspiracy but a security feature that prevents others from accessing your email account. In the case of google, I don't remember for sure, but the "Try another way" probably only works if you have set up
    another verification contact method for your gmail account. If you only
    gave it a phone number to text you at, there are no "another ways" left for
    it to try.



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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Mike Powell on Wed Feb 26 16:51:02 2025
    So Google is trying to teach guys like me a lesson: "Take your phone with you everywhere, or else you won't be able to touch your Gmail account."

    This isn't a conspiracy but a security feature that prevents others from accessing your email account. In the case of google, I don't remember
    for sure, but the "Try another way" probably only works if you have set
    up another verification contact method for your gmail account. If you only gave it a phone number to text you at, there are no "another ways" left for it to try.

    I checked my google settings (security section) and 2-step verification is turned off, and I have a "recovery email" address listed, but the "Try another way" button didn't offer to contact me via my recovery email address.

    2-factor verification is turned off, and Google does NOT make me use 2-factor verification when I access my account through my phone or my PC, but the malfunction only occurs when I try to access my account from someone else's phone.

    I suspect (maybe I really am crazy) that it's an phone issue. I had the same issue when I tried to access my google account from my daughter's iphone. They want to know who is who, and where everyone is, at all times. It seems to be some kind of ED treatment for somebody at the Google HQ. :)

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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Thu Feb 27 01:25:00 2025
    I try not to take my cellphone with me anywhere because I don't like to recei
    >phone calls or texts while I'm out and about. And since my wife always takes
    > phone everywhere, I thought that I could log in to my Gmail account on her p
    >e if needed.

    I was wrong. I can't do that. It said "You're trying to log in on an unknown
    >ice." So then to verify that "it's really me," Gmail offered to send a code t
    >y phone. But that wouldn't work because I didn't have my phone with me. There
    >s a button that said "Try another way.." but that literally was a fake button
    >d it didn't do anything.

    I've never been a big fan of Gmail, although you pretty much have to
    sign up for it to keep your Phone and Tablet updated. What I did was
    go to gMail and set it up to forward all incoming mail to my other
    main eMail address so I don't miss anything and anyone I do want to
    reply to I can reply from my other eMail address and switch them over.

    Another thing I do.. I don't have a wife I can rely on for a second
    cell phone so I take mine with me if I'm leaving the house for any
    length of time, but I don't like being disturbed either so, unless
    I'm expecting a serious call, I put the phone on Airplane Mode.
    This saves battery power but allows for a quick startup if needed
    and the phone is still functional for a lot of other things like
    Camera and Games or as an eReader, etc..

    Another option is putting it on Do Not Disturb mode, which I have
    set up to only allow through calls from people in my Contacts list,
    which at least blocks Spam calls and such..

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Thu Feb 27 09:22:00 2025
    There's a lot to be said, as I'm sure you've seen, of going for a walk
    and being present. I listen to podcasts on walks, but leaving the house
    with just me and my dog is a welcome change.

    We could all be more present.

    Unless I am planning to use the camera for something, I don't take my phone
    on walks.


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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Thu Feb 27 09:59:00 2025
    This isn't a conspiracy but a security feature that prevents others from accessing your email account. In the case of google, I don't remember for sure, but the "Try another way" probably only works if you have set up another verification contact method for your gmail account. If you only gave it a phone number to text you at, there are no "another ways" left for it to try.

    I checked my google settings (security section) and 2-step verification is turned off, and I have a "recovery email" address listed, but the "Try another
    way" button didn't offer to contact me via my recovery email address.

    This is something different that 2-factor. In my case, if I try to access
    my accounts from my PC and the browser is in a private/incognito window,
    google will ask me to verify via an app on my phone (youtube, for example).
    IIRC, Facebook does the same thing.

    It is because google/FB/etc. doesn't recognize the device you are trying to access your account from (private/incognito browsers, in my case, always
    use a different device ID) and wants to know it is you. My 2-factor is
    also turned off for some of the services, but this will still happen if I try to access the account via an unknown device.

