Okay, so Dad uses my AOL account, and yesterday it was suspended because his screen name sent out bulk email. I told him to run a virus scan and a spyware scan, but I'm wondering if it might be something else. I figured you computer-gurus would know the answer....so I am here to pay homage (sp?) to you all........
that happened to me and I had to call AOL. now its happening again, i think. i've had a lot of bounced back emails where it says i've sent out. would love to be able to stop this.
AOHell, yeah I know....however.. I've yet to find another ISP with all the same features that I like about AOL, and plus I've had that account since God was a boy, and changing my ISP now would be a big pain in my rear end. The charge isn't bad, it's only $14.95 a month, down from $24.95 previously.
run adaware, spybot search and destroy, and spycop. trendmicro provides a free virus scan as well. the main problem is its sending itself to unsuspecting people in your address book.
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=lst-0-1 http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10289035.html?tag=lst-0-1
Well, I love the parental controls. I like the radio on demand. I like the chat features, the free virus protection, and to be honest, with a kid and a husband who's not exactly internet savvy, it's easier to navigate. I know there are better options out there, but $15 a month isn't bad for internet service.
Have him run the TrendMicro "House Call" - it's good for catching a range of problems: http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/personal.htm
Nope, no money tree, just paying for convienance (sp) I guess. I really haven't had the issues with AOL that I hear most people complaining about. To each his own, I suppose, lol.
Devilock, I agree, that darn AOLhell is addictive to some people using a broadband service. You would not believe how many customers I have tried to explain the detox program to but fail everytime. If they would just sit down for one hour and setup Outlook for their email and then add AIM to their PC they'd drop the AOL service like old ice. I think it's the chat rooms that keeps them hooked???? I really shouldn't talk, my wife still wont give up AOL and I bug her monthly!! Jennifer, you wont hear complaints from the users; only from the people who have to fix what it does. Think of it this way; if Devilock was your car mechanic and he said "Keep putting cheap oil in your car and it will only ruin it.", would you keep using cheap oil?
I am not sure if the email issue was ever resolved or not. But if it is still happening you might want to try putting in a bogus email address at the beginning of your address book. such as &%*djdfk@*(&^&*^*&^&*.com I know it used to work against some chain mail viruses way back when but as email viruses become more intelligent this fix will work less and less. NOTE that if this does work you are only partially fixing the problem, as you are not spreading the virus email to others in your address book without you knowing. But your machine could still be infected and any emails that you send out could contaminate another. As for the AOL free antivirus, it is the same as any other ISP provided virus protection. It is limited and not the same as a stand alone virus protection.
