What Is
Spam?
Spam is unsolicited
"junk" email sent out in gargantuan quantities to promote unwanted
products or objectionable services. It is also called unsolicited commercial
email (UCE). It can be chain letters, get-rich-quick schemes, invitations
to sexually explicit web sites, questionable health products, or suspicious
too-good-to-be-true offers. And one of the biggest ISP providers, AOL,
stated publicly that "of the 30 million email messages [sent] each
day, about 30% on average was unsolicited commercial email." That's
alot of junk mail!
For a full listing
of what classifies as Spam, visit the the CAUCE (Coalition Against Unsolicited
Commercial Email) web site at:
http:// www.cauce.org/about/problem.shtml
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The
Problem With Spam:
-
Spam
costs the receiver time and money! You pay for
the privilege of email, it is not public domain. You should not
have your time wasted by spammers, especially if you still pay an
hourly ISP rate.
-
It creates
a drag on all e-mail when ISPs are busy processing
a humongous amount spam. This can also cause problems with access,
speed, and reliability. And filters, although a worthy attempt to
stop spam, slow the process down even further.
-
Spam wastes
resources. Some sneaky spammers bounce their e-mails off innocent
third party mail servers. This fills the unsuspecting mail system
with unwanted spam, takes up their managers time dealing with it,
and subjects them to complaints from the recipients of the spam.
Check out more reasons
why spam is bad at: http://spam.abuse.net/overview/spambad.shtml
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How To Avoid
Spam:
-
Choose carefully
what sites, discussion lists, or companies on the Web to subscribe
to or buy from. Always check the privacy policy on the web site to
make sure that they do not share your email address with others.
-
Asked to be removed
from their mailing list. Be forewarned: this is sometimes a catch-22
in that it merely verifies that your email address is valid; opening
you up to even more spam.
-
You may want
to create a free email account specifically for listservs, discussion
groups, and/or if your address appears on a web site.
-
Most email programs
provide filters that can be customized to your preferences.
-
Adjust the security
setting on your Web browser.
For more ways to avoid
spam, click on this link
(http://kb.indiana.edu/data/adbh.html?cust=058708.12967.131)
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Been
Spammed?
- Reply to sender.
Visit the Death
to Spam web site for an example message that they use to request
the removal of an email address.
- Contact the sender's
Internet Service Provider. Almost all ISP providers forbid spam. If
the junk email received is from slimeball@rodent.com, send
a message to postmaster@rodent.com. You might want to copy
it to webmaster@rodent.com.
- Some spam is
illegal. Report it. Visit SpamCon
for details.
The following web
sites (both listed above) offer excellent solutions to dealing with unwanted
email:
Death to Spam at: http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/nospam.html
SpamCon Foundation at: http://www.spamcon.org/recipients/spam-response/index.shtml
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Maryland
Law
Maryland passed House
Bill 915 in May of 2002, which outlaws sending commercial e-mail with
"unauthorized, misleading, or false information." It also provides
recipients of the emails, as well as those who've had their identity forged,
the opportunity to sue for damages (up to $500). A small step in the right
direction. |
Federal
Law
There is currently
no federal law specifically regarding spam. Visit Remove.org
to view current legislation. (http://www.remove.org/laws/federal/spam.html)
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