iCloud+ custom email domains should be better • Hacker News Board

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#141

Post by rekoil » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 7:50 AM UTC

michaelt wrote: post #140

rekoil wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used a catch-all email for about 14 years now, I have no idea what you're talking about as this has literally never been an issue.

Back in the 1990s, a spammer who knew example.com existed would bulk e-mail a dictionary of prefixes - andy@example.com, bob@example.com, claire@example.com etc etc in the hopes that some would get through. As such, a catch-all e-mail address was a sure way to get hundreds of copies of the same spam e-mail. And since most people who wanted a catch-all address were doing it as part of a strategy to get less spam, that…

I get that in theory this is possible, I'm saying I've never to my knowledge seen it, or I have but the Gmail spam filter caught it.

My domains are not really "out there" in any big way though, so perhaps I've just been lucky?

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#142

Post by rekoil » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 7:53 AM UTC

blitzar wrote: post #134

rekoil wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used a catch-all email for about 14 years now, I have no idea what you're talking about as this has literally never been an issue.

22 years and counting. 99.999% of my spam comes to emails in various leaks. I get possibly a dozen or so emails a year to catch-alls that I dont recognise as having been given out - its incredibly rare that it is every anything other than someone mistyping my name. I also get a monumental quantity of spam so not exactly a small sample but still just one example.

I haven't really been analysing my spam thoroughly to be perfectly honest, it is possible this has happened to me and I didn't notice it because the Gmail spam filter caught it.

I do pop in every now and again and don't recall seeing anything akin to what the parent to your post is suggesting (many emails following the same format but to different addresses and I guess names).

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#143

Post by blitzar » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 9:33 AM UTC

rekoil wrote: post #142

blitzar wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

22 years and counting. 99.999% of my spam comes to emails in various leaks. I get possibly a dozen or so emails a year to catch-alls that I dont recognise as having been given out - its incredibly rare that it is every anything other than someone mistyping my name. I also get a monumental quantity of spam so not exactly a small sample but still just one example.

I haven't really been analysing my spam thoroughly to be perfectly honest, it is possible this has happened to me and I didn't notice it because the Gmail spam filter caught it. I do pop in every now and again and don't recall seeing anything akin to what the parent to your post is suggesting (many emails following the same format but to different addresses and I guess names).

tbh I thought it would be a problem when I set up - @mydomainname.com - thats going to be a lot of email. It turns out that nobody knew I existed so didnt get all that much spam for years. Back then slapping your email on your site / forum footer etc was the way to get on the spam mailing lists.

Then along came web facing databases with no auth defaults, and you can have a billion active, in use email addresses with a living breathing human at the other end (and their username, password and dob) for free.

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#144

Post by iRomain » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 11:21 AM UTC

domlaut wrote: post #62

mortenlarsen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use "-" instead of "+" with a regex: "/^name-.*@mydomain\.tld$/". Then I block them when I get spam after they get compromised. Many spammers already know to remove anything after the +-sign. But I must admit that the biggest benefit of this setup, was listening to my girlfriend on the the phone explaining to someone, at some company, the reason that their name was part of the email-address: "That is because if I g…

Clever! Are you running your own email server, or is there a provider/relay other than Google that can route based on regexes?

The OSS https://forwardemail.net can route based on regex

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#145

Post by shaunpud » Mon, Mar 07, 2022, 1:35 PM UTC

I know this is an old thread, and I don't use catch-all addresses (well I did back in the wild-west of the web, but we're talking over 20 years ago), however it's funny to see how many people are like "Gmail spam filter caught it" or "several domains with Google workspace and had no problems". I've used other email systems; which for example, use SpamAssassin; and the amount of shit that comes through. So yes, catch-all is all the rage, if you're using Google, however if you're not, expect a bunch of spam, right? I hear more and more people wanting to getting off the "G" ecosystem, so I guess it'll be different responses to this in the near future.