Member Avatar for Magicboi8

Why does everyone say aol is so harmful to your computer?? And If It Is harmful, how??? I just don't understand.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kerplosion

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Short answer: AOL itself is not a virus, but older AOL desktop/installer packages and AOL's network-side policies can feel "harmful" in two ways — by installing heavyweight, persistent client components on your PC, and by using aggressive mail/reputation filtering that can block access or mail delivery. This explains why asked and why posters like and reported frustration.

About the mail/blocking issue mentioned by : large mail providers use automated reputation systems, spam filters and blocklists (for example, realtime blackhole lists) to drop messages or block traffic from IPs or domains that look like spam. False positives happen, so legitimate hosts can be blocked if their mail server or IP range has a poor reputation or lacks proper authentication (SPF/DKIM). See general background on AOL and reputation/blacklist systems (AOL — Wikipedia, ).

Practical mitigations:

  • If you have the AOL desktop installed, uninstall it via Control Panel (or Settings → Apps), reboot, then scan with an up-to-date anti-malware tool to clear leftover adware.
  • Remove AOL startup entries with Task Manager or Autoruns, check your browser for toolbars and reset settings, and inspect C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for unwanted entries.
  • If sending mail that’s being rejected, check your IP/domain on public blocklists and implement email authentication (SPF/DKIM) to improve deliverability.

Context note: most strong complaints date to the mid-2000s when desktop clients were heavier; switching to web-based mail or a modern mail client and keeping system software current resolves the vast majority of issues.

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Member Avatar for MidiMagic

It's not so much what it does to the computer but what it does to your web and email access

It blocks access and emails to and from any host computer which is implicated by any AOL user in spam or malware. But it does so even if that host was phaked onto a spoof email.

eBay is very often blocked by AOL because of the phake phishing emails purporting to be from eBay.

Member Avatar for The Dude

AOL software is garbage..

It takes over your computer,slows it down,etc.....

The last good AOL version (If any) was AOL7.0ca (canada) -- That version wasnt nearly as bad or bloated.....

Member Avatar for kerplosion

I've never even used it before myself, but from what I've heard about it, it's horrible. I know people who have used it and are currently boycotting the product.

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