Spam -What is Your Protection Under the Law?

Spam -What is Your Protection Under the Law?

Spam has become an ever-increasing problem in recent years, costing legitimate businesses a great deal in both time and money.

In response to the growing threat from spam, new legislation was enacted in 2003. it was called: Controlling the Assault of Non Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM act). This act created some requirements for all companies who are sending bulk commercial email, as well as those companies whose products are offered for sale in the spam emails. It also instituted penalties for violators, as well as giving the client or consumer the right and the means to request that the e mailers cease the spam efforts.

CAN-SPAM was enacted in January, 2004. The act covers any email which have as its purpose advertising or promotional efforts for any service or product, including those whose contents reside solely on a web site.

The legislation also covers "transactional or relationship messages," meaning those emails which help a web site to deal with any transaction, even those which are agreed on, or make updates to any customer whether new or exisiting. None of these may contain false or spoofed routing information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the United States agency for consumer protection, was granted the authority to enforce the act and the DOJ, or Department of Justice is additionally charged with the enforcement of the CAN SPAM act. It also provides that Internet Service Providers who are hurt by the spam may in fact sue the violators of the legislation to recoup losses to their own business.

Other Major Provisions of the Law

-It bans any attempt to falsify the information in the header or subject line.

These must correctly identify what the message is about, and accurately display routing information as well as  "To" and "from" information. The email must accurately indicate the identity of the sender and recipient. It must accurately portray the domain from which the email originates as well as the senders real email address.

- It bans misleading subject lines

The subject line must not mislead the recipient to open the email under false pretenses. It should clearly indicate the actual subject matter of the email.

- Emails sent in this fashion must offer the recipient a legitimate means to get out of receiving the commercial email in the future. Any such requests to opt-out must be honored by the spamming company, and the email address deleted from its sending list. The commercial emailer will have 10 days to after the request to cease sending messages to that address

- Commercial bulk email should easily be identified as an advertisement or solicitation. It must also include the sender's actual physical postal address

- The recipient must be fore-warned of any sexually explicit information the email may contain. This warning must be displayed in the email's subject line.

Each and every violation of this law or the aspects of the law subjects the sender to strict fines that can go as high as $10,000 per incident and, for certain violations, the commercial emailer will face possible jail time.

Another legal initiative aimed at fighting spam is the "Digital PhishNet" (DPN), which was established in 2004. It is a collaborative effort between the Internet industry and criminal law enforcement. Its purpose is to identify and to prosecute spammers who break the law through phishing. Online auction sites, financial institutions, ISPs and other groups within the industry are all involved in this imitative.  Important data and information is forwarded in real time to law enforcement.

How to Choose Anti-spam Filter Software

How to Choose Anti-spam Filter Software

Nowadays, spam is more than just an irritating flood unwanted email. It is also a means by which spammers can transmit viruses, spyware and adware to your computer. An anti-spam filter is essential to minimizing this potential risk.  It will also stem the flow of spam into your inbox.


What is an anti-spam filter?

An anti-spam filter is a program designed to detect and block unsolicited bulk email. It works by scanning any incoming email for words, phrases, html code and other spammer tactics to determine whether an email is spam or not. It does this based on probability formulas that calculate the likelihood that an email that has certain words is spam.

It will also create black lists and white lists. The blacklist will store email from unknown ISP and email addresses or ISP addresses; the whitelist will hold email that is sent from pre-approved sources. The filter software will also keep these lists up to date. Whenever the filter detects that an incoming email is spam, its address is added to the blacklist. Whenever the sender or recipient confirms an email as trusted and legitimate, it will be added to the white list.  Most of the "sporm" (spam pornography) will be filtered out as well as any email that it detects has adult content.

What Should You Look for in Anti-spam Filter Software?

Here are other important features you should take into consideration:


- Make sure the anti-spam filter software is compatible with your particular email service. Do not take it for granted that it will work with what you have. Click Here

- It is important that the software program is easy for you to use and navigate. Anti-spam software is worthless if you can't figure out how to use it or if it has features you do not understand.

- The features and tools the software offers should enable you to customize the program to suit your own needs. It should be flexible in letting you set your own rules regarding which email to permit into your inbox and what you want to filter out or block.

- Ideally, it should enable you to set up whitelist, which will indicate particular email and ISP addresses that should always be delivered to the inbox. This will ensure that legitimate email from trusted sources will never be filtered out or accidentally deleted.

- The software should install with ease, with zero or minimal errors encountered during set up. Some anti-spam software requires registration, additional downloads or other steps to be taken before it can be used.

- The software you choose should be stable in its release and workings. One way to check this is to look at the release package and view what the programmers or company states is the last stable release. It is probably not in your interests to buy software that is still in the beta phase, particularly if you are not familiar with the program.

Spam is irritating at best, and maliciously destructive at worst. Buying the right anti-spam software will go a long way toward protecting you from the spammers of the world.

How Does a Spam Blocker Work?

A spam blocker is one way you can effectively cope with the deluge of spam that is targeted at your inbox each day. This type of anti-spam software works by blocking any unsolicited email from getting to your inbox. It is generally about 90% effective in blocking this spam, along with any viruses and other malicious code that may come with it.

The spam blocker differs from a spam filter in that its function is specifically to block most of the incoming spam. The spam filter works by organizing email that it identifies as spam into folders, and leaves it to you to take further action on. The spam blocker, on the other hand, is specifically programmed to prevent spam from getting through. With a spam blocker, you do not have to deal with the spam it detects and blocks.

So How Does a Spam Blocker Work?

The spam blocker will log into your mail server email account every 10 minutes, inspecting it for spam email. It immediately destroys any viruses, and gets rid of any obvious spam such as email that contains adult or pornographic material. Undesirable email is flagged and then redirected to a folder specifically for spam. You will have an opportunity to sort through this spam folder to verify that no legitimate email is mistakenly diverted there. Any email that it is on your white-list or which it determines as legit will be left on the server to be downloaded as normal.

If an email is from an unknown source and the spam blocker cannot clearly categorize it as either legitimate or spam, it is quarantined in a specific folder until you either move it or delete it. The quarantined spam is usually held in this folder for up to 30 days, or until you take action on it. The spam blocker keeps track of the particular action you take on each quarantined email e.g. if you delete the email. It will "remember" this action and use it to create a new filtering rule that it will apply to future incoming email.

What are the Benefits of a Spam Blocker?

- A spam blocker frees up storage space. Most mailboxes have a very limited capacity to store email. Spam takes up space, and a spam blocker generally prevents large files from making it into your main folder.

- By blocking spam rather than just filtering it, the spam blocker helps minimize the amount of time you have to personally sort through your spam email.

- Because this anti-spam software deletes spam, it drastically lowers the risk of a computer virus infecting your system.

- Many spam blockers are available online for immediate download, are usually very easy to install and generally do not require further configuration..

Many email services offer spam blocker software. If, however, you choose to buy your own, make sure you get one that is compatible with your service. Also take into account the level of blockage it offers as well as flexibility it offers in letting you customize the settings to your own preferences.