#When i click a link it says bad request install#
#When i click a link it says bad request software#

#When i click a link it says bad request software#

Your browser or mail software isn’t involved, and you don’t have to worry about leaking your software/os info, or drive-by downloads. #3, 4, and 5 are mitigated if the request is sent directly from your provider. #1 and #2 still apply no matter how you unsubscribe, so you’ll still want to reserve it only for cases when you know who the sender really is. That’s basically a machine-readable unsubscribe link provided by the sender, which can contain either an email address or a link or both. When Gmail unsubscribes you on your behalf, it’s relying on the List-Unsubscribe header (if present). Image of envelope courtesy of Shutterstock.įollow on Twitter for the latest computer security news.įollow on Instagram for exclusive pics, gifs, vids and LOLs!

This not only helps you, but also everyone else too. Marking something as spam not only deletes the message (or puts it into your trash) it also teaches your email software about what you consider spam so that it can better detect and block nefarious messages in the future and adapt as the spammers change their tricks. If the message is unsolicited then mark it as spam. So how do you avoid unwanted email without unsubscribing?

These kind of attacks, known as drive-by downloads, can be tailored to use exploits the spammer knows you are vulnerable to thanks to the information you’ve shared unwittingly about your operating system and browser.

#When i click a link it says bad request install#

The most scary of all: if you visit a website owned by a spammer you’re giving them a chance to install malware on your computer, even if you don’t click anything. The sender can also give you a cookie which means that if you visit any other websites they own (perhaps by clicking unsubscribe links in other emails) they’ll be able to identify you personally.ĥ. By visiting the spammer’s website you’re giving them information about your geographic location (calculated based on your IP address), your computer operating system and your browser. If your response opens up a browser window then you’re giving away even more about yourself. If your response goes back via email – perhaps the process requires you to reply with the words “unsubscribe,” or the unsubscribe link in the message opens up an email window – then not only have you confirmed that your address is active, but your return email will leak information about your email software too.Įmails contain meta information, known as email headers, and you can tell what kind of email software somebody is using (and imply something about their computer) from the contents and arrangement of the headers.Ĥ. That’s wonderful information for the mailer and his pals.ģ. By responding to the email, you have positively confirmed that you have opened and read it and may be slightly interested in the subject matter, whether it’s getting money from a foreign prince, a penny stock tip or a diet supplement. So you are probably going to hear from them too.Ģ. Worse, now that you have validated your address the spammer can sell it to his friends. If the sender is unscrupulous then the volume of email you receive will most likely go up, not down. You have confirmed to the sender that your email address is both valid and in active use. Here are 5 reasons why unsubscribing can be a bad idea, whether you do it by sending a reply email or opening an “unsubscribe” web link:ġ. Unfortunately phishing attacks rely on the fact that it’s very, very easy to fake who and where an email has come from so it’s all but impossible to be 100% sure who has sent you an email. Of course, not everyone who sends you mail is a spammer and if you know that a sender is trustworthy it’s safe to unsubscribe. You may end up giving the sender a lot of information about you, or even an opportunity to infect you with malware. However, some of those handy little links can cause more trouble than they solve.

We all get emails we don’t want, and cleaning them up can be as easy as clicking ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of the email.