How to Keep Your Self Off The Spam List

Thursday, September 4, 2008

I will start this off very simple. Spamhaus Block List (SBL) is the list everyone wants to stay off of. Spamhaus.org is the main place people check to see if some one is considered a spammer or not. The information here on in is collected from Spamhaus.org and these are the main guidelines and rules that need to be followed:

Or "How do I keep my spammers off my network?"

Enforce a strong Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

Read postmaster@ and abuse@ mailboxes every day, and act on reports!

Maintain accurate and active contact information in "whois" records.

Check out new clients at http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/.

Check out new clients at http://groups.google.com/.

Be sure that your role accounts & feedback loops are working properly, which includes:
* Working postmaster@ and abuse@ mailboxes (RFC2822, RFC2142).
* IP ranges registered with AOL FBL, SpamCop and others.
* Domains registered with The Network Abuse Clearinghouse (abuse.net).

These are your main guidelines on keeping your IP address's off any Spam List. If your IP address is already on Spamhaus.org, and have already taken the proper measures to get taken off of there list than please read the information below:

When will Spamhaus.org remove my IP(s) from the SBL?

There are a few issues ISPs need to take care of before confirming that an SBL-listed spammer has been removed. Once the spammer is removed, the ISP should request removal by by sending a removal request to the SBL removal queue (click the "contact the SBL Team" mailto link on the bottom of each SBL listing page). While specifics of each listing vary, basically the spam problem must be completely stopped. Here are some of the steps for a general case of a spammer's dedicated account: the server needs to be taken down or disconnected (except if it concerns a virtual or shared server); any PTR entries need to be cleared or set back to its default setting; any DNS entries served by the ISPs main DNS servers for the SBL-listed customer should be cleared; the ISP's MX server should no longer accept mail for the SBL-listed customer; if the IP addresses were SWiP'd or in Whois, they should be removed or a request for removal to the RIR should have been made.

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SPAM?

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Well everyone knows this blog is about everything to do with the internet and some extras that I figure can help you all in your daily business lives plus somethings to help you in your personal life. Well this article is on SPAM, we all get it and we all know what it is. But do we know what they (Companies that control what IP address's are considered spammers.) say SPAM is?

Here is SPAM's definition:

Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send -- most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender.

There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on Internet users. Cancellable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. (Through long experience, Usenet users have found that any message posted to so many newsgroups is often not relevant to most or all of them.) Usenet spam is aimed at "lurkers", people who read newsgroups but rarely or never post and give their address away. Usenet spam robs users of the utility of the newsgroups by overwhelming them with a barrage of advertising or other irrelevant posts. Furthermore, Usenet spam subverts the ability of system administrators and owners to manage the topics they accept on their systems.

Email spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. Email spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses. Email spams typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Many people - anyone with measured phone service - read or receive their mail while the meter is running, so to speak. Spam costs them additional money. On top of that, it costs money for ISPs and online services to transmit spam, and these costs are transmitted directly to subscribers.

One particularly nasty variant of email spam is sending spam to mailing lists (public or private email discussion forums.) Because many mailing lists limit activity to their subscribers, spammers will use automated tools to subscribe to as many mailing lists as possible, so that they can grab the lists of addresses, or use the mailing list as a direct target for their attacks.

The information above was gotten from: What is Spam?

I know that it is a frustrating fight to deal with, I receive everyday over 3,000 pieces of SPAM mail. It clutters up my inbox and my junk email folder and no matter how many times I opt out or unsubscribe they still send it to me. Granted it might stop for a day or two, but the same people I had just unsubscribed from are sending me emails again trying to say to me that I opt back in. Honestly lately I have not even wanted to check my Email because there is so much SPAM I have to sift through just to see what's happening with friends, family, and to get the newsletter's that I actually am subscribed to.

But really I'm writing this for you to understand what it takes for your emailing and marketing tactics to become considered SPAM. For one your mail server and Internet provider have even further restrictions on what they consider SPAM and about what rights you have to when it comes to sending Email through there servers. Some people have such strict rules that it tells you that you can only send mail to people that your personally know. Make sure you read the Terms of Service when it comes to signing up with anyone that is going to be providing you, your mail server.

Well, I hope everyone understands the restrictions that are placed on them. Come back tomorrow to find out how to make sure your mail is put on Server's White List for emails. It is easily accomplished and it's better off you do it now before your Mail get's flagged as SPAM.

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