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The Life of a SPAM You probably wonder how your e-mail address got on all of those annoying SPAM lists. You're sure that you didn't voluntarily submit your address. There are several ways that your e-mail can make it onto a SPAM list. One way is to use a program that guesses e-mail addresses. Popular e-mail providers such as AOL, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail have so many users that a combining a random name with some random numbers will probably produce a legitimate e-mail address. Once the program creates the random combinations, an e-mail is sent to them to see which are legitimate. |
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Another method is to use public information sites such as Network Solutions' WHOIS. This site allows you to view the owner of any domain name, as well as, in most cases, the owner's e-mail address. Network Solutions, however, recently began requiring that visitors enter a specific key before viewing this information. This new step may prevent SPAM harvesting programs from running automatic scripts to collect the e-mail information.
Once you are on a SPAM list, it is nearly impossible to get off. SPAM messages usually include a way to unsubscribe, but disreputable spammers may simply use that as a front for confirming that your e-mail account is active. Only attempt to unsubscribe if you know that the company that sent the e-mail is reputable, otherwise, you may simply open a can of worms.
SPAM Filter Technology
Most SPAM filtering programs are considered to be imperfect tools for fixing a complex problem. One drawback to them is that the time you once spent deleting your unwanted SPAM is now used to micromanage your SPAM filtering program. Another drawback is that SPAM filters rarely block out all SPAM. The most critical drawback is that if you set the SPAM filter to be more selective, some valid e-mail can be blocked.
Why is this the case? Though SPAM filtering programs use technology that scans e-mail and weighs the content for its SPAM possibilities, it is up to you to determine the cutoff point. If you set the weight too high, you might block legitimate e-mail. If you set it too low, you may not block all SPAM. The better anti-SPAM programs allow you to place legitimate e-mail senders on the non-spammer list, but require that you spend much more time managing SPAM rules.
Regardless of the drawbacks of SPAM filtering programs, it is still a good to have one, particularly in a business environment. A good rule of thumb for using SPAM filters is to begin with a looser setting, so that legitimate e-mails are not filtered out, and then tighten the settings gradually to achieve the optimum balance.
The Future of SPAM
Two important pieces of anti-SPAM legislation are the CAN-SPAM ACT of 2003 and a proposal by New York Senator Charles Schumer. Schumer's proposal would force spammers to include "ADV" in the subject line of SPAM messages. This would enable filters to effectively block all SPAM. Though it sounds promising, Schumer's proposal addresses a symptom, rather than the underlying cause, since only reputable marketers would abide by the rule. Schumer's proposal would also make e-mail harvesting and its related technology illegal, and create a national do not-spam registry.
Both pieces of legislation penalize senders for falsifying header information. One of the biggest problems with SPAM is the near impossibility of discovering who actually sends it. Once we have technology that identifies who creates the SPAM, filtering programs will no longer be needed.
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