WHY AOL SUCKS - A dozen Reasons Why AOL is EVIL and Should Never be Used as a SERVER! AS A TV CABLE COMPANY, AS A WEB WHATEVER!I wrote AOL TODAY. "You people have distressed net surfers in so many ways! You have a history of hating the little guy and ruthlessly shaking him upside down to get the bucks out of his skinny little pockets. I remember when I'd send a Xmas letter to my 40 chum/s relatives and pals and you AOL would interpret that as SPAMMING as it went to forty people and you COMMUNicATED TO MY SERVER and stopped any and all of my emailing telling my SERVER that I was sending SPAM when it was a close tie LIST!
And now you took away the TV LISTINGS I use to see what's on TV TONIGHT. It used to be precisely the regular digital channels and the PBS channels for my city .. So not just 13 channels but all the odd little LOCAL stations we have here in LOS ANGELES.
You disappeared it. Killed it. Well, how not? AOL is a cancer that invades, pre-empts and destroys. NEVER has AOL served anyone or done anything people need or want at a fair price! THE BIG O in the middle is the empty heart. HOW Could YOU TAKE AWAY full tv listings? *I KNOW WHY, because when folks have no digital listings they have to SIGN UP FOR CABLE to get a clue, and you sell CABLE services, don't you. OR you as a congomerate own newspapers so we have to SUBSCRIBE to a *#&%(*&@ daily. You rip more moola out of our face. (Cuz we have no money to eat.)
Imagine how many SENIORS have no TV SCHEDULE CLUE, cannot REMEMBER if BLUE BLOODS IS FRIDAY at 10 pm or SUNDAY or if BURN NOTICE is a rerun tonight, NOTHING and you did it why? Cuz you wanted us to USE CABLE not digital? Or Some little human doing your TV LISTINGS earned a fat salary, doing the list and you SENT HIM off to Human Resources for his 49 weeks. KARMA! It'll come back on you!
See, I am elephantine in my memory. I never forgot how AOL threw away my XMAS emails to everyone I knew, went right to my server, never asking me, accused me of spamming my own kids. So that no email came or went anywhere. YOUR ROBOT did it. No asking my family if they felt I was spamming them. My tekkie male friend told me: If some one your sending to or you have any links or addresses in the text your email will be kicked back to you AND you (person who WROTE AN AOLIE PAL, will be blocked from writing anybody at AOL EVER.. Also if you have the "Re": in the subject line (showing it's a forward,) it will be kicked back, too. AOL is trying to cut down spam and it kicks out real mail. The people who pay them all that money have no idea that their pals are getting their letters back.
I used to have to call EARTHLINK my server to get them to ARGUE with AOL TEKIES and get me reinstated. Then the tekkie told me, AOL blocks your DNS SERVER NUMBER but you can change that. Unplug modem, wires, push the modem button down for ten seconds to re-set it. You will get a new DNS SERVER NUMBER. When you boot up again, the PC asks you, who is your server, your email addie, but then you're up and you can send mail again to AOL PALS but don't make it a LIST (multiple addies,) or have urls or links in the letter.
That worked Cuz you know what? I WAS BLOCKED and then I wasn't anymore. BUT EARTHLINK, my server, changed our DSL service, Now it's one dsl number no matter what we do ... and modems no longer have that reset button! So I have to beg my aol chums to change servers or not get my writings.
A NET PAL SHARED MY VIEW: "Evil is an understatement about AOL. They were my ISP for about 8 years, and then I was getting so many problems with their connection; in the end I changed to another provider, having first notified AOL that I was leaving and needed the MAC code. (whatever THAT is.) About a month into my new ISP a bill came from AOL demanding a month's payment. I thought it was an error, to tore it up and threw it away. Then they sent reminders over the next months, which also I threw away; then came the RED warning letter demanding payment....!!!! That was the beginning of another six weeks of communications between us - they were demanding nearly $300.00 in back payments. What was laughable, was the fake legal firm they used to squeeze the blood out of their victims; I discovered that it was their own special Mafia bureau set up for the job. After great lengths of 'proving' that I had requested the MAC code and signed on with my new ISP they eventually conceded that I was right. But apologies? That was not in their vocabulary!!!!"
