Email address

Do Those Opt Out Links Really Work?

You woke up one morning and found out that somehow your email address has landed in the hands of the ultimate spammer. In less then 24 hours you have received hundreds of emails asking you to go to websites, order vitamines, supplements, software and other products.

The first instinct of the person is to check those emails and click the Opt-out link that is at the bottom of the emails that you are receiving.

But do those opt-out links really work?

The answer is in the majority of the cases no. Many spammers are not laginamite companies and only use the opt-out option of an email to confirm that an email address is valid and continue to spam it.

In a study conducted by an anti-spam group, it showed that many of these links do not actually go to links that will take the email address off a list but instead recorded that the link was clicked by a human. After the link was clicked the spam messages increased by 20% just for opt-ing out of an email list.

The other popular way is to ask email users to respond to the email with OPT OUT in the subject. This is another popular way to get people to respond to something to confirm that the email works.

With all these invalid ways to opt out how can a person opt out of an email spam list?

One of the ways to opt out would be to block the senders email address. This is hard if the person is changing email addresses but many times the address is @somethingsomething.com and that can be added to the blocked senders list. Anything sent from that domain will be sent automatically to the spam list.

There is no sure way to get rid of spam. The best defense is to be careful with your email and try not to end up on their list to begin with!

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: E-mail spam, Email address, Opt in e-mail

The Mystery of the Spam Box

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When email was first invented there was no such thing as spam emails. So the options on the side of email servers included: Inbox, Sent, Drafts and Trash. However as time went on and businesses and spammers figured out a way to make quick cash on the spam emails a new option on emails appeared known as the spam box.

The spam box is where suspected spam emails go. Instead of having them automatically deleted the email server will send them to the spam box and allow a person to figure out if they want the email or not. Most spam boxes will delete the emails within 30 days if they have not been checked and moved to the inbox.

How do these email servers know what a spam message is?

Many times these email servers use what is considered a language program to determine spam messages. It looks for words that are known spam messages and puts them in the spam mail so that they do not go into the mail box.

Other times these anti-spam devices on emails will take the messages and send them to the inbox if they notice that there is a huge group of messages coming from an email address. So if a person were to send 10 messages in a matter of 5 minutes they might be triggered as spam because of the amount and repeated messages that are being sent.

The spam box comes in very handy because it allows users to pick and choose what messages they look at. If for some reason a known message gets sent there and it wasn’t supposed to a person can track the email address to the server and it won’t be sent there.

These anti-spam defenses are great ways for people to not be bothered by those pesky spam emails again.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Anti-spam techniques, E-mail spam, Email address

Spam Filtration: The Start of Sender Policy Framework

Anyone with an email address has had to deal with the issue of annoying spam messages arrive in their inbox. For some people it’s a small probably with only the occasional spam message here and there, for others it is a massive problem with hundreds of messages arriving in their inbox a day.

Some of the spam messages will occasionally look like they were sent from a certain email address usually from an @gmail or an @yahoo address. Not many people realize that those emails aren’t really being sent from those email providers.

Spammers use a technique called forced from sending which allows them to send messages as if they were really sending them from that particular provider when in reality they are using something completely different. It is a highly technical technique but it is used by spammers everyday.

In development is a spam filtration device that will force those senders who use email addresses that are not really in use to have to verify that they are using a real, verified email address. In the system that is known as Sender Policy Framework, when a person sends emails from one of these devices it will look up to make sure that a person really does have permission to send from that particular email server.

As with all spam filtration devises this one does have limitations.

If the sender policy framework were to be put into effect it could prevent mobile users from being able to send emails from their devises. The devises are not verifiable and therefore are considered a spam devise by the Sender Policy Framework.

Another drawback from this type of spam filtration system is that not all ISP have static IP addresses. If the IP address is changing it can’t be verified and a person may run into trouble sending emails right from their own home because of the changing IP address.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Email address, Internet service provider, Sender Policy Framework

Spam Filtration System: The Challenge Response System

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Have you ever had the experience of sending an email to a friend or co-worker, only to get an email a few minutes later asking you to click a link or type in some numbers? It certainly can be frutrating for the person who has to do it but did you ever wonder why that happens?