    If you have also linked your spouse's phone number to your account, I
    wonder if it would give you the option to have the code forwarded to her
    phone?

    2-factor verification is turned off, and Google does NOT make me use 2-factor verification when I access my account through my phone or my PC, but the malfunction only occurs when I try to access my account from someone else's phone.

    It doesn't make me use it if I try to access YT or Gmail from my PC (so
    long as I am using the same PC and also not a private session). It is the unrecognized device... phone, PC, tablet, or otherwise... that is
    triggering this feature.


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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Aaron Thomas on Thu Feb 27 08:07:53 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

    Sometimes I'm out somewhere and I decide that I want to buy something,
    but then I'll need to do a transfer in my online banking, and my online banking requires 2 factor authentication.

    That makes sense. I get it.

    There's a lot to be said, as I'm sure you've seen, of going for a walk
    and being present. I listen to podcasts on walks, but leaving the house with just me and my dog is a welcome change.

    There's a lot to gain by leaving your phone at home (until you need to check your Gmail.) People look like dicks when they are glued to their phones all the time. Have you ever had a conversation with a person who was staring at a phone? (It's not friendly.)

    We have friends, my age (approaching 60) that, with a gap in the
    conversation with reach for their phones - when at restaurants, or even
    at our house having a glass of wine. When you think that social networks
    were designed with the input from behaviorists to be addictive, it makes
    sense.

    Did I mention that my daughter's high school is having phone-free
    Fridays? It's interesting seeing her reaction. Mostly her issue is with
    not being able to locate her friends at lunch. They turn on location
    services and let each other see where they are... :|

    I said that people are creatures of habit, and you could probably just
    go to where you always go and meet up with them.









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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Mike Powell on Thu Feb 27 08:07:54 2025
    Mike Powell wrote to Aaron Thomas <=-

    This isn't a conspiracy but a security feature that prevents others
    from accessing your email account. In the case of google, I don't remember for sure, but the "Try another way" probably only works if you have set up another verification contact method for your gmail account.
    If you only gave it a phone number to text you at, there are no
    "another ways" left for it to try.

    I wondered about the notion of SIM stealing, where someone swaps your
    number to compromise 2FA. Does anyone do that? Seems awfully directed,
    unless I have millions in bitcoin I assume I'm safe from that.

    I do like TOTP, I've been using Authy, and having a means of backing up
    the seeds is nice. It's a pain when your phone crashes and you need to
    re-set up MFA.

    Hint - use a password manager to save MFA backup codes.

    I found out Keepass can even generate TOTP from within the app!



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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Rob Mccart on Thu Feb 27 13:38:32 2025
    I've never been a big fan of Gmail, although you pretty much have to
    sign up for it to keep your Phone and Tablet updated. What I did was
    go to gMail and set it up to forward all incoming mail to my other
    main eMail address so I don't miss anything and anyone I do want to
    reply to I can reply from my other eMail address and switch them over.

    That's a good idea, and that's my plan. But before I go through the long process of changing my email address everywhere, I want to set up my own email server. I've started working on that but it's kind of difficult (for me.)

    length of time, but I don't like being disturbed either so, unless
    I'm expecting a serious call, I put the phone on Airplane Mode.
    This saves battery power but allows for a quick startup if needed
    and the phone is still functional for a lot of other things like
    Camera and Games or as an eReader, etc..

    Thanks for those tips. I used to get a lot of spam calls but luckily that seems to have slowed down lately.

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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Mike Powell on Thu Feb 27 13:45:10 2025
    2-factor verification is turned off, and Google does NOT make me use 2-f verification when I access my account through my phone or my PC, but the malfunction only occurs when I try to access my account from someone els phone.

    It doesn't make me use it if I try to access YT or Gmail from my PC (so long as I am using the same PC and also not a private session). It is
    the unrecognized device... phone, PC, tablet, or otherwise... that is triggering this feature.

