Spam is annoying enough when it evades email filters and fills up your inbox. And spammers have now finally figured-out how to infiltrate Google Calendars with phoney promises of free iPhones and rapid weight loss. The hack takes advantage of a usually helpful Google Calendar feature that automatically adds events you are invited to via email to your calendar, even if users have not RSVP’d to them.
Start by visiting the Google Calendar Settings menu via the gear icon at the top right of the calendar page.
Next select Event Settings from the sidebar on the left.
Then click the arrow side Automatically Add Invitations.
Choose No, Only Show Invitations to Which I Have Responded from the drop-down menu.
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You can also prevent Google Calendar from adding events from Gmail via the Settings menu.
First select Events From Gmail from the sidebar on the left.
Uncheck the box beside Automatically Add Events From Gmail to my calendar.
Remember this popular feature is useful, meaning users might wish resist altering their Google settings until calendar spam becomes an annoyance.
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Google Calendar’s key features:
The key advantage of Google Calendar is how easy it is to share.
Google Calendar can easily be accessed and updated by whoever has permission to access your calendar.
Users can have multiple calendars which can be shared with no-one, select people, or everyone.
The internet-based Google Calendar can be accessed from anywhere.
Those already with a Google account, used for services like YouTube and Gmail, already have the necessary login information to start using Google Calendar.
It’s easy to sync Google Calendar with Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal, and other similar programs.
Weather icons based on your location can be toggled on. It will display a small weather icon for today and then a few days later on in the week.
Experimental features like a year view, background image, automatic event declining, and more can be added to your Google Calendar through Google Calendar Labs.