Everyone seems annoyed with the spaming we've received lately.
I recalled an email from the TOURBUS List I received some time
ago and though everyone might be interested in reading what they
had to say in their Junk Mail issue. I have cut out quite a bit but
it is still a lengthy message. Since the addresses may be quite
useful, I didn't want to cut more.
Best regards to all,
David Steelman
------------- Original Tourbus message
----------------------------------------------
From: Bob Rankin <bobrankin@MHV.NET>
Subject: TOURBUS - 03 April 1997 - Dealing With Junk Mail
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Adam Boettiger, moderator for the I-Advertising Digest, a moderated
discussion on Internet Advertising, Marketing and Online Commerce
(http://www.exposure-usa.com/i-advertising) has an excellent report
for us today on the topic of "How to Combat Bulk Unsolicited E-mail".
What follows is an edited version of Adam's original work. If you'd
like to read the full text, you can find it online at the address:
http://www.exposure-usa.com/i-advertising/sr.html
"How to Combat Bulk Unsolicited E-mail"
_______________________________________
I consulted with several "Anti-Spam" experts who were kind enough to
provide me with the information I am about to share with you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mark West writes:
Get lots of e-mail offering you get-rich-quick schemes?
Want to hit back? Spam Hater is =free= Windows software that
helps you respond effectively and makes it hot for these
people.
-Analyses the Spam
-Extracts a list of addresses of relevant Postmasters, etc.
-Generates a "WHOIS" query to help track the perpetrator.
-Prepares a reply.
-Choice of legal threats, insults or your own message.
-Appends a copy of the Spam if required.
-Puts it in a mail window ready for sending.
Spam Hater works with lots of popular e-mail programs directly
- there's no tedious cutting and pasting.
Downloads: http://www.compulink.co.uk/~net-services/spam/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John Levine, Trumansburg NY, writes:
One anti-spam technique that's almost completely ineffective
is to ask the spammer to stop. Every spam I get now says
"reply REMOVE to get off this list", yet nearly all of them
have an obviously forged or non-existent return address.
For spam sent from on-line services and ISPs, it's often
effective to send a copy of the spam, with full headers, to
the abuse contact for the provider with a polite request to
make them cut it out. Abuse contact addresses vary, so I offer
a free abuse address forwarding service:
Send a complaint to (domain name)@abuse.networks.net
and it'll get sent to the abuse contact for that domain, e.g.,
gnn.com@abuse.networks.net is sent to gnnadvisor@gnn.com and
abuse@aol.net, GNN's abuse contacts.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ira M. Pasternack writes:
Here is a message I send to the address an unsolicited bulk
e-mail was sent from. I also send it to the postmaster@ the
domain the message was sent from, and often I look up provider
of the domain, and send it to their postmaster:
"I received the following unsolicited bulk email ("spam"),
which apparently originated from your site. Please take
appropriate action to ensure this doesn't happen again."
It is important to realize how easy a spammer can forge an
e-mail address; therefore, I feel that sending anything but a
polite note similar to the one I do is unethical. Some people
will suggest tactics such as sending huge files to the
spammer, but imagine how you would feel if the address you use
was some innocent person's.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Frederick Pearce adds:
Flaming seemed to serve no purpose, and certainly didn't
reduce the volume. Spammers expect flames, presumably, and it
is just like water off a duck's back. I did find some degree
of success copying my flames to postmaster@senders.address,
and admin@senders.address, and abuse@senders.address. But it
wasn't until I toned down the rhetoric - sysops don't like to
be shouted at, either, I suppose!! - that things seemed to
change.
Now I very calmly, and at some length, explain to the sender
that they have inconvenienced me, that there is a better and
more effective way of soliciting business, and directing them
to my page BUSINESS NETIQUETTE INTERNATIONAL
http://www.wp.com/fredfish/Netiq.html where they can learn how
to send unsolicited business mail with far less offence.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I use Eudora Pro 3.0 available at: http://www.eudora.com/ for my email
program. It has the ability to filter all incoming mail, looking at the
headers, subject line, or any text in the body.
For example. Say I get email from CyberPromotions, and they use the
domain "spam.com" in their email address. All I do is create a filter
that looks for @spam.com anywhere in the headers of any incoming email
message I receive, and transfers it to a special "Spam" folder that I
have created just for this type of message.
I do not have it transferred to the trash, because occassionally a
legitimate message slips through. I check my spam folder once every few
days to see if any legitimate messages slipped through.
If you'd like to learn how to filter your incoming email, I have put up
instructions and a list of the domains that I filter for Spam at:
http://www.exposure-usa.com/email/spam.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'd like to close this report by providing you with some other places
that you can go to if you'd like to learn more. Below you will find a
list of sites/links that I have found that should provide you with more
than enough information.
Junk Busters http://www.junkbusters.com/ - A site that provides
an outline of how to handle junk email. They also provide a
fine notice "to senders of uninvited email solicitations" which
can be published at one's Web site and/or used as a response to
junk email.
Spam Hater - http://www.compulink.co.uk/~net-services/spam/
Free software for Windows 3.x & Win 95. Analyze junk email to
find appropriate addresses to send a prepared response to.
Win95 Mail Utilities and Addons
http://www.windows95.com/apps/mailutils.html
Filtering mail FAQ for Pine, Elm and Unix accounts:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mail/filtering-faq/faq.html
Mail Filtering Resources
http://www.glue.umd.edu/enee/medlab/filter/filter.html
E-Filter Software
http://catalog.com/tsw/efilter/
Get that Spammer Software
http://kryten.eng.monash.edu.au/gspam.html
Junk Email remover
http://www.fishnet.net/~seddigh/
List of sites where you can (supposedly) register
to stop receiving junk email:
http://kenjen.com/nospam/
http://www.islandnet.com/~cvcprod/abcmall/email.html
http://www.directnet.com/~spiegel/
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~glr/nojunk.html
http://drsvcs.com/nospam/
Anti-Spamming Fax Law
http://www.ca-probate.com/faxlaw.htm
Netizens against gratuitous spamming
http://axxis.com/~ian/nags/index.html
Death to Spam
http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/nospam.html
Outlaw Junk Mail now (links)
http://www.public.asu.edu/~dtopping/ojen.html
Usenet sources to fight spamming
http://www.mindspring.com/~mdpas/research/intro.html
NetAbuse FAQ (Usenet links)
http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html
Anti-Umail FAQ
http://www.accessnt.com.au/faqs/spam.htm
Blacklist of Internet Advertisers
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~cbrown/BL/
Internet Scambusters
http://www2.scambusters.com/scambusters/
Russ-Smith's Telemarketing and E-Mail Marketing Consumer Information Source
http://www.russ-smith.com/
Spam-Ad Anti-Spamming Mailing List
To subscribe, send mail to to: LISTSERV@INTERNET.COM
In msg body: SUBSCRIBE SPAMAD YOUR_REAL_NAME, YOUR_AFFILIATION_IF_ANY
SPAM-L ANTI-SPAMMING MAILING LIST
To subscribe, send mail to: LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM
In msg body: SUBSCRIBE SPAM-L YOUR_REAL_NAME
ANTI-SPAMMING NEWSGROUP: news.admin.net-abuse.misc
AOL ADMINISTRATION: EMAIL COMPLAINTS
WRITE Tosemail1@aol.com OR abuse@aol.com
---End of Adam Boettiger Article---
------------------ End Tourbus message
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
David L. Steelman 施鐵民
English Department 英文系
Soochow University 東吳大學
steelman@tp.globalnet.com.tw
http://www.scu.edu.tw/campus/dept/ten/faculty/steelman/index.htm