AOL is scanning INSIDE your emails, blocking any with "unapproved" content

The LangaList ^ | March 22, 2004 | Fred Langa

[NRA2BFree]

AOL is a fraudulent Organization. I wonder why anyone Likes Them.

Stop Using That stupid Company. Let them outsource to Kenya, for all I care. STAY AWAY FROM AOL!

Ah yes, AOHELL! I totally agree. They wrote so many things onto my computer every time I logged on that I had to buy a new one. I could NEVER get through to "tech support" or "customer service" so I sent them an e-mail and told them to cancel. I must have received 4 letters and 2 calls that week from Customer Service asking me to come back. Their "customer service" and "tech support" are in name only.

[Cicero]

Actually, the problem with AOL seems to be that the business types who run it focused on the bottom line. Their only real interest was how many ads they could pile on.

AOL has never had any decent technicians. Their software is full of bugs. Their beta testing is laughable.

I'm sure this was a business decision. Users were complaining about spam, junk mail, and porn, so they have probably been trying to block some of it to prevent these people from bailing out of AOL. They do NOTHING to educate their users, so they are totally unable to fend for themselves.

So, I don't believe there's anything malign about this: just greed, fear, and incompetence.

[South40]

Anyone who uses AOL deserves any and all bad service they get.

[lancer]

Why would ANYONE subscribe to ANY service like AOL? Why not just fire up via internet service provider or cable modem or whatever, and cruise the world? What in the world does AOL or any of those services offer that you can't get FREE by cruising?

[lancer]

Why would ANYONE subscribe to ANY service like AOL? Why not just fire up via internet service provider or cable modem or whatever, and cruise the world? What in the world does AOL or any of those services offer that you can't get FREE by cruising?

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Not complaining, but my post is best read the way I had it.:)

[Overtaxed]

I had to cancel my credit card to get rid of them.

[Squawk 8888]

The best way to deal with these outfits is to "lose" your credit card so the next attempt to debit you fails. You can also go to your credit card provider and ask them to do a chargeback. When the bank gets such a request, they debit the merchant and put the onus on them to prove that you authorized the charge.

[Solar Wind]

NR,

Sad to hear that you had to replace your computer due to AOL but I am not surprised. IMHO the free trial offer CDROM from AOL is equivalent to a virus that takes over your computer when installed. Install it at your peril.

I know first hand. I worked for a while at a multi client help desk that provided technical customer support for several ISP customers. People who had installed AOL on their computer were often blocked from signing up for the ISP. We had to laboriously go through their computer and remove all traces of the AOL install before we could do a simple Windows set up for an ISP in "Dial Up Connections". Removal was not just a simple Uninstall.

At the time it was AOL 4.0 that I was helping people get rid of. The current version, I do not doubt, is worse. I am astounded that a product like this, which actually modifies your computer to reject signing up for a competitor's product, is even allowed on the market.

[MonroeDNA]

Do people really use AOL?

I thought they died long ago?

Is AOL real?

[Peach]

I tried sending the Drudge Report to a friend a CompuServe won't let it go through either.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I got a free AOL CD package in the mail. It went straight in the trash.

I have never subscribed to AOL and never will. Even back when the Internet was in its infancy I still went with a local provider.

AOL is irrelevant. There are literally dozens of ISPs available for consumers to choose from, some of them offering basic dial-up for under $10.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

It's designed to ensnare and addict technical idiots.

Exactly. It's the Internet for sheeple.

[BlkConserv]

MY six months od AOL's free trial offer is almost over. Glad I caught this post.

Dude - KILL that account NOW. All they're going to do is keep offering you "free" services that snarl you into a long-term contract that's going to cost you more money down the road.

I had AOL a couple of years ago and they pulled the same crap with me. Those clymers wouldn't take no for an answer until I contacted the state Consumer Protection and Better Business Bureau on their asses.

[Concentrate]

AOL is consistently on the side of evil, unless you beat them back. Fortunately, there are many other alternatives today, so there is NO excuse to still patronize them, IMHO.

[Concentrate]

I agree. They WON'T take NO for an answer. You must say the word CANCEL, over and over. I finally got rid of them. Yeah!

[TommyDale]

"I had to buy a new computer after I left them."

Seems a bit drastic. I would have just reformatted the hard drive.

[k2blader]

You mean people actually use AOL?

[MegaSilver]

I can't believe anyone is still on AOL these days.

[MegaSilver]

AOL is an internet horror show on many levels. It's designed to ensnare and addict technical idiots.

Right and right. Once Quantum computers went out, QuantumLink (now AOL) shifted its focus to a new target: Windoze users who had heard of the Internet and figured it was "cool," but were afraid of it.

A rather admirably successful, if a bit devious, business tactic.