Spam!
Jul07
Everyday you open up email and the question is always – what am I going to find? Regardless of opening professional email or your personal email, you are bound to find something that has no relevance to you or your business. Email spam has become a frustrating, time consuming issue that must be dealt with no matter who you are. The obvious fact is communication via electronic services is cheap and easy, therefore the perfect vehicle for unwanted ads and scams.
The term “spam” is in reference to any email that is unwanted and unsolicited. According to the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS) : An electronic message is “spam” IF: (1) the recipient’s personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND (2) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent; AND (3) the transmission and reception of the message appears to the recipient to give a disproportionate benefit to the sender.
Lucky for us, there are several different tools at one’s disposal to control spam email.
For small email accounts (based on the amount of emails per day and spam messages it contains), there are filters that can be set-up through the current email provider one is using. This is at no cost to the account owner and it usually comes with the email service. This doesn’t mean the spam won’t get through, but it will cut-down on obvious spam.
For larger based businesses with many entities having access to their email address – an inexpensive spam filter might be their best bet. Within spam filters, there are different kinds to choose from:
Defined filters can be set-up with specific intent. Certain email address can go to different mailboxes, subject line text can be picked out to send it to spam folders, and the same for email addresses. This is simple enough, but best for personal email only.
Header filters are a little bit more active. They are able to find out what servers are being used to send these emails. Spammers usually use false information so they are not able to be traced. This can be detected by looking to see if the headers are forged.
Language filters are out there to look at the pattern of text that is coming through. If it is not your native language – it will not get through. Good for those who are not actively international, but you must remember that you have this filter if a client or friend is reaching out in a different language.
These are just a few of the many ways to filter spam, but remember, there are programs out there to take care of the manual side of this for you as well. We are always more than willing to take a look at what a typical day of email looks like for you to give you our best recommendation.