ANOTHER SITUATION came from a LIBERAL JOURNALIST: Original source URL:
http://100777.com/node/1446America Online (AOL): Made in Langley, VA
November 9, 2005 - 23:47
Filed under: Agencies, Commissions... | Echelon, ENFOPOL
"IT'S THAT CREEPY EYE." --David LettermanEncyclopaedia Britannica explains that the foundation of the Internet was "inspired by advances in science and technology that occurred as a result of World War II; the NSF was established by the U. S. Congress in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950." What the NSF is, in other words, is one of a blizzard of intelligence fronts that were set up in the immediate aftermath of the forming of the CIA itself in 1947.
Of course, just because the beloved internet was begun as an intelligence entity and is still administered by a government agency doesn't mean that it still functions as an intelligence tool. It is worth noting, however, that the company that was primarily responsible for repackaging the internet into a civilian entity, America Online, is perhaps the most thinly veiled intelligence front ever conceived.
This can be easily verified by a visit to AOL's corporate website, where visitors learn - among other things - that the company is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia.
Curious as to where this might be, I attempted to locate the city of Dulles on a couple of maps, to no avail. This, I learned, was because Dulles is actually an offshoot of Langley, Virginia.
Langley is also rather difficult to locate on a map. For the uninitiated, this is because Langley, Virginia is the home of the Central Intelligence Agency. In fact, there isn't much else in Langley, Virginia, which exists almost exclusively to provide residence to the thousands of employees of the CIA's headquarters.
And it is precisely there that you will find the home of AOL. Apparently recognizing the negative connotations of a Langley mailing address, the company essentially created a 'suburb' and named it Dulles. Dulles, by the way, is named in honor of the notorious Dulles siblings, Allen and John Foster, whose names were virtually synonymous with the U. S. intelligence infrastructure through both World Wars and much of the Cold War. Allen was reputed to be in on the HIT ON JFK as JFK had just fired him from a long comfy job running the CIA.
Another fact about AOL that belies its true function is the composition of its Board of Directors. Here you will find such high-level military/intelligence assets as General Colin Powell and General Alexander Haig. All of which gives a whole new meaning to that all-seeing eye that comprises the company's logo...
The ways in which we are encouraged to use the internet also belie an intelligence function. Perhaps the most popular use is for communicating via e-mail, which is rapidly replacing other modes of communication. Not coincidentally, e-mail communications are far easier to intercept than are correspondence by phone or letter, especially given that they are traveling on a network designed by spooks.
*If you found this article of interest, please feel free to peruse the SiaNews/FriendsOfLiberty archives. And in the holiday spirit, as it were, consider picking up a copy of this site's owner's novel, Wisdom's Maw, a hellish expose of the CIA's MK-Ultra drug projects of the '50s and '60s. In lieu of holding a beg-a-thon-style fundraiser.]
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AOL HAS STILL WORSE PURLOINERY GOING ON:
THEIR EXECUTIVES were caught in a WALL STREET accounting
bubble: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/22/AR2006102200569.htmlOTHER IRRITATING PRACTICES A CONSUMER-SNOOKERING INSTANCE - When 30-year-old Vincent Ferrari tried to cancel his recently passed over, dead father's AOL account, the representative refused to let him do so, and CNBC has the entire conversation on tape. After 15 minutes spent trying to reach a live person, Ferrari then spent another four minutes trying to "convince" the AOL representative to cancel the dead parent's account. The last straw, Ferrari said, was when the representative asked to speak to his father. Upon hearing of the conversation, AOL sent Ferrari an apology and said the representative no longer worked for the company.
