Instant Messanging Spam

[ODYSSEY]

Is there a way to prevent people from getting your SN unless they are a member? For the first time ever I've been getting spam via instant messaging. Has anybody else ran into this problem recently?

[ShinkunoNamida]

don't list it anywhere for one..
now that it's out this might be too late.

You can always go to your privacy settings and block anyone who isn't on your list. I've had to use this option a few times after saying "If you dumped me, and you don't care at all, why do you IM me everynight?" a few thousand too many times. It's actually amusing when they call you a couple days later screaming at you for blocking them and you hangup, they call back and start saying stuff like "Well why did you call me then" to which your only response can be "look, you IM'd me, you called me on the phone, you are the one that just called me back." then you hang up the phone and leave it off the hook for the next few days.

If you've never had the fortune of being in this situation, it's probably because I'm a magnet for them

[MP3DUB]

Originally posted by ODYSSEY
Is there a way to prevent people from getting your SN unless they are a member? For the first time ever I've been getting spam via instant messaging. Has anybody else ran into this problem recently?

icq? msn? aim?

[Zip-Lock]

I know a lot of my friends use those sub profile services for AIM. You have to be careful and look carefully at the URL and make sure your SN isn’t in there, otherwise your screen name is harvested. I guess we’re just starting to see how that data can be used/abused.

[cproaudio]

If you're going to instant message anyone from this forum, PM them first and let them know you're going to IM them and also give them your SN too. I never accept IMs from anyone I dont know. Euclid has been IMing me for a week before I accepted his IM. I didnt know it was him. I kept canceling his IM til I finally accepted his IM one night.

[magnetik]

do you mean NET SEND spam???

my G/F is getting alot of spam thru her PC using the NET SEND utility with windows XP, i always thought it could only be used to msg ppl on the same LAN network, but it can be used to msg IP's....

quite anoying... i just turned off the network messaging service in XP to fix it...