Can I have AOL or Google E-mail run ONLY off hard drive Contacts book and not update their address files

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Can I have AOL or Google E-mail run ONLY off hard drive Contacts book and not update their address files

Hi,

My wife's AOL account just got hacked and, of course, they used her AOL address book to send out spam to everyone she knows. Is there a way to keep AOL and for that matter Google e-mail accounts from storing addresses of sent e-mail and only rely on the mac's Contacts as a source of addresses. I have been to both and it seems that no matter what I do, they store the addresses. Thanks for the help -

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Apr 18, 2014 12:21 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 18, 2014 5:40 PM in response to mgs929

Change the password to the account. This will stop them from using the account to send spam.

I don't have an AOL account to check but in Gmail, go to Settings > General

Select I'll add contacts myself.

TIP: Never use the same password for another account. That way if your email and password are stolen they can only hack that one account.

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Apr 19, 2014 8:23 AM in response to mgs929

You might be able to set that at the web site via a browser.

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Answer 3

mgs929 Author

Level 1

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Apr 19, 2014 11:54 AM in response to mgs929

Thanks for the information. We have reset the password numerous times and have contacted AOL tech support on three occassions. The problem is that if a hacker uses her screenname and password to open a session, as long as they keep the session open changing the password doesn't do anything. So far that seems to be the case. Thanks again for the help.

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Answer 4

Apr 19, 2014 12:17 PM in response to mgs929

In this case, I would close the account. Notify your contacts not to use that address and give them your preferred new email.

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