Post by: jcarter on October 31, 2008, 08:16:34 AM
It comes on as an invite to group all your Yahoo forum sites messages together, sounds nice till you do it, then wow, its a mess.
One classmate sent this information to us of how to get rid of it.
Though I didnt get involved, I thought I would pass this info on in case you here know anyone who got sucked into this Grouply thing,
here is the text,,,,,,,,,,
"This is an FYI. Apparently there is a website called Grouply .com that proposes help in managing your groups. I just received information that this is causing problems for groups, and some groups are removing members who have joined Grouply (a grouply.com address replaces the primary address for the group, so it can be seen).
Essentially, you provide your ID and password to the website in order to manage all your group emails from there. That gives the Grouply staff access to your account and access to all your groups, as well as anyone who hacks into the site. Some groups have already been getting spammed.
Please do not join this site or anything similar. Doing so will compromise this list. Once you join, the only fix is to quit all your groups and establish a completely new ID and password. If you have already joined this site, you will need to go ahead and fix this in order to protect your privacy as well as that of the list.
This is a forward from another list that discusses some of the Grouply problems and how to fix it once you have joined.
Begin forwarded message:
Why are group owners concerned? Here's why...
First, when a member joins, it automatically changes their primary email address for the groups, giving them a @grouply.com extension. This is being done unaware to those who are joining.
Secondly, members who join the grouply website are having to give their member ID and password. This opens up a security issue for those members.
Thirdly, once a member joins grouply, it opens access to the files and posts of each group to the grouply website. Grouply staff can then access these files. If they get hacked, then it opens the doors to the groups getting hacked as well. It has also been reported that it's generating a lot of spam already."
How do you fix it?
For those who did join Grouply, every single group you've joined with your Yahoo ID is now at risk. The only solution, since Yahoo IDs themselves cannot be deleted, is to unsubscribe from ALL your groups immediately, then create a brand new ID and resubscribe to your groups with that new ID. Your old ID is permanently contaminated. You cannot rejoin any group with your regular Yahoo ID. You must get a new ID. You can change your email, but that has nothing to do with your Yahoo ID.
Our group members responded quickly and took care of the problem so we're officially "grouply" free. People were just not aware of what had happened when they joined grouply!
So if you had groups that you were a member of and suddenly you're not, it probably has to do with the fact that your e-mail address showed up with the @grouply.com extension in their member database. Some are removing without warning. Change your password, change your yahoo i.d., rejoin your groups and it should take care of the problem!"
There are many other links, but this is the most informational, as it contains how to get out of it.
Jane
Post by: Xairbusdriver on October 31, 2008, 11:39:44 AM
QUOTE
That gives the Grouply staff access to your account and access to all your groups, as well as anyone who hacks into the site.
And why would I worry about that unless I have already given Grouply all my private security information for a site? 
Where did anyone ever read/hear that one should ever give away ones ID & password for anything to anyone/thing?! Would you give your SS# to someone just because they said they'd use it to help you join a group or make contact with all the groups you might be a member of? 
What's the point of having a password if you give it to someone?! Might as well put in ones 'signature' and post it with each message. Amazing! 
Post by: Paddy on October 31, 2008, 11:43:26 AM
Either way, they're not going away any time soon - they have a fair bit of funding behind them:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/group...-million-round/
Good post here on the subject:
http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=1146
It really boils down to one thing for me: anyone that wants my Yahoo ID and PW and isn't Yahoo isn't going to get it!
Post by: Gregg on October 31, 2008, 12:18:09 PM
QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 31 2008, 11:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Interesting results if you Google things like "Grouply + spam" or "Grouply + security concerns" etc. Some people come out to staunchly defend them (paid plants??) -
or Grouplys
....Grouplies?
.....Groupies!
My password: itsasecret
Post by: jcarter on October 31, 2008, 03:06:36 PM
Jane
Post by: krissel on November 01, 2008, 02:04:49 AM
Post by: jcarter on November 01, 2008, 06:23:23 AM
Jane to the rescue again.
Funny and nice when you live in a small town. In a city that phone would have been a pancake.
Though my brother dropped his watch in the middle of Harvard Square many years ago, got back to the dorm and was upset, so I happened to be there visiting, and went over to that intersection, and there was his unscathed watch in the gutter just far enuf over that the tires just missed it by an inch.
Jane
Oh, I better stop messing with the computer and get our beef stew going in the crockpot for tonight.