| Website owners face a unique challenge. Making an | | | | to the people sending them. Even if their response |
| email address public to communicate with your | | | | rate is in the tenths of a percent, they still make |
| visitors also makes that address a magnet for spam. | | | | money and thus still send out more. The people who |
| Learn how to minimize your risk and still provide that | | | | respond are the ones that ensure a Spam filled |
| important email contact. | | | | future for us all. |
| Having a host that provides exceptional Spam | | | | The Removal Scam |
| blocking services is a must these days. Webmasters | | | | Spam arrives, but, not to fear, there's a helpful |
| and business owners can find their domain email | | | | removal link at the bottom. Click, submit, reply, |
| particularly at risk to Spam as their email addresses | | | | whatever- they come in many flavors, and all of |
| may be freely available on their websites for both | | | | them are potentially deadly. Though a natural |
| humans, and so-called "spambots" to find. By following | | | | response it to use these removal tools, it's that |
| a few simple guidelines, you can reduce the stress on | | | | natural response upon which Spammers prey. |
| your Spam filters by making your email a far harder | | | | Following "removal" instructions may do one of two |
| target to hit. Note that most of these tips are | | | | things. It may remove you from the list, or it may |
| "preventative" in nature. If you read one and know | | | | simply be the confirmation a mass emailer needs that |
| you've already exposed your email to that very | | | | the address asking to be removed is, in fact, a real |
| threat, then you will either need to lose that address | | | | live email account. Instead of stopping unwanted |
| or make sure you have a really good filter. | | | | emails, the email account will only receive more, since |
| Fooling the Sensors | | | | it has become more valuable than before. It's more |
| As a webmaster or the owner of an online store, | | | | valuable because there's a confirmation someone is |
| you want visitors to have a simple avenue of | | | | actively using it. Are all removal links scams? No, they |
| contact. Placing your email address on your site | | | | aren't. Some removal links are legitimate. Determining |
| provides this simple avenue, but that avenue is wide, | | | | whether a removal link is completely valid is difficult. |
| and more than just your customers will journey | | | | Never click removal links from unsolicited mass emails, |
| down it. Having an email address properly formatted | | | | they are most suspect. |
| and linked from your website makes it the perfect | | | | Last Lines of Defense |
| target for spambots. Much like search engine bots | | | | The final lines of defense are filters. Keeping your |
| that spider the web cataloging information, these | | | | professional email as quiet as possible and safe from |
| bots harvest email addresses for use in mass market | | | | roaming spambots are the primary preventative |
| email lists. Keeping your email visible to humans but | | | | measures you can reasonably be expected to take. |
| invisible to bots can be accomplished a variety of | | | | All that remains are filters, on both a server and local |
| ways. | | | | level. For site owners, having a host with strong |
| * Don't link your email with a "mailto:" hyperlink | | | | anti-Spam and virus filters installed on your server is |
| * Spell out your address, for example "sales at | | | | your best line of defense. A wide variety of server |
| yourdomain.com" | | | | side filters are available, such as SpamAssassin and |
| * Display your email graphically, but don't link the | | | | SpamAway (from Postini). This kind of service stops |
| graphic | | | | Spam and viruses from ever reaching your inbox. |
| * Advanced users may consider displaying email using | | | | Ideally, like SpamAway, the service will provide a |
| Macromedia Flash, as most bots can't understand links | | | | web based interface to verify it's quarantined emails |
| embedded within Flash. This preserves the ability for | | | | and make sure nothing was "over filtered". |
| humans to quickly click your email address and send. | | | | Less effective and generally redundant in face of |
| This is not to suggest your entire site be in Flash, | | | | server side filters, are filters built into email programs. |
| simply a single email "button." | | | | These filters will generally be simple blacklists or filters |
| Keeping the Secret | | | | built on regular expressions. Some may have may |
| This may seem like common sense, but simply | | | | have more advanced Bayesian filers built in that can |
| minimizing the exposure of your email off your | | | | "learn" from being fed a selection of Spam email. It's |
| website, as well as on, will aide in stemming the tide | | | | preferable such a filter reside on the server and |
| of Spam. Your professional email should be used as | | | | process a large amount of emails in order to be most |
| sparingly as possible. Don't use it to sign up for | | | | effective. Postini's SpamAway functions beyond the |
| personal newsletters or enter into contest forms on | | | | server level, intercepting Spam and virus filters |
| other sites. No matter what assurances of privacy a | | | | before they reach their intended destination's |
| site may provide, the likelihood an address will be | | | | network. |
| Spammed increases each time it's used. Keep your | | | | Conclusions |
| professional and personal matters highly separated. If | | | | Keeping your business email as confidential as possible |
| you want to get a newsletter, even a professional | | | | is the best preventative measure against Spam. If |
| one, use a home address or consider the use of a | | | | you need to have contact email on your site, ensure |
| free email account. There are a variety of services | | | | that it is not directly linked or formatted in such a |
| from large Internet portals like Yahoo and Google. | | | | way as to make it an easy target for spambots. The |
| Not only are they free, but they also provide built-in | | | | ideal solution is a simple button in Flash that humans |
| Spam filters, making their use far more preferable for | | | | may use like any other button but that is unreadable |
| "high risk" situations. | | | | from a bot's perspective. Beyond confidentiality, |
| Finally, though it should be completely obvious, don't | | | | ensure you have strong, robust filters for your site's |
| respond to unsolicited mass email in any way. Don't | | | | email addresses. This is the only option for an |
| click on their links, reply to the mail, or buy their | | | | address that's already been picked up by the mass |
| products. It should be obvious, but the fact is, the | | | | emailers. It's difficult to completely staunch the flow |
| reason we all continue to be deluged with unsolicited | | | | of Spam, but good filters can put a stop to most of |
| emails is actually quite simple. They are still profitable | | | | it. |