    My wife's PC is connected to our printer, so whenever I want to print something I use an incognito tab on her PC, and my password is all that Google ever asks for. I insist that they're picking on me. I've made 1 too many reptilian jokes on the internet :)

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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Kurt Weiske on Thu Feb 27 13:59:28 2025
    We have friends, my age (approaching 60) that, with a gap in the conversation with reach for their phones - when at restaurants, or even
    at our house having a glass of wine. When you think that social networks were designed with the input from behaviorists to be addictive, it makes sense.

    I'm glad that I'm not the only person noticing that the left has friends in all the right places.

    Did I mention that my daughter's high school is having phone-free
    Fridays? It's interesting seeing her reaction. Mostly her issue is with not being able to locate her friends at lunch. They turn on location services and let each other see where they are... :|

    Phones are completely banned in my kid's school, and the governor and her monkeys are going to ban them in all NY schools in the near future. I'm surprised that we're ahead of California on this.

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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Mike Powell on Thu Feb 27 15:22:35 2025
    Re: Re: Gmail Conspiracy
    By: Mike Powell to KURT WEISKE on Thu Feb 27 2025 09:22 am

    Unless I am planning to use the camera for something, I don't take my phone on walks.

    Back when I ran, I had a Kodak MC3 - it was a little multimedia widget before its time. It had a crappy camera that took stills, movies, and played MP3s. I'd load a bunch of hair metal songs onto the CF card, and could take photos and videos along the way, without being connected to the internet.

    https://www.kataan.org/kodak-mc3-camera-review/
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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Fri Feb 28 07:57:00 2025
    It doesn't make me use it if I try to access YT or Gmail from my PC (so long as I am using the same PC and also not a private session). It is the unrecognized device... phone, PC, tablet, or otherwise... that is triggering this feature.

    My wife's PC is connected to our printer, so whenever I want to print somethin
    I use an incognito tab on her PC, and my password is all that Google ever asks
    for. I insist that they're picking on me. I've made 1 too many reptilian jokes
    on the internet :)

    If you want to verify that, see if the PC logon described above still
    works. If it doesn't, the reptiles are on to you! :O :D


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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Fri Feb 28 08:03:00 2025
    Unless I am planning to use the camera for something, I don't take my phone
    on walks.

    Back when I ran, I had a Kodak MC3 - it was a little multimedia widget before its time. It had a crappy camera that took stills, movies, and played MP3s. I'
    load a bunch of hair metal songs onto the CF card, and could take photos and videos along the way, without being connected to the internet.

    I have an "action camera," an Akaso Brave 6+, should I ever be motivated
    enough to pick up running. ;) I have used it to take stills and footage.
    The footage is pretty good. For stills, I prefer my purpose built camera.

    IIRC, the 6+ was the last version before they started adding "social media friendly" accessories (like a second screen on the front) which, in order
    to keep the small "action camera" profile, forced them to have to
    compromise on picture quality by removing/downsizing other bits.

    Mike

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Fri Feb 28 08:25:00 2025
    Did I mention that my daughter's high school is having phone-free Fridays? It's interesting seeing her reaction. Mostly her issue is with not being able to locate her friends at lunch. They turn on location services and let each other see where they are... :|

    Phones are completely banned in my kid's school, and the governor and her monkeys are going to ban them in all NY schools in the near future. I'm surprised that we're ahead of California on this.

    I think it is a good idea. We don't need another generation of social
    media addicts.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Mike Powell on Fri Feb 28 10:41:52 2025
    Phones are completely banned in my kid's school, and the governor and he monkeys are going to ban them in all NY schools in the near future. I'm surprised that we're ahead of California on this.

    I think it is a good idea. We don't need another generation of social media addicts.

    Yea but parents want to keep in contact with their kids (I know I do.) They're shutting off our communication with our kids without first solving the problem of unpredictable school shootings.

    I hope and literally pray that it never happens in my kids' schools, but if there's ever an issue at one of the schools then I want to be able to contact my kid without having to go through the staff members.

    Our kids know enough not to pull out their bird and pee on the floor in the classroom, so why shouldn't they also know the rules about pulling out the cellphone during class? The school is intentionally cutting off our communication with our kids and it makes me and a handful of other parents very angry.

