25 July 2005
The Breakthrough Solution to Spam Filters and Email Blockers
Email broadcasts to opt-in clients are no longer reaching targeted audiences anymore. Aggressive spam filters are blocking legitimate emails sent by companies and are costing businesses’ billions in loses each and every year. According to Double Click, an advertising and email delivery company, reports in their Q3 2004 Email Trend Report, that the average email deliver rate (emails sent minus the combined hard and soft bounce-back rate, but not counting the e-mail messages, blocked by various filters without bouncing the message) grew slightly to 89.3%, while the average open rate is only 34.3%. The average click through rate is 8.3% and the click-to-purchase conversion rate grew to 4.2%. It’s difficult and frustrating enough to convert members into buyers, but with the blockage by spam and email filters, legitimate companies worldwide with client and prospect lists are losing tremendous revenue every year. Businesses are crippled because only 20% to 50% of their content communication is reached. This disastrous implication not only affects your existing clientele from getting your company’s news and product announcements, but it also starves your business from converting new prospects into clients as well. But have no fear, there’s a breakthrough way to go around the spam and email problem. It’s called RSS feeds. By using RSS feeds, your news and email broadcasts get delivered to 100% of your member lists, Guaranteed! How you ask? Well, because a RSS feed is an opt-in subscription feed. Once your members subscribe to your RSS feed, all of your messages, news, and announcements will be delivered to your subscribers’ desktop instantly, without any of the irritating hassles of filters and blockers. RSS feeds were initially used online by the news media; newspapers like the Wall Street Journal use RSS Feeds. Now you can have your very own feed. Think of an RSS Feed as your opportunity to start your own broadcasting empire online for no cost. RSS is a way to "syndicate" your message and business content.Syndication = Huge Traffic = Money... Just ask Oprah.An RSS Feed is a way to broadcast your message directly to your target market. This is a way to stay in front of your clients and prospects and deliver your message. You can do this in the time that it takes to write an email.RSS have been around for a few years but are just starting to make their way into the business & marketing world. Because they are just starting to go mainstream now is the time to catch the wave. RSS is really taking off fast.It's called first mover advantage when you are ahead of the crowd...and now is time to be a first mover in this space. Search engines are now creating separate indexes and directories for RSS Feeds. You can get listed at or near the top of these directories if you act now, and you will get free traffic from these high rankings in these directories.It would be like knowing all about search engines and how Google ranked your site 5 years ago. This will be a huge advantage for many reasons: you can get free traffic, better search engine rankings, and repeat targeted visitors hungry and ready to buy your services and products, etc...This technology is just beginning to explode. RSS usage is exponentially growing every month.Why should you care? This is the hottest new technology since the web browser. It’s going to change the way people get information online forever. This means getting your news, product announcements, or broadcasts delivered 100% of the time to all of your opt-in members and subscribers. Say goodbye to spam filters and email blockers. The window of opportunity to make a huge financial impact is now.
Spam block has its own ethical issues
A couple of years ago, this column featured the prediction that the junk e-mail problem would be coming under control right about now. So much for clairvoyance.
Instead, between 60 and 70 percent of the world's e-mail is spam. Even a federal anti-spam law and a number of high-profile federal prosecutions haven't put a kink in the hose. With so many junk mail marketers on the loose, locking up a couple here and there makes hardly any difference. Distracted by terrorism, drugs, and organized crime, cops won't hammer the spammers with an all-out nationwide dragnet, the only strategy that might work.
Perhaps technology can save us: more aggressive spam filters, maybe, or new technologies that will identify and block spammers before they can run wild. Many such ideas are making the rounds; why haven't they paid off? In large part, because spam-fighters have spent so much time sparring among themselves.
Just look at the dispute over Sender ID, an e-mail authentication system backed by Microsoft Corp. Most spam contains phony return addresses, making it hard to track the filth back to its lair. Sender ID would add a feature to the e-mail system that would enable it to confirm the true origin of a piece of e-mail, thus making it harder for spammers to hide. It's not a cure-all -- you would still need to block the spam. But that's a lot easier when you've accurately identified the source.
