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Dear PC Doctor:
Lately, I have been receiving weird e-mails. The subject line says [No Subject]. There’s no sender information, and my address is on the BCC line. The message itself is blank. I’ve opened them and, so far, nothing bad has happened to my computer. Do you know what these messages are and why I am getting them?
Thanks,
Alexa
Dear Alexa:
That’s great that nothing bad has happened to your computer!
Without any additional information, I would have to guess that this message is generated by someone sending out spam, possibly testing a list of addresses to see if they’re real. When your message doesn’t bounce back to them, they know it is a real address. Additionally, many e-mails have code such that, when you open them, the sender receives an indication that a real person has clicked to open the message. Then they know that it is a real e-mail address that is also active. If this is the case, you might be receiving more impersonal e-mails of a commercial nature that you have not requested. Is this so? If it is, and this bothers you, I would recommend not clicking to open any e-mails that are not from people with whom you want to be in touch.
I hope this helps!
Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor
Posted: to Athol Library News on Fri, Jan 15, 2016
Updated: Fri, Jan 15, 2016