Webmail has launched a free blogging platform for its users (http://blog.wm.co.za/). While this is a great effort at increasing blogging in South Africa it is also a huge security and spam risk. The implementation of this blogging system is completely unsafe for any Webmail user.
Webmail have decided not to use the traditional user name system by default, which allows users to be identified by a nickname (pseudonym). They have decided to display users email addresses in full public view! How is this a bad thing? Let me elaborate. Spam! We all hate spam. It clutters our inboxes and wastes our bandwidth. Thanks to Webmail displaying your email address all over the their blogging system and in the URL, you are now at an even greater risk of receiving spam.
- eMail Harvesting
The internet is filled with preprogrammed robots (bots) which search through page after page looking for email addresses to download and add to a database. Once your email address is in one of these databases you are more than likely to receive spam. - eMarketers
If you’re really sly and want to build up your email database, visit Webmail’s new blogging platform and collect as many addresses as you can before they fix this. It’s unethical, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
How one of South Africa’s leading internet portals could allow this to happen is beyond me. Blogging is pretty simple, implementation however is not. Large scale blogging platforms need to be implemented with care and managed correctly. This is very careless. All Webmail users, please DO NOT sign-up for this blogging service, until your safety and privacy is deemed to be handled in a safe manor.
P.S. Note how Telkom’s DO campaign appears on the main page of this blogging system, great move Telkom Media. I now see how you plan to use social media to your advantage, or not.
Screenshots: (email addresses blocked for user’s privacy and protection)