But will Sender ID work? A recent study by a panel of technical experts found that the system has a host of technical problems. That hasn't stopped Microsoft from trying to patent key portions of the technology. This move terrified other firms, who don't want their e-mail put at the mercy of the world's most merciless software company. So some of them have rallied around an alternative authentication system developed by the search company Yahoo Inc.
The Internet Engineering Task Force, which must decide on the best technical solution, is still thinking about it. ''No consensus has yet been reached concerning a single technical approach," the task force said last month, news that no doubt warmed many a spammer's heart.
It's enough to make you feel trapped, desperate, eager to strike back with any tool at hand. So an Israeli entrepreneur's plan to choke spam at its source has a certain spiteful appeal.
''We're looking for people who are willing to stand up for their online rights," said Eran Reshef, founder and chief executive of Blue Security Inc. The company, in Menlo Park Calif., and Herzliya, Israel, has scared up $3 million in venture funding from Benchmark Capital. Now it's rounding up a digital posse to unleash against the companies that torment us.
Instead, between 60 and 70 percent of the world's e-mail is spam. Even a federal anti-spam law and a number of high-profile federal prosecutions haven't put a kink in the hose. With so many junk mail marketers on the loose, locking up a couple here and there makes hardly any difference. Distracted by terrorism, drugs, and organized crime, cops won't hammer the spammers with an all-out nationwide dragnet, the only strategy that might work.
Perhaps technology can save us: more aggressive spam filters, maybe, or new technologies that will identify and block spammers before they can run wild. Many such ideas are making the rounds; why haven't they paid off? In large part, because spam-fighters have spent so much time sparring among themselves.
Just look at the dispute over Sender ID, an e-mail authentication system backed by Microsoft Corp. Most spam contains phony return addresses, making it hard to track the filth back to its lair. Sender ID would add a feature to the e-mail system that would enable it to confirm the true origin of a piece of e-mail, thus making it harder for spammers to hide. It's not a cure-all -- you would still need to block the spam. But that's a lot easier when you've accurately identified the source.
But will Sender ID work? A recent study by a panel of technical experts found that the system has a host of technical problems. That hasn't stopped Microsoft from trying to patent key portions of the technology. This move terrified other firms, who don't want their e-mail put at the mercy of the world's most merciless software company. So some of them have rallied around an alternative authentication system developed by the search company Yahoo Inc.
The Internet Engineering Task Force, which must decide on the best technical solution, is still thinking about it. ''No consensus has yet been reached concerning a single technical approach," the task force said last month, news that no doubt warmed many a spammer's heart.
It's enough to make you feel trapped, desperate, eager to strike back with any tool at hand. So an Israeli entrepreneur's plan to choke spam at its source has a certain spiteful appeal.
''We're looking for people who are willing to stand up for their online rights," said Eran Reshef, founder and chief executive of Blue Security Inc. The company, in Menlo Park Calif., and Herzliya, Israel, has scared up $3 million in venture funding from Benchmark Capital. Now it's rounding up a digital posse to unleash against the companies that torment us.
More tips on the use of Outlook Express
Use HTML Format: You may have received e-mail, such as newsletters that have images, animation, tables, and other features of a Web page. Have you wondered how to create such a mail? There are two ways. In the first (and perhaps the less versatile) method you compose the message directly in OE. You can use options like Insert Picture, Horizontal Line, Hyperlink, and others to create a Web page-like mail.