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
I've posted a number of stories over the years urging you to drop AOL as your primary Internet service provider, much of them related to their terrible customer service and abysmal privacy policies. If you're still
hanging on to your AOL, this interesting story, accompanied by a phone transcript and a video, should make you think twice about it.Both detail a terse exchange between a now former customer and an AOL customer service representative in which the rep burns four minutes trying to convince the 30-year-old customer to stay with AOL although he has
a broadband connection and never uses the dial-up "Internet-on-training-wheels" service.And, to add insult to injury, the AOL customer service rep asked the caller, as a last resort, if he could speak with his father. The one good thing you can say about AOL: They have been consistently EVIL over the past decade. Fortunately, I never had an account with AOL and can proudly say I have influenced many thousands to discontinue using them.
So if you are one of those unfortunate souls that still has AOL as a server, here is a suggestion on how TOUGH you have to get, but if YOU DO GET THAT TOUGH, you can avoid the above nightmare and RAPIDLY get rid of them.
How You Can Cancel AOL in Three Minutes or Less
AOL: Why would you like to cancel your account?
You: Uh, I sold my computer, and I'm not getting another one.
AOL: So...you just sold your computer, and you're not going to
go online?You: I'm also moving to Europe.
AOL: You're moving to Europe?
You: Umm, yep, that's it, I'm moving to Europe, can't take this huge desk computer with me.
AOL: Sorry, we have AOL in EUROPE. YOu have a contract, you have to use us.
So buy a new computer. It's a pleasure serving you.....You: Hey, You are obliged to cancel my contract. If you don't, my lawyer will be suing you
and as I live with a famous newspaper writer this will be in every newspaper and internet
website on the planet. You don't want to go there.AOL: (long pause) Alright. How do you spell your name?
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WARNING! AOL The "Upgrade of Death" TRASHES PC's
BY LANGA who writes the LANGA LIST:~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Long-time readers may remember my first experience with AOL 5.0 (when I tried to upgrade a system from AOL 4 to AOL 5). I'll spare you the details, but after trying every trick I knew to get the system working
properly after the upgrade, the punchline was "Format C:\" Meaning the entire HARD DISK had been ruined.I wrote about my unhappy experiences depicted in this newsletter LANGA.COM puts out
and was amazed at the flood of mail I got in reply from readers
whose experiences were as bad-- -or even worse!--- than mine.
(See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/1999/nov- 4-99.htm#aol1) Not sure if this site is still up.With all that, I decided simply to try avoiding AOL, but it's a
marketing behemoth that just won't quit. Day after day, readers would
write to me or to the WinMag staff complaining about AOL5.0. Then,
last week, with the announcement of AOL taking over Time Warner and
becoming the largest online/content source on the planet, it became
clear I needed a closer look:Because I knew from reader mail and from painful personal experience
that upgrading from 4.0 to 5.0 often brought major trouble, I decided
to try a clean install of AOL 5.0.It was eye-opening. In all, I found AOL had added or altered 229 files
on my system, including over 4.5MB of Windows system files!
It significantly (and unnecessarily) altered my networking setup.
It even diddled with Power Management settings in my Registry!I'll detail everything--- including what files were altered, how you
can tell what files and settings AOL altered on your machine, which
kinds of users and systems AOL is good for, and which it's really bad
for--- in this week's column on the WinMag.Com site. (The full column
is far too detailed to present in an email, such as this newsletter.)In the end, I did get AOL installed and running. If you're even
thinking about using AOL5.0, please check out the column first:
It may save you a ton of headaches.If you're already using AOL5, then the column will help you determine
exactly what the software already did to your system.And either way, please join in the discussion: Is your AOL experience
different from mine? Have you found ways around the upgrade hassles?
What do you think the future will hold as AOL emerges as the biggest
media company on the planet?(Note: if you get there early, you'll see the previous column on
computing resolutions for the new year---and if you haven't read that
one, check it out too!)NEXT: "AOL Hell" Saga Continues
In the last issue, I told you about The AOL 5.0 "Upgrade of Death:"
After performing a clean install on a test system, I found AOL had
added or altered 229 files, including over 4.5MB of Windows system
files! It significantly (and unnecessarily) altered my networking
setup.It even diddled with Power Management settings in my Registry! Some
readers mistakenly thought that by using the "bring your own access"
option (where you pay a cut rate for AOL access and use your own ISP
to connect to AOL) you could avoid the networking hassles I
encountered.Nope.
