Send me an e-mail and chances are you'll get a reply. … Send me an e-card, don't hold your breath.
I don't open them -- ever -- and, if an unscientific survey of my office colleagues is any indication, I am far from alone in this delete-on-sight detachment from these ubiquitous electronic annoyances. A few co-workers open e-cards selectively; most don't at all.
The matter percolated to the surface recently when Symantec released its latest "State of Spam" report that included this nugget: "Greeting card spam remains a spammer favorite. Symantec saw over 250 million of these spam messages being targeted towards a sample set of customers in July."
Seems as though at least two or three a day make it by our spam filters. (No word of a lie: Three have popped into my inbox since I've been writing this item.) … Delete, delete … delete. Not so much as a moment's thought.
One reason I've unilaterally stopped opening them is that I receive so many that are obviously spam that I do not consider it worth my time to attempt to differentiate between those that are spam and the 1 in 100 that might actually be from someone I know. The cost simply outweighs the benefit.
There's a small risk in this approach, too, as a colleague just mentioned that he recently deleted without thought an e-card that carried a legitimate invitation and the party so ignored expressed a degree of pique over the perceived slight.
Tough noogies, I say, use a form of communication that doesn't require the recipient to play detective before opening.
Take a look at the hoops one e-card company, Blue Mountain, wants an e-card recipient to jump through in order to be certain the e-card he or she received is safe: "Is the eCard I received valid?"
On second thought, don't take a look: Life's too short to read the lengthy instructions, never mind actually execute them just to see some silly animation.
Frankly, it's a wonder anybody opens these things given the prevalence of headlines such as these, culled from just the first page of results on Google News for a search on "e-cards":
Not quite a Hallmark moment: E-cards sent by identity thieves.
Fake e-cards signal massive DDoS attack.
New Computer Scam Involves Bogus E-Cards.
E-card can kill your computer.
E-Cards Deliver New Internet Danger.
And then there's this SANS alert on truly malicious cards.
Last week I sent e-mail inquiries to a half-dozen companies that market e-cards -- including Hallmark and Yahoo -- asking for comment about the impact spam and virus threats are having on their e-card customers and e-card franchises.
Haven't heard a single word in reply. … Perhaps they didn't dare open my e-mail, or perhaps it's a topic they would simply rather not discuss. Welcome regulars and passersby. Here are a few more recent Buzzblog items. And, if you'd like to receive Buzzblog via e-mail newsletter, here's where to sign up. Verizon and deputy fire chief debate the definition of fire. 'Fake Steve Jobs' reads Network World. The 7 Wonders of the Internet ... A Buzzblog community creation. How do you get a secret username and password out of an IRS employee? ... Just ask. E-mail etiquette question: Thanks or no thanks? Vote in our poll, too. Microsoft 'silently' restores root certificates that users distrust and remove. Football star Tedy Bruschi is NOT dead. When a cell phone goes through the washer. How to avoid having to hire an American: lawyerly advice.
When not blogging, I am a Network World news editor and write the 'Net Buzz column.
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My spam filter doesn't like them
Any spam filter that I get trained up well enough to work for me always starts rejecting these things, and I don't feel like going through my spam mailbox and picking out any real ones.
I've used e-cards
I've used e-cards occasionally for birthdays and Mother's Day (my mother likes the animations), but that was before the recent onslaught of the fake ones just inundated the net. I had to warn my Mother not to open e-cards anymore, so I doubt I'll be using them in the future.
That's exactly the point
Less tech-savvy users, in particular, should be discouraged from ever opening these things. Shame, too, because they can be entertaining and are certainly convenient for the sender who forgot Mom's birthday.
Using e-cards
I both send and receive ecards.. Server and client side SPAM blocking take care of pretty much all of the unwanted SPAM.
I've got to admit, it's easier than my mailbox. I get countless SPAM to my snailmailbox. If they aren't addressed properly, i'm going to throw the SPAM away without bothering to open it up. It is definitely possible that a few greeting cards have ended up unopened in the trash as a result.
Just as I send substantially more email than snail mail today, I send substantially more egreeting cards than greeting cards. If people don't want my thoughts, condolences, or invites then they don't have to open the email. I'm not going to take offense to it, just don't get on my case when you think I didn't include or respond to you.
Electronic mail carries far less risk than snail mail and having worked in security for over a decade, i'm going to stick with what i can live with.
Guess I won't anymore
I have sent e-cards over the years, and have never received a piece of e-card spam/malware. I had a paid subscription with one e-card provider that I liked, but if people are afraid to open them, I guess I should just drop it.
E-Cards
I open e-cards only from my famlily it never seems to be a problem. We stay in touch in the manner and enjoy the emotional content that can be shared.
ECards
I agree. They are OK amongst family members, otherwise, I delete them.
e cards
Being at best an indifferent correspondent, and furthermore one who dislikes speaking on the phone, I was delighted to find a website offering e-cards worth sending, and now use them in place of the two or three liner email messages. They have so much more flavour..........
Now I'm crushed to read your comments, though I have to say every recipient has opened my cards.
Try looking at jacquielawson.com - go on, it only takes a minute! If you have children in your life it will be worth it.
And no, I'm not an employee or relative of Jacquie Lawson [or Chudleigh]
Ecards
One of my less savvy users at my company had to open an Ecard. Needless to say he got a virus/rootkit. I had to spend extra time formatting and reinstalling his operating system because Dell mislabeled the XP reinstall disk as Professional when it was really Home.
I have told our entire company to never, ever open Ecards and to quit sending them as well. I'm really sorry that spammers have ruined another fun thing. It really frosts me that a few bad people can create such havaoc on the internet. If we allowed such things to happen on our roads, nobody would be able to drive. :-(
E-Cards
I don't like them, never open them, and resent people plugging in my email address without my permission.
I tried to find a link on Blue Mountain to submit my addy as blacklisted (as most come through that site) so nobody could send me one, but can't find such a thing. Surprise surprise. (Unless someone knows better?)