In the second method you use an HTML editor or software like Dreamweaver to create a Web page. First, create the page and save it as an HTML file. Second, position the cursor in the OE message composition window where you want the page to appear. Third, select Insert > Text from File, and specify the file. While HTML messages can add a new dimension to your mail, be aware, however, that such messages not only take more time to download from the server, but may also annoy the recipient. Get Hotmail Mail If you have a Hotmail account, you can download it without having to visit that site. Here are the steps: Start OE. Click Tools > Accounts. Click the Mail tab. Click Add > Mail. Type a name in the Display name field. Click Next. Type your Hotmail address in the E-mail address field. Click Next. Select HTTP from the "My incoming mail server is a" menu. Click Next. Type your Hotmail login name and password. Click Next > Finish. Opening Attachments If you receive a mail with an attachment from someone you don't know, you should not open it. Because it may contain virus, it is better that you delete the mail. If you do want to open the attachment, however, first scan it with an up-to-date antivirus software. Even if you know the sender, you should scan the attachment before you open it. Note that certain antivirus software automatically scans all incoming and outgoing mail. Ignore Spam A bane of e-mail communication is spam. If you receive spam mail, don't reply to it. If you do, it will only confirm that your e-mail address is valid. And, spammers may bombard your Inbox with more junk mail. Use filters to reduce spam mail. Many ISPs and free e-mail service providers (such as Yahoo!) offer additional options to tackle unwanted mail. You have another way to deal with spam: Complain to the spammer's ISP. That may not be easy, however, as spam mail are often sent using fake e-mail IDs. In such a case, see if the domain (the part after the @ symbol of the e-mail address) is visible. If yes, send e-mail to the domain's postmaster. Example: If the domain is services.isp.net, complain to postmaster@services.isp.net. Use a Different ID For general use, obtain an e-mail address from free e-mail service providers like Yahoo! The benefits from such an ID include huge storage space, options to tackle spam, and facility to scan attachments. When someone wants to send you an important message, you can ask him/her to send one copy to your main e-mail address (given by your ISP), and a carbon copy (Cc) to the free mail ID. If, for some reason, you're not able to retrieve the mail from one account, you've an alternative way to access the mail.
In the second method you use an HTML editor or software like Dreamweaver to create a Web page. First, create the page and save it as an HTML file. Second, position the cursor in the OE message composition window where you want the page to appear. Third, select Insert > Text from File, and specify the file. While HTML messages can add a new dimension to your mail, be aware, however, that such messages not only take more time to download from the server, but may also annoy the recipient. Get Hotmail Mail If you have a Hotmail account, you can download it without having to visit that site. Here are the steps: Start OE. Click Tools > Accounts. Click the Mail tab. Click Add > Mail. Type a name in the Display name field. Click Next. Type your Hotmail address in the E-mail address field. Click Next. Select HTTP from the "My incoming mail server is a" menu. Click Next. Type your Hotmail login name and password. Click Next > Finish. Opening Attachments If you receive a mail with an attachment from someone you don't know, you should not open it. Because it may contain virus, it is better that you delete the mail. If you do want to open the attachment, however, first scan it with an up-to-date antivirus software. Even if you know the sender, you should scan the attachment before you open it. Note that certain antivirus software automatically scans all incoming and outgoing mail. Ignore Spam A bane of e-mail communication is spam. If you receive spam mail, don't reply to it. If you do, it will only confirm that your e-mail address is valid. And, spammers may bombard your Inbox with more junk mail. Use filters to reduce spam mail. Many ISPs and free e-mail service providers (such as Yahoo!) offer additional options to tackle unwanted mail. You have another way to deal with spam: Complain to the spammer's ISP. That may not be easy, however, as spam mail are often sent using fake e-mail IDs. In such a case, see if the domain (the part after the @ symbol of the e-mail address) is visible. If yes, send e-mail to the domain's postmaster. Example: If the domain is services.isp.net, complain to postmaster@services.isp.net. Use a Different ID For general use, obtain an e-mail address from free e-mail service providers like Yahoo! The benefits from such an ID include huge storage space, options to tackle spam, and facility to scan attachments. When someone wants to send you an important message, you can ask him/her to send one copy to your main e-mail address (given by your ISP), and a carbon copy (Cc) to the free mail ID. If, for some reason, you're not able to retrieve the mail from one account, you've an alternative way to access the mail.
Filtering spam in Novell Evolution
When I switched to Novell Evolution, finding an anti-spam solution became a top priority. Having warmed to Evolution after noticing that its interface was no longer an imitation of Microsoft Outlook, I quickly learned to appreciate its centralized mail and business tools. Spoiled by Mozilla Thunderbird's built-in spam detection, I wanted some equivalent in Evolution.
