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Apple Working to Put a Stop to iCloud Calendar Spam
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Nobody blamed anyone/anything.
I asked a question.
Put the pom-poms down, sit back, relax, and take a sip, pal.
If anything, it's a testament to how popular and successful iCloud is. Spammers don't bother designing spam for systems that have no active users.
These spammers really are the most useless scumbags on the planet. Gotta hand it to them for their ingenuity though. A few weeks ago I figured I was doomed to have to look at this stuff indefinitely.
Over the course of the last week, many iCloud users have been the target of spam that's delivered in the form of an unsolicited Calendar event invitation, and now Apple is working on a way to stop it.
In a statement given to iMore's Rene Ritchie, an Apple spokesperson said the company working to block spam invites.iCloud calendar spam isn't new, but there's been a serious uptick in calendar spam since last week. Because iCloud calendar invites are sent to an iCloud calendar automatically by default and there's no easy way to ignore them, there's no clear way to stop the spam.
Declining, accepting, or choosing "Maybe" on an incoming iCloud invite lets an iCloud email address is valid, so until Apple can put a stop to the spam, there are two fixes. First, by logging in to iCloud via a web browser and accessing the Calendar settings (Click the cog, go to Preferences, then choose Advanced), you can choose to receive all event invitations as email. Emails can be more easily ignored and deleted.
Image via OS X Daily
Second, you can create a new Calendar, name it Spam, move the spam invitation to the Spam calendar, and then delete the Calendar entirely. This method does not inform spammers that an event has been declined and does not verify an iCloud account's validity. For more detailed instructions, make sure to check out our how to.
Both iOS users that use the default Calendar app and those who use third-party calendar apps like Fantastical are affected by the spam issue, which appears to be fairly widespread.
Article Link: Apple Working to Put a Stop to iCloud Calendar Spam
It's nice to see their their ingenuity and industriousness has brought them to the attention of Cupertino.
Yes, keep reporting on this. As noted buy others, those workflows are work-arounds, not "fixes". I've received multiple invites now and have had to go through the processes of deleting without notifying multiple times..and the events still remain on my iOS devices and Calendar app. Also you cannot just send it to any email address, I only get the option to send to my primary email account...even if I can send it to the spam folder , I'd prefer to send it to my iCloud account (which I never, ever use). I'll just keep sending feedback to Apple every time I receive a spam invite so they realize how widespread this problem is.
It's done the same way it's been done for decades in email--just use a program to send out spam to:
a@icloud.com
aa@icloud.com
aaa@icloud.com
...
bob@icloud.com
bob1@icloud.com
bob2@icloud.com
...
The program just adds random addresses, built from semi-random combinations of letters (there is usually some logic, like staring with common names and common additions, e.g doug.jones, doug.smith, dougjones, dougsmith).
No, I dont sleep in the Google operations center. I use both platforms, an android phone personally and an iPhone for anything work related - and I REALLY like both systems for very different reasons. But ironically,
- I have no spam whatsoever on Gmail or Google services.
- While Android Apps and their functionality DO rely on the underlying API level of the host OS, regular app updates are not a problem for the android platform, since developers are slow and hesitant to port their code (for good reason).
- So even "old" android versions get very regular App Updates. What you refer to ("outdated software" / "incredibly vulnerable" / "no upgrades whatsoever") is a common myth, based on a misconception. It's Apple PR nonsense - don't believe it.
I have tried. At one point I had 20-30 filters specifically for spam.
I want to use iCloud solely and ditch Gmail, but iCloud's spam filtering is lacking a ton in the spam filtering department which kills it for me. I really do want to use it solely, and it sucks that the spam is soooo bad.
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I actually found another way to delete these messages without acknowledging the sender. I just chose to rebuilt my calendars!
It took a few minutes and didn't have to fuss with creating a new calendar, etc. By rebuilding my calendar the invite disappeared as I chose a date prior to the invite. Then, I set up the "accept invites as email"...
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Maybe they will fix the iCloud mail spam issue at the same time...Wishful thinking I know.
Good point ... and the iMessage spam too.
Thank you MacRumors. I was getting these a month before and during Black Friday. Not sure how its happening. Glad its being brought up though.
Google, Microsoft, and pretty much all other email providers have been a joke for a long long time by that kind of logic.
Omg - oh ok. There's been wayyyyyyyy more serious issues in the Andriod world than this devastating spam issue. Your right ! I guess your right in that Androids fragmentation issue is no issue and doesn't expose their customers to an infinite number of unknown dangers.
Yea - I live in the world of pretend. Apple who in just 4-5 years has over a BILLION devices out there in the universe and it's an absolute insult that they of all people should suffer from issues like spam.
Your right
Oh and now - now I see your only talking about "your" experience rather than proporting to be a certified data collector on this issue
Over the course of the last week, many iCloud users have been the target of spam that's delivered in the form of an unsolicited Calendar event invitation, and now Apple is working on a way to stop it.
In a statement given to iMore's Rene Ritchie, an Apple spokesperson said the company working to block spam invites.iCloud calendar spam isn't new, but there's been a serious uptick in calendar spam since last week. Because iCloud calendar invites are sent to an iCloud calendar automatically by default and there's no easy way to ignore them, there's no clear way to stop the spam.
Declining, accepting, or choosing "Maybe" on an incoming iCloud invite lets an iCloud email address is valid, so until Apple can put a stop to the spam, there are two fixes. First, by logging in to iCloud via a web browser and accessing the Calendar settings (Click the cog, go to Preferences, then choose Advanced), you can choose to receive all event invitations as email. Emails can be more easily ignored and deleted.
Image via OS X Daily
Second, you can create a new Calendar, name it Spam, move the spam invitation to the Spam calendar, and then delete the Calendar entirely. This method does not inform spammers that an event has been declined and does not verify an iCloud account's validity. For more detailed instructions, make sure to check out our how to.
Both iOS users that use the default Calendar app and those who use third-party calendar apps like Fantastical are affected by the spam issue, which appears to be fairly widespread.
Article Link: Apple Working to Put a Stop to iCloud Calendar Spam
If I had my way I would just DDoS the spammer's website and put them out of business.
Never said they weren't. I'm just stating that Apple has been going down hill for years.
I don't get the point of calendar invitations at all. If someone wants to invite me to something they can send an email to my regular address, or they can phone and invite me. If I want to go I'll put it on my calendar myself. But I like the calendar app because it syncs seamlessly across my iOS devices and my Mac.