This note is a warning to all members of TFL, or any other website that uses vBulletin software.
I received some spam via email the other day. Nothing new in that, right?
It is when the sender used my Firing Line email addy as the receiver. This was a first!
If you were to go and look at your User CP and click on the Profile Privacy (left hand area), you will see, as the first displayed set of options, a box called Display Options.
You should see three options with drop down boxes.
Mine are now set to "Registered Members," it was set to "Everyone." Note that after you make the change(s), you must click on the "Save" box to make the effect active.
What seems to have happened, is that for whatever known reason, the developers of vBulletin had set the default set to "Everyone" (in one of the previous upgrades). This allows anyone, registered or not, to see my contact email. That includes the many spam bots that are out there!
We don't know which of the previous version upgrades this became the default, so we don't know how long it's been in effect.
Tyme has fixed the code and "Registered Members" is now the default. But this will only affect new members as they register. If you don't like spammail, I highly recommend everyone who reads this to change your settings to "Registered Members" only!
That will at least stop unregistered spammers from grabbing your listed email.
I received some spam via email the other day. Nothing new in that, right?
It is when the sender used my Firing Line email addy as the receiver. This was a first!
If you were to go and look at your User CP and click on the Profile Privacy (left hand area), you will see, as the first displayed set of options, a box called Display Options.
You should see three options with drop down boxes.
Mine are now set to "Registered Members," it was set to "Everyone." Note that after you make the change(s), you must click on the "Save" box to make the effect active.
What seems to have happened, is that for whatever known reason, the developers of vBulletin had set the default set to "Everyone" (in one of the previous upgrades). This allows anyone, registered or not, to see my contact email. That includes the many spam bots that are out there!
We don't know which of the previous version upgrades this became the default, so we don't know how long it's been in effect.
Tyme has fixed the code and "Registered Members" is now the default. But this will only affect new members as they register. If you don't like spammail, I highly recommend everyone who reads this to change your settings to "Registered Members" only!
That will at least stop unregistered spammers from grabbing your listed email.