Evolution's filtering tools for handling incoming messages provide the raw material for spam detection. However, the filters have difficulty knowing which characteristics of incoming mail should be treated as signs of spam. Information I gleaned from the Internet was only moderately useful; most of it was incomplete, obsolete, or inaccurate.
To find a solution, I pored over the headers of messages that Mozilla Thunderbird had detected as spam. From this research, I isolated the most common characteristics of spam and built several filters without leaving Evolution. Wanting to further improve spam detection, I spent several evenings testing various instructions for linking Evolution with SpamAssassin through a filter until I found one that worked. Taken together, these filters provided all the spam filtering I needed to remove my last obstacle to using Evolution.
Evolution's filtering tools for handling incoming messages provide the raw material for spam detection. However, the filters have difficulty knowing which characteristics of incoming mail should be treated as signs of spam. Information I gleaned from the Internet was only moderately useful; most of it was incomplete, obsolete, or inaccurate.
To find a solution, I pored over the headers of messages that Mozilla Thunderbird had detected as spam. From this research, I isolated the most common characteristics of spam and built several filters without leaving Evolution. Wanting to further improve spam detection, I spent several evenings testing various instructions for linking Evolution with SpamAssassin through a filter until I found one that worked. Taken together, these filters provided all the spam filtering I needed to remove my last obstacle to using Evolution.
Spam Wars: Blue Security Strikes Back
You sit down at your desk in the evening after work. You've had a difficult day, as usual. You just want to come home and check your eBay bids, post on your LiveJournal and your check your email. It's a ritual you know but it works. It provides some relaxation. So you sit down and turn it on and it takes a minute or two to boot up.Your Emeril LaGasse screen theme pops up with "BAM!" going off as it always does. Everything is done loading so you continue the ritual. You open your Outlook Express and the loading begins. Delightful, you've got 384 email messages. Considering you've only got 20 in your contact list, you might have spam. So you check the weather and post in the LiveJournal. The email done by this point. So you start the cleaning process. You've determined that of the 384 emails you've received, 30 were actually something you were interested in. Scene sound familiar? Ever been through the ringer because of spam and it's taken you quite a while to get rid of it all? Even if you set the spam filters for email, it won't cover all of it. Blue Security understands this and they are encouraging users to not get mad, get even. They want you to take play with the "Blue Frog". The Israeli Internet security firm, Blue Security may have a pleasant end for some of those people getting inundated with spam. They've created a "Do Not Intrude Registry that gives users the ability to complain about the deluge of spam they might receive. The way it works is the amount of spam received dictates the amount of complaints. According to their website, if Blue Security gets sent 40,000 spams promoting the same site, that site gets 40,000 complaints right back at it. Eran Aloni, Blue Security's Marketing Director said on the company blog they are "building the community and sending warnings to spammers." The process sounds pretty keen. Various interested parties sign up for the service and complaints build up in honey pots. Then they're dumped on the sites mentioned in the spam people receive. So if www.humongomaleenhancement.com send you spam for natural-unnatural male enhancement products every day, you can simply allow complaints to build in these honeypots and then eventually, www.humongomaleenchancement.com will get hit by tons of these complaints based on each and every spam they had a male enhancement in. There is another side to this story though. An ongoing debate on Blue Security's forum debates the ethics of this project. Blue Security maintains that for every single spam message someone receives, they should be allowed to complain to the parties responsible for it, namely the companies linked too in the spam. Critics say this whole thing is really an unethical DdoS and makes them no better than the groups they say they're protecting people from. As the need for Internet security continues to grow and spam continues to drive people haywire, it stands to reason many would want to take a more active role in defending their computers because people end up with all kinds of garbage on their computers, malicious or just annoying. The questions raised are important as people look for new methods of security, the ethical question is something that must remain in the backs of people's minds. But I do have to admit, it will be sweet seeing the spammers getting a taste of their own medicine.