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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Sat Mar 1 01:56:00 2025
    I've never been a big fan of Gmail, although you pretty much have to
    sign up for it to keep your Phone and Tablet updated. What I did was
    go to gMail and set it up to forward all incoming mail to my other
    main eMail address so I don't miss anything and anyone I do want to
    reply to I can reply from my other eMail address and switch them over.

    That's a good idea, and that's my plan. But before I go through the long proc
    > of changing my email address everywhere, I want to set up my own email serve
    >I've started working on that but it's kind of difficult (for me.)

    What exactly will an eMail server do? eMail seems to be a light enough
    duty thing that it wouldn't require a lot of processing power or
    storage unless you're doing something really big, like at a corporate
    level.

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Sat Mar 1 11:01:00 2025
    Yea but parents want to keep in contact with their kids (I know I do.) They're
    shutting off our communication with our kids without first solving the problem
    of unpredictable school shootings.

    If that was my concern, I would give the kid one of those real simple
    phones that can make phone calls and maybe text and that is about it. They don't need a smart phone while they are in school.

    I hope and literally pray that it never happens in my kids' schools, but if there's ever an issue at one of the schools then I want to be able to contact my kid without having to go through the staff members.

    Understandable.

    Our kids know enough not to pull out their bird and pee on the floor in the classroom, so why shouldn't they also know the rules about pulling out the cellphone during class? The school is intentionally cutting off our communication with our kids and it makes me and a handful of other parents ver
    angry.

    Because a social media addiction, just like a drug addiction, is a much
    more powerful urge than needing to piss the floor.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Rob Mccart on Sat Mar 1 09:59:28 2025
    That's a good idea, and that's my plan. But before I go through the lon AT>proc
    > of changing my email address everywhere, I want to set up my own email
    > serve
    >I've started working on that but it's kind of difficult (for me.)

    What exactly will an eMail server do? eMail seems to be a light enough duty thing that it wouldn't require a lot of processing power or
    storage unless you're doing something really big, like at a corporate level.

    So far I've got an email server set up that I can use to send and receive text-based email. I'm using the SMTP protocol. But my limitations that I'm trying to overcome are:

    1) I need to start using the IMAP and/or POP3 protocols so that I can:
    2) easily set up mail client software like Thunderbird
    3) view and handle emails and attachments more easily
    4) utilize a webmail client like Roundcube

    Also I'm hoping to eventually manage a user database for email accounts so that I can share this email server with other people.

    I'm new at email administration so still I have a lot to figure out and understand. But doesn't the thought of getting all that done sound pretty cool?

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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Mike Powell on Sat Mar 1 10:02:42 2025
    Yea but parents want to keep in contact with their kids (I know I do.) They're
    shutting off our communication with our kids without first solving the problem
    of unpredictable school shootings.

    If that was my concern, I would give the kid one of those real simple phones that can make phone calls and maybe text and that is about it. They don't need a smart phone while they are in school.

    That was my initial reaction, but I asked if that would be ok and they said "no." Then I asked if I could give her a long range walkie talkie and they even said "no" to that (which contradicts their "social media" narrative bigtime.)

    Because a social media addiction, just like a drug addiction, is a much more powerful urge than needing to piss the floor.

    Right, but see above...

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Sat Mar 1 13:15:00 2025
    If that was my concern, I would give the kid one of those real simple phones that can make phone calls and maybe text and that is about it. They don't need a smart phone while they are in school.

    That was my initial reaction, but I asked if that would be ok and they said "no." Then I asked if I could give her a long range walkie talkie and they eve
    said "no" to that (which contradicts their "social media" narrative bigtime.)

    Because a social media addiction, just like a drug addiction, is a much more powerful urge than needing to piss the floor.