AOL appears to install everything, all the time. The "bring your
own access" option only changes things on AOL's end of the
connection---how you're billed and how you're allowed into their
system. It doesn't change anything on your end: You'll still end up
with your networking and dial-up settings unnecessary diddled with.I discuss all this in this week's WinMag column. Some readers tried to
read the full column and join the week-long discussion at the WinMag
site a day early this week (Monday was a US holiday)--- but it's up
and running now:In that online column, I detail everything--- including what files
were altered, how you can tell what files and settings AOL altered on
your machine, which kinds of users and systems AOL is good for, and
which it's really bad for.Join in! Is your AOL experience different from mine? Have you found
ways around the upgrade hassles? What do you think the future will
hold as AOL emerges as the biggest media company on the planet? The
discussion is ongoing at
http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/2000/02.htm22 Million Members v. AOL: A Class Action Suit?
My column on "AO Hell" struck a nerve: Now that AOL users are
realizing how common it is for AOL5 to mess up systems, many are ready
to light the torches and march on Steve Case's castle. Some members
are so incensed at the bad behavior of AOL5 (and the way it messed up
their systems) they're talking about filing a class action lawsuit to
recover damages for their lost time and productivity!The story also has taken on a life of its own: In the last few days
I've been contacted by news organizations ranging from CNN to
Newsbytes, all following up on the original column--- which I guess
has been cut-and- pasted and re-emailed an incredible amount! "
Chime in! What are *your* feelings about AOL? Is your AOL
experience different from mine? Have you found ways around the upgrade
hassles? What do you think the future will hold as AOL emerges as the
biggest media company on the planet? " end article.
NOTE BY ANITA SANDS HERNANDEZ, this writer/ poster/ researcher:
SINCE THEN and VERY RECENTLY clients of FREE AOL EMAIL
in 2015, complained that AOL GRATUITOUSLY ERASES THEIR EMAIL!
In addition, the hyper crummy AOL blocks your receiving
all attachments from friends, all webpages that someone wants
to send you, anything in HTML coding, which is 'formatted' text. Do
you get blank email? It's something a pal sent you which is blocked!
CENSORED for you.THEN, they frequently turn on the SCREENING process to exclude
any email containing OTHER ADDRESSES. So if you send baby photos
to a lot of pals, you as the sender, are identified and tagged. NO email
ever can be accepted from you, even if to a single person, next time.WHO NEEDS AOL? SPAM ARREST? Nahhhhhh!
When an unknown person sends me a file attachment and says
open it, I simply don't. I erase the whole letter. I'm safe. So
I do not need AOL for that feature.
There is one more entry in the BAD AOL sweepstakes and it just won!
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Special "Spy" Info Regarding AOL (From Spyware Newsletter!)Excerpt from Spyware Weekly Newsletter:
Both AOL's internet software and the AOL Instant Messenger program (AIM)
are force installing unwanted software called Viewpoint Media Player on
people's computers.There is no option to not install Viewpoint. In fact, if you remove
Viewpoint, it will be reinstalled the next time you load AOL! I could
hardly believe it when the first person reported this at the message
board. Then a dozen more people showed up to report the same thing.
Viewpoint Media Player displays certain multimedia content over the
internet. I discovered this software on my own machine last April and I
DID NOT AT ALL like finding it there. The reason for that can be found
in their privacy policy:The software creates a unique tracking number ("Customer Unique
Identifier" is their term). This number and other information is
transmitted, without asking, to Viewpoint servers. The software
downloads updates and installs them on the computer
Also without asking. The privacy policy states that "The Viewpoint Media
Player will soon be capable of tracking information about the content it
displays and how the user interacts with it. When the Viewpoint Media
Player displays Viewpoint content, it tracks the URL it is served from,
as well as Viewpoint file data tagged by the author in XML. This data
can include, but is not limited to: the names of objects and textures
displayed, and the names of animations invoked." Combine all that with
the fact that it is installed without permission or proper disclosure.
