This post is from from my other blog here Latest news reports for Klaus's Computer Services
Time and time again our clients bring in computers complaining of spam mail and virus infections, almost always the answer is we didn't do anything o get this email:
Fact is however that virtually always those with the worst spam mail problem and virus problems have caused their own problems, they blame everyone but themselves
The worst infected systems are those where the owners of the computers have visited, adult sites, hacker sites, and other sites trying to get freebies as in clicking on the free access sites in the adult sites, downloading crack software and a host of other freebies, free toolbars and other things, kazaa and other freeby download sites also add to the problem.
When the client signed up to get free access to these services they had to give a valid email address in order to get access and there is where the problem starts, the operators of most of these sites need to make money to keep giving away free services, they wouldn't be operating their sites just because they think the world is full of great people that deserve to get everything for nothing, they are in the business of making money on the internet, in most instances when you sign up for a free account you also have to agree to receive email with partner offers, or install a particular additional piece of software with your free software and that is where your so called spam mail comes from, you agreed to get it, you asked for it because you wanted something for nothing, now the free providers are going to hound you with email so that you buy something of those emails and pay for the free services they provided.
Then there is the hacker sites where people go to get cracks to get the software they illegally obtained from some source, in a lot of instances when you downloaded the crack you also downloaded a hack from the author, as well some download code to change your browser page and get you to a page where again hopefully you will be convinced to buy somethinbg so that the hacker can make money.
Adult sites offer all sorts of instant access without a credit card, most of which are diallers that then dial a number for you to access the adult contact, only problem is these numbers are usually 1900 information numbers and you could be calling anywhere in the worls so you are paying long distance rates and on top of that the rate per minute can be anything from $2 to no limit, so your free instant access is making the provider of your adult service a fortune and unless you have heaps of cash you will receive a phone bill that is over the top and you won't be able to pay it.
The moral of the above is free is virtually never really free, free quiet often comes at a huge cost to you and it would have been simpler to protect yourself, by paying the correct price for the software in the first place.
Tomorrow how to protect yourself and get rid of unwanted spam, if you are already receiving lots of it, virus protection whats available.
Check out our website for software and hardware http://www.computersaustralia.org
Australia 
Member » klaushelpenstein
08:56
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