    Right, but see above...

    hmmmm, if that is the case then it does not sound good. OT1H, I can
    understand them not wanting you to be able to call in at anytime and
    distrupt class. OTOH, the kid should have a way to contact you if there is trouble.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/201 to Mike Powell on Sat Mar 1 15:52:50 2025
    hmmmm, if that is the case then it does not sound good. OT1H, I can understand them not wanting you to be able to call in at anytime and distrupt class. OTOH, the kid should have a way to contact you if there is trouble.

    It's ridiculous. I want to fight it, but at the same time I don't want to irritate them too much because I don't want them to retaliate against my kid.

    They are Democrats.

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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Tue Mar 4 01:07:00 2025
    The problem now? SPAM and mail providers. The same companies agressively bloc
    >g inbound email are doing so knowing that anyone running their own mail serve
    >s *not* running on their service, exposing their mail to search indexers, sel
    >g ads to you, etc. They'd much rather you just give up and use their email se
    >ce.

    They may not even block based on your mail content and setup, but block your
    >l because you're on an IP address that looks suspicious. Lots of luck getting
    >f of a blocklist...

    I tend to use mail services that are free and have very little controls
    over them, but I do occasionally run into some bigger providers blocking exhange from those places claiming there is too much Spam being sent
    from them.. but so far I've been lucky enough that they will unblock
    me if I answer that eMail, with a warning not to do that, not that I
    did it in the first place. They just block everyone using that service.

    I do have a gMail account, mainly because it's required to keep my
    Phone and Tablet updated, but I rarely go there. Anything that goes
    there for me I have automatically forwarded to my other accounts.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Borg... James Borg... 007 has been assimilated
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Tue Mar 4 01:26:00 2025
    I think the only issue with that is, any time the phone rings or pings
    the kid has to check to see if it's their parents or another kid or
    some spam thing.

    I like the notion of a burner phone. Only the parents have the number.
    >No concerns of notifications unless it's real.

    That might work as long as that phone was Only used for that.
    Technically, the phone I've been using for the past 7 years is
    a burner, in that it is a pre-paid service and I didn't have to
    give personal information to get it working but once you start
    putting Contacts into it and using it more, you eventually start
    getting spam calls and texts and such.

    Actually, the way most spam is done these days, they sequencially
    work their way through every possible number so you are still
    likely to get hit eventualy even on an activated phone you've
    never used.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * From the Dept. of Insubstantiality & Subconscientiousness
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Aaron Thomas on Tue Mar 4 07:58:59 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

    I know, DKIM was confusing, but I got all that under control (SPF too.)

    I have Postfix working fine, and I can send/recieve mail with MUTT, but
    I tried to configure Dovecot and something's not right. So I'm taking
    it one step at a time.

    Sounds like half the battle is over if you can send/receive mail and
    not get spam-blocked - congratulations!



    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/1)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Rob Mccart on Tue Mar 4 07:58:59 2025
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Actually, the way most spam is done these days, they sequencially
    work their way through every possible number so you are still
    likely to get hit eventualy even on an activated phone you've
    never used.

    That is true.

    I once worked for an ecommerce company that got an irate customer. They
    got a hold of our DID numbers and started war-dialing desk phones
    sequentially to complain. They hit my number first, then my two desktop
    support guys, then we heard a phone down the hall ring. We grabbed a
    phone list and went from cube to cube, telling people not to answer, or
    to answer it by saying "Hi, Marge!" (or whatever her name was...)

    She eventually gave up, but not after calling 30 or 40 times.





    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/1)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Rob Mccart on Tue Mar 4 07:59:00 2025
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    I tend to use mail services that are free and have very little controls over them, but I do occasionally run into some bigger providers
    blocking exhange from those places claiming there is too much Spam
    being sent from them.. but so far I've been lucky enough that they will unblock me if I answer that eMail, with a warning not to do that, not
    that I did it in the first place. They just block everyone using that service.

    As soon as I can get port 25 opened at home, I'd love to run my own
    mail server again, and keep gmail for a backup.





    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/1)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Thu Mar 6 01:50:00 2025
    Actually, the way most spam is done these days, they sequencially
    work their way through every possible number so you are still
    likely to get hit eventualy even on an activated phone you've
    never used.