The person that you sent an email to is using a system known as a challenger response system. What this system is set up to do is to make what is known as a white list of acceptable senders of emails. It assumes that spammers do not have a verifiable email address and therefore will not get the email to verify the address and put them on the white list.

Challenger response systems are great for people who have a very limited email list or who do not want any type of spam at all in their email box. However with all spam filtration systems there are some major drawbacks to using this type of spam protection.

First is the problem if one challenger response system meets another one. There is no way for one to respond to the other and be put on the whitelist of acceptable email senders. This can prevent email communications from flowing should one person forget to add the other to their system when they first make email contact with each other.

The second issue is that of mailing lists and other emails. Mailing lists that you sign up for are wanted email ads that you have opt-ed into. None of these lists have the ability to verify that they are a real email address and be put on the white list. You could ultimately be missing out on important email communication if you do not put any of these lists or senders on the white lists.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Email address, Email box, Spam

SPAM: The Who, What, Where and Why’s of This Email Communication

Spam has become such a huge part of our daily lives that it is almost second nature to click the emails and delete them from our lives. However, did you ever wonder who started spam messages and why they are growing in such popularity over the years?

Spam messages are believed to have started with a company that advertised for a local law firm. The law firm was advertising something known as the Green Card Immigration Lottery. Instead of just posting one message as an ad, the company posted several different messages on a news forum. This particular forum was devoted to the talking and discussion of various news stories and when an ad for immigration green card lottery showed up the users were immediately annoyed. They coined the phrase spam. Some believe that it is an abbreviation for stop post a message, others think it is just a cute term that caught on with a group of users that is used today.

Spam messages have of course grown and developed over the years. They are no longer just forum posts that are being posted to a news forum. Instead they are now emails asking about vitamins, get quick schemes and even distributing harmful spyware to computers.

What started as one user simply posting the same message over and over in a forum, quickly became one user using software that was intended for the use of mailing lists and such to be used to distribute the spam to hundreds of thousands of email addresses at one time.

It’s amazing what one user could do to impact the way that people send and receive emails. Since that day people have received over a million pieces of spam in their email inbox for just one year. That’s a huge increase from that one simple ad for Green Card Immigration Lottery.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Email address, Message, Spam

Just Delete Those Spam Messages

It’s invaded the messages boards, it’s invaded your emails and it doesn’t appear to ever have an end in sight. It’s the invasion of spam messages to your inbox!

Every person who has an email address has some type of spam in it at some point. Maybe it’s a message asking you to buy certain products, maybe it’s trying to wheel you into giving them personal information and stealing information from you. Others are trying to infect your computer with key loggers, malware and spyware. Whatever the reason spam is a problem and there is no way around it.

Certain email providers will have spam folders and other types of email devices that can help prevent the amount of spam that gets into your inbox. However, these types of devices are not 100% fool proof at all. Spammers can get around them by altering their email address, putting deceptive titles in the email box and other ways of getting around those annoying blocking spam messages.

So what can you do to truly get rid of spam?

Do you click that opt out link?

The opt out link is at the bottom of the email and will usually ask if you want to opt out of emails in the future. Many people fall for this deceptive measure and will click it. While they believe that they are really opting out of an email they are actually confirming that the email is a real one and will receive more email.

No the only sure way to prevent any spam from ever returning is to just simply point, click and delete the messages that come your way. Deleting them does not allow you to acknowledge that they are real email addresses, while it also doesn’t give the spammer the chance to infect your computer with malware, spyware or harmful viruses.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Email address, Email box, Spam

Should You Report Spam?

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Getting spam in your inbox can be annoying, time consuming and even dangerous. It’s become such a problem that people are changing their email addresses that they have had for years and years because of the amount of spam they are getting. Today, there are opportunities to look up the email addresses that you are suspicious of and find out who they belong to. Just like there are reverse phone number lookups, there are also reverse email lookups.

