STOPPING SPAM!

Spam! What is it and why is it bad? As most of you know spam is electronic mail send directly to address usually found from browsing usenet postings, internet mailing lists or from searching websites for a mailto reference. These messages may seem harmless at first glance but they actually cost the reciepient and the ISP monwy in disk space, dial up time, long distance charges, and the cost of regular maintance and wear on software and hardware. Ferris Research found it will cost U.S. companies more than $10 billion this year due to lost productivity and the additional equipment, software and manpower needed to combat spam. On top of that, the real problem with spam in my opinion is that it clutters up the reputation of the internet with the idea of scams, unethical pitches and get rich quick schemes. Spam does not promote healthy commerce on the net at all and rather it shuts people out who feel they will be violated of privacy making it more difficult for the economical benefits of the internet to flourish. The promotion of the internet as a way to segway a positive viable means of trade is extreamly signifigant. It is important to keep this tool honest, regulated (to a certain degree) attainable and approachable to all without the idea that people will be taken advantage of. Here are a few pointers to reduce spam along with some questions that frequently come up concerning the positions of anti-spamming tactics. But first- the "what can i do to GET RID OF SPAM part" :)

Here is a list that if followed will reduce the ammount of spam you personally recieve and some things you can do to possible prevent it from apperaing. Know ahead of time that it is really hard to prevent spam from entering your life, but there are some things you can do to put yourself in a better place so you can limit and reduce spam.

• Never post your email in usenet groups or anywhere else for that matter where outside persons have access to it. this is a sure way of telling people where to find you and many spammers have software that searches this information out purposfully.
• If you have a website, be careful how you use your mailto: references. There are software programs also designed t snatch these little tags up and drop them in a database where soon you will be one of thousands of names theve aquired in less than an hour.
• Some states have laws that regulate unsolicited email: At this point those states include: Arkansas, Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia. Wisconsin, Wyoming,. Find out what your rights are and take action. These anti-spam laws were proposed and implemented for your protection.
• File a complaint with the spammers ISP. To do this you will need to find out where the email came from: see below for an example of how to read headers on emails.
• If the spam involves fraudulent or deception practices, you can forward it to uce@ftc.gov for the Federal Trade Commission to document and keep in their database.
• Contact your congressional representative. If you do not know who that may be click here. Let them know that unsolicited email is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Many bills are now being propsed and it is a good time to figure out which ones mean what and which ones should be supported in an effort to actually end the problem that most people dont even know exists. Here are some bills that are currently up for discussion. You can find out more about what they present by clicking on them.
  1. Burns-Wyden "CAN SPAM Act"
  2. The RID Spam Act
  3. The Schumer bill.
  4. The Anti-Spam Act of 2003
  5. The Ban on UCE Act of 2003
  6. Criminal Spam Act of 2003
  7. Reduce Spam Act of 2003
  8. Wireless Telephone Spam Protection Act
  9. Computer Owners Bill of Rights