Can exposed e-mail address on ur website attracts spams/virus?

[barnettgs]

I have noticed that big increase, about 10/15 virus/spams e-mail in my website host based e-mail account (Unlike yahoo or hotmail) a day and I suspect it could be due to e-mail exposed in my website? It is annoying me as it is getting worse all the time. Anyone have the same experience? Thanks

[Josh_]

Yep, you can't post your email address directly on your website, because then the bots can pick it up. You could use a contact form, or you could use this wonderful page that mindlessLemming posted on another forum :thumbsup:
http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/obfuscator/

[gsnedders]

You may want to try Nightfire's Mail it! (http://blinded.org.uk/mailit/signup.php) (currently in beta, however, very stable).

[barnettgs]

Thanks for the link, Josh. A very useful one.

There are few website I have build with using php CMS. So I'm sure any php page showing e-mail address will be a problem as well?

Because I have a website based on PhpMyDirectory (not this website which i use my e-mail in it) - I noticed that it shows only 'send message' which leads you to a form which will submit message without showing any e-mail so I contacted support at PhpMyDirectory to make it shows e-mail instead of 'send message' because I would like visitors to note of the e-mails but I realised I must have made a mistake so I think I will have to e-mail support again to change it back! :o

[Len Whistler]

I have my yahoo email address exposed on my website on all of the pages in the footer, and I have not recieved any spam at all. I think this "problem" is over rated. I only use the email for website related buisness.

But I also have a hotmail and a second yahoo email address which I use for anything and they both are flooded with spam. I think the more you use your email the more spam you will get.

Leonard Whistler
www.stubby.ca

[dniwebdesign]

That could be because Yahoo has an extensive Bulk Mail filter which catches most of them, as well as Hotmail does a good job (if you block everyone except contacts, haven't done the other ones for a while). Also your e-mail isn't a direct link... however I like your stubbies... :thumbsup:

[Josh_]

Yah, believe me it is a problem. At one point i would get 20 or more a day, usually 2 virus emails. All of that because it was on my site. Once I removed it I only get around 5 a day.

[Len Whistler]

Also your e-mail isn't a direct link

I guess I have my terms all confused. What is a direct link?

I thought if your email can be cut/paste from your site that the SPAMMERS can easily get it. So people might use an image or spaces in their email address.

Leonard Whistler
www.stubby.ca

[barnettgs]

Hmm, I think he meant 'direct link' as a e-mail address link where users can click on it to open up Outlook Express' New Message'.

But I don't think that spamming has to do with direct link - I still get spams regardless of whether it's direct link or not.

[mlseim]

You could also make a .gif graphic image of your email address and display it on your web page. Spam Bots cannot see your email address if it's an image.

Only a person viewing your site would see the email address... and it could be a human spammer, but at least it wouldn't be an automated spamming robot.

[mindlessLemming]

You could also make a .gif graphic image of your email address and display it on your web page.


Hmmm.. that sounds about as user friendly as having your navigation made out of random floating icons that move around the screen....

[barnettgs]

Just to let you know that my e-mail has stopped receiving spams/virus around 1/2 days after taking e-mail off from website. It has confirmed that. So far, I only received one or two odd spams. No virus e-mail yet which I was getting about around 8 a day few days ago.

However, my website have php 'sent message' box where my e-mail address was displayed there so I took the address off but visiters can still send me e-mails via message box and I can reply to their e-mail with my e-mail address rather than showing it on website.

[bcarl314]

I must put in a plug for spamassassin here. I have a few email addresses exposed online and the one that gets the most spam is my business one. I just installed spam assassin about a week ago and I saw a dramitic drop in spam. From about 150 + / day to about a few a week.

Until then, I was seeing an exponential increase in spam. Sure at first it was a few a day, which were easy enough to delete, but when I started getting 100 + / day, deleting got to be a problem.

Other than my web site, I've never given out this particular email address to anyone online or in mail in surveys or the like. I can pretty much guarantee that the spam came from bots harvesting my site for email addresses.

[mpjbrennan]

I came across this on a local genealogist's website - I think it's quite cute.

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
<!-- Begin
alpha = "BaPrbenrok";
beta = "rneslyd..";
gamma = "i.a@uoecu";
delta = "mailto:michael@mouse.invalid";
send = "";
send2 = "";
for (var i=0; i <=6; i++)
send+= delta.charAt(i);
for (var i=0; i <=15; i++)
{send+= alpha.charAt(i); send+= beta.charAt(i); send+= gamma.charAt(i);
send2+= alpha.charAt(i); send2+= beta.charAt(i); send2+= gamma.charAt(i);}
document.write('<a href=\"'+ send +'\">');
document.write(send2 + '<\/a>');
// End -->
</script>

patrick