SPAM
 | ||||
IP BLOCKING:
Comcast and AOL block IP addresses or an entire E-mail Servers if THEY be-lieve it is a source of SPAM.
Unless you have your own server, which very few of us do, you share servers with thousands of others. If just one of those accounts is identified as SPAM source, you may find your mail blocked.
Comcast makes it very difficlut to get this block removed. So tough -- you are out of luck. AOL will automatically remove the block, if the SPAM stops.
Comcast has received a LOT of com-plaints, but the seem to have adopted the "deaf ear."
This is an example of Comcast's deci-sion to block ALL IP addresses in the 70.*.*.* group.
General
| ||||
FILTERS:
Most ISPs provide WebMail service with software that examines message and based on content decides if it is SPAM.
If SPAM the software either deletes the message or saves it in Bulk Mail folders.
Unfortunately, filters aren't perfect. A lot of bad stuff gets through and a lot of good stuff gets blocked (false positives). That is why it is never a good idea just to delete messages.
You can use "white-listing" to force the filter to accept messages that it has been rejecting or "black-listing" to force it to reject stuff it has been accepting.
| ||||
E-mail for serious communication may soon be dead and the SPAMMERS killed it.
SPAM represents 90% of all e-mail messages and in October 2006 alone the volume increased by 69% to 80% according to many monitoring stations. For Internet Service Providers with already heavily loaded e-mail server due to spam, that kind of spike can shut them down or play havoc email delivery.
The current source of the problem is two fold: SpamBot networks and image-messaging. Spambots result from users inadvertently downloading spyware to their computers in the form of Trojans when they open e-mail from criminal sources or visit high risk web sites. This malware unbeknownst to the owner converts that computer into a spam generator that criminals now control.
All anti-spam software depends on reading text in e-mail to predict if it is spam. The latest spam technique has circumvented that requirement. It sends out legitimate text and imbeds advertisement as pictures that no anti-spam software available today can read.
So image-spam generated by spambot networks easily passes today’s filters and overload systems. Users and facilitators of legitimate e-mail have a major crisis. The major ISP’s such as Comcast and AOL have decided just to block all traffic by IP address, regardless of its content. That draconian measure means a lot of good e-mail is not getting through, because it is blocked before it even gets to user mailboxes and they never know what is happening.
Other ISP’s have tightened up their SPAM filters. The number of “false positives” has increased significantly. If a user does not review what these filters call spam, he is loosing good mail. But at least with these providers a user can see what the ISP considers to be spam. With Comcast and AOL they make that determination and tell their clients nothing.
For Comcast’s customers their only option is to open an e-mail account with another company if they need their mail. That is exactly what Comcast service techs are telling their customers. AOL is not quite as bad, but for image reasons professionals shouldn’t be using AOL for work. Comcast and AOL seem be ignoring the high level of consumer complaints about their practice. E-mail only service with anti-spam and anti-virus protection can be purchased for $10/yr.
With other providers Web Mail is the best service. It saves in the Bulk Mail folder what their Spam filters block. Clients can move “false positives” to their Inbox for subsequent downloading. So nothing is lost. GoDaddy, the hosting company for Crane Interiors, provides a simple adjustable filter with black/white listing capability. The on-line documentation is good and users can retrieve their mail from any computer with internet access.
The desktop e-mail client (Outlook Express or Thunderbird) can use POP3 mail to download good and “moved” mail from the Web Mail In-box.
All owners should take extra-ordinary care to protect their computers from becoming a spambot. Keep the operating system current with the latest updates. Keep the anti-virus and anti-spam software up-to-date. We recommend AGAINST using Norton or MacAfee Security Suites. This software is bloat-ware and often causes trouble. We remove software from these two companies on all new computers and replace it with a much simpler eTrust Anti-virus. The two FREE anti-virus software products offered on this Web Site are excellent choices for a home computer. The FREE Spybot Search & Destroy is a good anti-spyware program. Be sure to setup the immunization option.
Don’t be a source of spam or provide lists of e-mail addresses that spammers can harvest. Exchanging chain mail is a violation of company rules. The forwarding of jokes, words of wisdom, prayers, etc. is not acceptable business behavior, poor netiquette, and may violate company anti-harassment policy. When sending mail to groups, hide their addresses. Address the message to yourself and use “blind copy” to send it to others.
In the last two months we have spent more time trying to e-mail problems resolved than in our entire history with the Internet. We have shutdown the forwarding of all e-mail to Comcast and no longer use Comcast for any e-mail. We now use AT&T Yahoo for all forwarded e-mail. Once their spam filter was fairly accurate, but now it is almost useless. Maybe the October spike broke it and it has not recovered. Image-messages now pass easily through the filters. The “false-positives” are now very high.
We have moved the host provider for Crane-interiors.com from SiteServer to GoDaddy because the later provides a superior e-mail product. The host provider for evanscenter.com BlueHost has had to move IP addresses (including that assigned to evanscenter.com) from the 70.*.*.* block to 69.*.*.* because Comcast was blocking almost all mail from the former group. It has removed all “catch-all” accounts because they were overloading their servers. While all this is happening, we have been running diagnostics on all our domains to be sure their setup is compliance with all Internet practices and aren’t on anyone’s blacklists.
| ||||
SPAMBOT:
Spyware downloaded from e-mail or mali-cioius Web Sites can turn any computer into a generator of SPAM at the beack-oning of a criminal anywhere on earth.
SPAMBOTS are typically organized into networks of tens of thousands of com-puters, which can be turned on/off by the criminal.
If your computer gets turned into a SPAMBOT, you are eventually going to find your e-mail blacklisted, often without your knowledge.
| ||||
$ MAKE MONEY $
$ STOP SPAM $