There are directories online with reports from others who receive emails from the same email addresses you are. From that alone you can get an idea of who the company is, but even further is the IP address and server company that they are registered with. This can be of great value when you go to report them.

While it may not be totally illegal to receive emails from such companies, you do have the right to complain about what you are receiving and the quantity that you are receiving it in. If you are receiving inappropriate information to your email then by all means report that. You can then report your complaint.

Most of us have seen the “inappropriate” emails that advertise male enhancement or sexually explicit information.

Many people wonder if it is worth it or not to report spam emails and so to save time they just delete the emails that they don’t know. But, you can actually do a great service to yourself and others when you report these emails. Don’t forget that spam is not just an inconvenience; it can also be very damaging. Spam emails can contain viruses that really harm computers.

Why? Because reporting that a company is sending you such emails will be an alert. The companies will then be notified that they cannot send anymore of those spam emails. If they continue to practice sending spam emails like the ones you complained about then they are at risk at having their business shut down. It’s a serious issue, so do your part and make a stand.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: Email, Email address, Spam

Protect Yourself From Getting Reported As Spam

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There is a lot of information out there on how to prevent spam from filling up your inbox, but what if you are a company with good intentions that wants to send out frequent advertisements, promotions or newsletters to prospective or existing customers?

The first thing you should do is find a good email marketing program that contains certain functions to help your business grow. A good company will allow you to collect email addresses from virtually all of your customers and even visitors to your website or store. This is critical as these are the people you will be sending your offers to. They may turn into first time customers or repeat customers.

You want to be sure that the information you are sending them is legitimate and honest and full of quality. Once you receive their email, be sure that you respond to them with an auto-responder that tells them to opt in or out of your mailing list. This is the most critical aspect when it comes to getting reported for spam. Once they opt-in, anything you send them cannot be considered spam. If they say yes to receiving emails from you then they cannot later report you when they don’t want to receive an email. But, it you have sent emails to those who have not opted in to your email list, you can also offer the opportunity for the recipient to opt-out. When they do this, there name will be removed from your database of emails and they will no longer receive your emails.

Having a good email marketing company will allow you to easily keep track of how many opens, click throughs and visitors you get based on the email you sent. You will be able to see who is opting in and out of the emails. This is all important information as you will be able to discern which email are the most efficient and generate the most response. It goes without say, that the ones that generate a better response are the types of emails you should continue to send.

Filed Under: Spam Tagged With: E-mail marketing, Electronic mailing list, Email address

The Real Way to Protect Yourself from Spam

It’ at an all time high. Spam. People are deleting as much as 50 emails a day from their spam and junk folders. The topics are laughable and some of them totally unheard of. In any case, they are spam and they take up a lot of your mailbox space as well as your time.

Here are some ways to prevent spam:

Have two email addresses. With two email accounts you can separate the important emails from the non-important emails. One email account should be for business, people that you want to hear from and it should reflect your name. The second account should be the email address that you use for the sites that you visit, which require you to put in an email address. This is the email to use for subscriptions etc. This is where the spam comes from. Without realizing it, you are agreeing your email to be shared with all of their affiliates and therefore, the 20 plus emails a day come rolling in.

When you do receive emails on your main account, do not open them or click on the links provided inside them. This is what leads to more spam and possibly viruses. The only thing you can do is to scroll to the bottom of the email and click on the opt-out link that they provide, which will allow you to take your name off of their list. Otherwise, just delete it and move on. Do NOT reply to them.

Only respond to people that you know. Spammers have very clever ways of getting information from you. They know how to make themselves appear professional and they have ways of sparking your interest base on your history of purchases, subscriptions and sites that you have visited. There are even spammers that get your information and everyone in your address book and send emails as if they are coming from your address! This might happen to you. This is why, if anything looks suspicious and unfamiliar, you should delete it.

Follow the above advice and protect yourself against the spam!

Filed Under: Protection Tagged With: Email, Email address, Spam