spam

Additional Information and Links

Read what West Hartford Public Schools Department of Information Technology say to their teachers about internal SPAM - click here.

Definition of Spam

A "spam" e-mail is generally defined as an unsolicited mailing, usually to many people. A message written for, and mailed to, one individual that is known to the sender is not spam, and a reply to an e-mail is not spam, unless the "reply" repeats endlessly.

Spam e-mailers have become a separate part of the Internet, with their own host computers, methods, and politics. Many Internet sites have begun to forbid spamming, for several reasons – one is a sense that it is unethical, another is that, over time, other Internet sites will stop all e-mail from that site and thus prevent legitimate e-mail from getting through. As a result, spammers have begun to set up their own Internet sites -- sites that cater to, or encourage, spamming.

Rules of the Spam game

Your goal as an Internet user is to figure out a way to separate legitimate e-mail from spam. There are several ways to do this. One way, described below, is to set up your mail service so that known spammers are not allowed to deposit mail in your account. This method relies on knowing (1) the return e-mail address of the spammer, or (2) the name of the spammer's host computer.

The spammer's goal is to get around your filtering methods. He can do this by (1) using a different e-mail address for each mailing, or (2) he can forward his e-mail by way of an intermediary, to conceal the actual origin. The second of these methods is often used without the knowledge or permission of the intermediary, and it usually results from an error in configuration – I will show you how to protect your site from this exploitation.

Because it is very easy to simply create a new return address for each of millions of e-mails, filtering by way of return address is only effective when dealing with small-scale, amateur spammers. As a result, many sites simply block all e-mail from a particular spammer-friendly site. What this means is, if you have an account with a site that also welcomes spammers, your e-mail will sometimes not get through. This is why Internet sites are gradually splitting into two classes -- those that welcome spammers and have no normal users, and those that aggressively stop spamming from their sites to protect their legitimate users.

What you can do about it

Spam Do's and Dont's

	The primary rule: Never make lists of e-mail addresses, and if you do, do not e-mail the list. This is a common practice, especially among the relatively inexperienced. It happens like this -- Joe Beginner receives an interesting article and he immediately wants to mail it to all his friends -- but he does it by including all the addresses in a single posting. The problem? Each recipient gets a copy of all the addresses. Then one of Joe's friends forwards it to all his friends the same way. The address list becomes very large, and finally it falls into the hands of someone in the spam trade. Instead, Joe Beginner should mail a separate copy to each of his friends. The point is there should never be more than one address on an e-mail.
	Never respond to a spam e-mail. For a spammer, one "hit" among thousands of mailings is enough to justify the practice. Instead, if you want a product that is advertised in a spam e-mail, go to a Web site that also carries the product, inquire there, and tell them you do not approve of spam methods and will not patronize a company that uses spammers.
	Never respond to the spam e-mail's instructions to reply with the word "remove." This is just a trick to get you to react to the e-mail -- it alerts the sender that a human is at your address, which greatly increases its value. If you reply, your address is placed on more lists and you receive more spam.
	Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists. These sites are of two kinds: (1) sincere, and (2) spam address collectors. The first kind of site is ignored (or exploited) by the spammers, the second is owned by them -- in both cases your address is recorded and valued more highly because you have just identified it as read by a human.
	Never mail-bomb spam sites or engage in hacking to stop spammers. This only increases the amount of wasted Internet traffic, creates sympathy for spammers, and makes the Internet even less reliable than it already is.
	Take meaningful action to stop spammers. Filter their messages or their sites using the methods described below, write their host sites (without revealing your real e-mail address!) and any sites that are used as relays, write your congressional representatives.

Write your congressional representatives

In the long term, this approach may be the only effective one. Spammers will probably figure out a way around most of the direct, technical methods I describe here, so legislation may be required to stop them.

You may not want to involve government in the Internet, because if one law is passed that regulates an aspect of the Internet, others may follow. I assure you, I understand and sympathize with this position, and there is always a risk in getting government involved in anything. But the spammers are already taking advantage of the methods of government, through lobbying for their own cause, taking advantage of loopholes in existing laws, and relying on governmental inertia and public apathy to help their cause.

By getting involved, we send a signal to government that we won't stand to be abused as we have, and we also send a signal to companies that they will lose public approval if they use spammers to promote their products. Both are powerful reasons to write letters, make phone calls, and send faxes. I

Write your congressional representative -- click here.
Write your state's senators -- click here.
Write the Federal Trade Commission, demand action against spammers -- click here.

How to report fraudulent e-mail

Most spam is simply annoying, but some of it is illegal. One obvious category is an e-mail that asks you to send, say, $5 to several addresses in the letter, and promises big returns if you follow the letter's instructions -- this is called a "pyramid scheme" and it is illegal.

There are many other kinds of illegal e-mail, too many to describe here. If you believe an e-mail is fraudulent, you should report it. Here are some addresses that accept fraud reports:

	FTC Spam Report e-mail address (uce@ftc.gov)
	The Federal Trade Commission Home Page
	The National Fraud Information Center

Additional Information and Links

	Spamdomains.txt -- host and domain names of sites that permit spammers
	Fight Spam on the Internet! -- many resources and links to sites, including more technical details of filtering on more platforms than I have covered here.
	The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email -- an organization that is fighting spam.