Those darn spammers...
I'm wondering how you guys handle spam in your website's webmail accounts. An email address at a site I maintain is on spam list that generates at least 6-10 junk mails/day offering to enlarge body parts, sell anything from discount pharmacueticals to online degrees, and of course the requsite porn mail. Few of the emails have a opt out/unsubscribe feature, but I'm even wary of those that do. I often wonder if using the opt out feature on junk sent from free email accounts like yahoo or hotmail just makes matters worse and ultimately gets you put on more spam lists because you're confirmed that your email account is active.
Long story shorter....
How do you guys manage email accounts to minimize the amount of spam? Other than using filter to delete mails that have things like viagra in the subject heading, what else can I do?
Suzanne posted this at 18:30 — 22nd April 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
hiveware.com/enkoder.php
migrate your email addresses and then protect the new ones.
though, really, 6-10 junk email messages a day isn't bad, lol.
isadmin3 posted this at 18:47 — 22nd April 2004.
They have: 31 posts
Joined: Jun 2003
I agree 6-10 isnt that bad, but when you dont check email with any frequency, its a problem. I noticed a ton of messages in the site owner's account. She hasn't check it in weeks. I logged in and saw she had maybe 10-15 real emails and about 200 offers for viagra, pics of naked celebrities, and various other crap. lol.
Suzanne posted this at 18:31 — 22nd April 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
And yes, you should usually ignore the "opt out" -- that just confirms that your email address is a "live" one, you got it.
Suzanne posted this at 20:06 — 22nd April 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
Yes, that's nastier. Her email application may have filters you can use. Or you can filter on the server but it isn't foolproof and can block good email.
Greg K posted this at 21:17 — 22nd April 2004.
He has: 2,145 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
I have in the past two weeks started getting a ton of spam sent to random e-mail addresses at my domain names. Since I receive anything @ mydomainname, i get about 10-20 messages a shot. They mainly send to "common names" (mike, dave, bob, etc.) at the same domain name. The only good thing is they are easy to spot, as there are 10-20 right together all with the same subject.
I'd say I delete about 95% of the "average 105" e-mails a day I get. (just recently foudn the statisics report in Eudora
-Greg
Suzanne posted this at 22:30 — 22nd April 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
I get about 10-30 valid emails daily. Sometimes a lot higher, rarely lower.
I turned off the default email for my domains, it was far too much of a drain on my server to handle those email. I'll take the loss of communication from someone who can't click a link.
chachi posted this at 23:25 — 22nd April 2004.
They have: 9 posts
Joined: Apr 2004
Hi, I am new to the WMF.net forums, but I think I can help you with your spam problems. We have a free, hosted (no software for you to install) anti spam solution for webmasters/site owners alike that can be found at http://www.supportsentry.com/spamblock.html. There are no gimmicks, no fine print, it is free. We are giving it away to help promote our upcomming customer service software called WebSupport. Check it out and if you have any questions, you can email me or post here and I will be glad to answer any questions. Also, we would love any feedback you have.
-Jason aka Chachi
Jason G. Reciprocal Link Manager | San Diego Real Estate | Customer service software
Greg K posted this at 23:35 — 22nd April 2004.
He has: 2,145 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
I already have two spam blockers running (one on server, one with AV software), however I still check them over as several times they have tagged legitimate e-mail as spam. (I do have it dump it all into a separate folder though, and usually then give it a quick over before deleteing the contents of that folder.)
I leave my server set to pass though all mail so that I can use whatever address I want when sigining up. Say I go to goodfreeweboffers.com and sign up for their "free newsletter". I signup with the e-mail address of goodfreeweboffers.com@mydomainname so that if they do give out that adress to spammers, i know where they got the address and I can easily set the server to discard mail to that address. (It is amazing how many places that "respect your privacy and will not sell your address" generate a lot of extra spam).
-Greg
chachi posted this at 23:46 — 22nd April 2004.
They have: 9 posts
Joined: Apr 2004
good point greg. I always setup a new alias for every site I sign up for or give an email address to. Then I know exactly who the offender is. I did not mention that our SpamBlock software works a bit differently than traditional anti spam software. We use a CAPTCHA system that requires the sender of an email to visit a web page and enter the CAPTCHA code (funky letters and numbers like on Overture or network solutions) before the email will be sent. This eliminates all auto-generated spam without using white lists, black lists or installing software. We figured this was a better way to go for most site owners/operators. Click on my "email me" link and you will see what I am talking about.
Jason G. Reciprocal Link Manager | San Diego Real Estate | Customer service software
Want to join the discussion? Create an account or log in if you already have one. Joining is fast, free and painless! We’ll even whisk you back here when you’ve finished.