Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

I don't know Azz and wouldn't risk touching it anyway, unsolicited emails from banks etc are sent straight to Junk Mail.

I prefer to contact my bank at my own instigation using a link I know to be secure

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

As Purwell says, no it isn't the actual link. It is only the name the link has been given. The actual site (or real URL) can be checked out by hovering the mouse over the link and looking at the URL that is given at the bottom of the browser.

Not everyone is going to think to look at that but if ever suspicious of a link, hovering the mouse over it will give information where the link leads to.

To choose a different link, I might choose to put it as:

www.martssite.co.uk

This actually is my site (which is safe) but hovering the mouse over the link reveals that the name I have given the link is not the true URL of the site.

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

As Mart says, you are right that it is not genuine - but you've got it the wrong way round (the url in your post is actually the URL, not the link text - remember, the link text is what you see on the page).

Nope

It's not the email providers who allow them. Links (and link text) are just part of HTML which is the language of pretty much everything on the internet.

Link text is useful, for example, if you look at our navigation bar, we have links such as:

• Home
• Control Panel
• Your Profile
• Who's online
• Members
• Latest posts
• Search

If 'link text' didn't exist and we could only use the actual URL, these would be:

• http://www.over50sforum.com
• http://www.over50sforum.com/usercp.php
• http://www.over50sforum.com/member.php?u=1
• http://www.over50sforum.com/online.php
• http://www.over50sforum.com/memberlist.php
• http://www.over50sforum.com/search.p...new&exclude=66
• http://www.over50sforum.com/search.php

So link text is actually very useful, and now that you now about it, the spammers won't be able to dupe you

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

This actually is my site (which is safe) but hovering the mouse over the link reveals that the name I have given the link is not the true URL of the site.

I'm pretty sure this is a true statement Azz. Hovering the mouse over the name I have given the link reveals the true URL of my site.

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Got a couple from PayPal this morning, didn't need to worry about the URL, just reading the text suggested it had been written by Aleksandr Meerkat.

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Sorry but I don't understand not being computer literate.
You would have to explain in plain English not using letters like URL and HTML which means absolutely nothing to me.

Remember some of us never EVER had a computer at school they were not even invented.

SO please unravel this computer gobbledegook language so others like us know what you are on about

AZZ you post 13 has me even more confused as to what you are referring to such as link text. I don't even know how to text let alone what it is.

At 70 years of age there is no way am I even going to try and learn this new stuff , life is too short

Now if you mention how to use a slide rule ,that is a different kettle of fish or even old weights and measures not this stupid metric one we all now have to suffer with. Nothing wrong with feet and inches instead of metric this and metric that .


Even cars engines are in Cubic capacity (C C) and not horse power.

The world has gone mad

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Realspeed, I'm surprised. Those terms have been around more or less for as long as the Internet has. I'm 71, so also didn't start using computers until later in life.

Information about the terminology could be presented but there is no shortage of sites that will explain this computer gobbledegook language. Shouldn't have to look too hard because those terms are a basic of the Internet. I suggest search terms such as: 'what is a URL' and 'what is html'.

I always thought you were into deeply researching things that are part of your life. Hence my surprise.

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Hi Mart, sorry if I wasn't clear, I was referring to Purwell's post and not the link in yours

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Ah right Azz. I'm not beyond mixing a few words up, so I kept reading and re-reading and thought it looked OK.

Re: A quick way to identify spam emails

Mart

Maybe i can find it on the internet but surely it is better not to abbreviate in the first place. I can't really see the point of the thread anyway, all it takes is to ignore any emails from banks, as that is not the way they contact anyone. It is always done through snail mail with your name on it