I'm sorry, but you do not install software on my computer that transmits
data across the internet without my permission. For that matter, you
don't install any software on my computer without my permission, period.After finding this thing on my computer last year, I sent Viewpoint a
letter asking how it is distributed. From their reply, I determined that
AIM had installed it. I then downloaded a fresh copy of AIM from AOL's
web site and installed it again (I had removed it months earlier). There
was absolutely no disclosure whatsoever that it was going to bundle
Viewpoint.There are other things that AOL software does. For instance, some
software such as Netscape and ICQ 2000b will insert free aol.com into
Internet Explorer's "Trusted" security. When you put a web site
in the "Trusted" zone, Internet Explorer will allow
that site to download, install and execute any piece of software
completely without interaction with the user.The reason for AOL inserting that entry became clear when we started
spotting ActiveX files from free.aol.com in people's HijackThis log
files at the message board. AOL is inserting their web site into the
"Trusted" zone so that they can install software without the user
knowing they are doing it!AIM is adware. That is, it displays a small banner ad in the program and
it also pops up an advertisement window when you launch it. Recently,
AIM has even started to download movie trailers and play them at random
intervals. You heard me, AOL is using peoples' internet connection to
download huge video files in order to play movie trailers.Both AOL's internet service software and AIM also install a piece of
software called Wild Tangent, again without asking. Wild Tangent is used
to play games and other multimedia. Some Winamp plugins also use it. The
problem with Wild Tangent is that it installs an autoupdater and turns
it on by default.Wild Tangent's updater will transmit data about the computer on which it
is installed. That data includes hardware specs, some information about
installed software and how the user is interacting with the software.
The company says this is done to see how their software is used and that
they might share it with third parties. Several anti spyware products
detect and remove Wild Tangent.When are software developers going to understand that they cannot
transmit data from a person's machine without their permission? There
are laws forbidding data theft, so why are they allowed to do this? When
are they going to understand that they cannot download and install
software without permission?There are better and cheaper Internet Service Providers. Go to
BroadBandReports and find one. There are other instant messenger
programs that will let you use the AIM network as well as several other
networks such as Yahoo and ICQ. Two very good multi network instant
messengers are Trillian and GAIM.AOL has been losing more subscribers over the past couple of years than
they have gained. They are going to lose far more if they don't change
this behavior. This is unacceptable and I would never put up with AOL's
behavior. I suggest you don't put up with it either and find a company
who will treat you with some respect.
THIS JUST IN ! ALL THE ABOVE CHICANERY, CORP HAD TO CHANGE ITS NAME TO SPECTRUM!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Our POSTER is ANITA SANDS HERNANDEZ, Los Angeles Writer, ombudsman, Futurist, mother of 4 and career Astrologer to Carlos Castaneda, Yogi Bhajan and the American Sikhs for 35 years. Catch up with her websites TRUTHS GOV WILL HIDE & NEVER TELL YOU, also The FUTURE, WHAT'S COMIN' AT YA! FRUGAL LIFE STYLE TIPS, HOW TO SURVIVE the COMING GREAT DEPRESSION, and Secrets of Nature, HOLISTIC, AFFORDABLE HEALING. Also ARTISANRY FOR EXPORT, EARN EUROS....
Anita Sands Hernandez is found at astrology @ earthlink.net . Get a 15$ natal horoscope "my money/future life" reading now + copy horoscope as a Gif file graphic! No smarter, more accurate career reading out there! PS. Anita sez, 'get a website for 5$ a month and post articles that YOU LIKE, TOO! My own and your own. Mine are free to you, even if you monetize them. Be someone who forwards the action, the evolution. IT IS getting better you know and by getting WORSE FIRST, it gets better!
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