    That is true.

    I once worked for an ecommerce company that got an irate customer. They
    >got a hold of our DID numbers and started war-dialing desk phones
    >sequentially to complain. They hit my number first, then my two desktop
    >support guys, then we heard a phone down the hall ring. We grabbed a
    >phone list and went from cube to cube, telling people not to answer, or
    >to answer it by saying "Hi, Marge!" (or whatever her name was...)

    She eventually gave up, but not after calling 30 or 40 times.

    Ha.. That made me think of my brother in law who, when he gets some
    sort of Spam call, he keeps them on the line as long as possible
    just to waste their time and resources. He makes it sound like he
    is going to give them banking info or whatever but, he's having a
    hard time finding it.. it's here somewhere.. He often keeps them on
    the line for 30 or 40 minutes before they get fed up and hang up..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Apathy ERROR - don't bother pressing any keys
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Rob Mccart on Thu Mar 6 07:00:54 2025
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Ha.. That made me think of my brother in law who, when he gets some
    sort of Spam call, he keeps them on the line as long as possible
    just to waste their time and resources.

    Now it's all VOIP, but it was fun when they were paying for land lines.

    There's a service called something like the Jolly Roger telephone
    service that provides unlimited call holding - transfer the call to
    them, and it goes onto a route that just plays a sleepy-sounding guy
    saying "uh huh... wait, what?? Sure... Yep..."

    I usually just put the phone down and walk away.

    Once, they said "Hello, I'm trying to reach Kurt?"

    I asked, in a panicked voice, how he knew that name?

    "Captain, we got another one asking about Kurt, what do you want me to
    do?"

    <CLICK>





    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/1)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Sat Mar 8 00:44:00 2025
    Ha.. That made me think of my brother in law who, when he gets some
    sort of Spam call, he keeps them on the line as long as possible
    just to waste their time and resources.

    Now it's all VOIP, but it was fun when they were paying for land lines.

    Still, the resources must be finite, just so many calls going through
    at the same time, although likely that number could still be pretty big.

    There's a service called something like the Jolly Roger telephone
    >service that provides unlimited call holding - transfer the call to
    >them, and it goes onto a route that just plays a sleepy-sounding guy
    >saying "uh huh... wait, what?? Sure... Yep..."

    Ha, that would be one way to not waste any of YOUR time.

    I usually just put the phone down and walk away.

    Lately as soon as they start talking I just hang up before they even
    tell me what they are after. I doubt I hang up on many legitimate
    business callers and, if I did, they would likely figure some glitch
    and call you right back.

    Plus a huge percentage of them are now automated calls, you don't
    talk to an actual person until they get you hooked..

    It's also my hope that if you hang up right away without interacting
    with them, your number gets flagged as a wast of time and removed
    from call lists, but that may be just wishful thinking. That said
    those types of calls have become very rare in the last while so maybe
    there's something to that..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * To laugh at men of sense is the privilege of fools
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Rob Mccart on Sat Mar 8 09:38:02 2025
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Lately as soon as they start talking I just hang up before they even
    tell me what they are after. I doubt I hang up on many legitimate
    business callers and, if I did, they would likely figure some glitch
    and call you right back.

    Plus a huge percentage of them are now automated calls, you don't
    talk to an actual person until they get you hooked..


    I have a local realtor who had my old number on a PDF that google
    captured.

    I get SPAM calls wanting to add me to the Google Voice Search
    service directory, whatever that is. I've made it clear that it's a
    wrong number, and gotten repeated calls from their agents that usually
    get testy when I ask to be removed from their listing. They seem to
    imply that since they have it as a business listing, they have a right
    to call.

    I also get calls from customers trying to get a hold of the realtor. I
    send them to another realtor friend of mine. I wonder how much business
    she's lost.

    I've reached out to the realtor, explaining the situation, she
    effectively told me it's Google's fault and what did I expect her to
    do? I even sent her the link to the offending file, and it's still on
    their web site.


    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/1)