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KENTROPOLIS
"People Before Technology"™
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What Is Spam?
Supposedly there is currently no standard
definition legally or otherwise for "spam". Bull. Spam is simple any
email sent to you from someone you don't know and didn't ask for with the
intention of you doing business with them (i.e. buying or using a product or
service). It is the email equivalent of junk mail.
Problem
Most spam is collected through bots traveling through web
sites looking for email addresses, and from anywhere people give their email
address, often for a "freebie" service, screen saver, etc..
From ISPs to the company you work for, to your own pocketbook, Corporate
America spent over $10 Billion to curb the tsunami of spam. And a lot of
it still ends up in your inbox. The never-ending race between people
filtering it and spamholes* finding ways around it (taking away your choice to
not receive it) has finally resulted in more urgent and meaningful -- you
guessed it ...
Legislation
The bogging down of business and parts of the Internet itself
due to unwanted email has prompted more and more much-needed legislation and
even arrests.
In the past, legislation took so long to implement, it was
outdated by the time it was passed. The best hope may be to make it all
illegal without an "ADV:" in the subject title, along with MAJOR fines or
confiscation of assets that will fund or provide rewards for "spamhole hunters."
Vital Tip
Don't EVER use the "remove from email list"
option. With rare exception, it is a way for spamholes to verify that your
address works, and then they can sell it to other spamholes.
Getting Even
 | Don't buy anything solicited to you through spam.
ANYTHING. EVER. If you can avoid it, don't visit the site or
even open up the email. |
| If they leave ANY contact information, such as a
toll-free number or fax, call them at least once to complain. If
they ask for your email, you have the right to refuse and simply tell them
you represent the majority of the world. |
| If it guides you to an interactive form, such as an
insurance quote, submit a complaint through it, filling out the fields any
way you choose to get the message across. Submit at least once.
(Personally, I like to ... quickly put a weight on the enter key after
hitting submit and often get a server error after a couple hundred clicks. |
| If you are sure you can go to a seemingly legitimate
"remove" page that asks for your email, NEVER use your own, but try
*@*.com. It probably wont delete their database, but it's a warm
fuzzy feeling to think you might have. |
| You can also report spam to any ISP you suspect is
being used for spam, and can even report spam to the Federal Government by
sending an email to
uce@ftc.gov. If you need to,
here's how to find who's sending it. |
One Last Trick
One way to avoid getting listed by bots visiting the
site, show your email address as an image, such as:
-- Just be sure not to give it an exact text alternate, and
don't even link it if you can help it to your actual address. I saw
one site that used an image for the "atsign", making the whole thing
unrecognizable to a spam bots. It was something like:
ken kentropolis.com
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News Articles & Resources
UNSPAM.COM
-
News Ticker
Click
HERE for more information and news links on spam in our forums.
The King Spamhole*
For Amusement...
Spamusement.com
Personal Stats - The Typical Weekly Spam I Received
April 2003 =
1100
May 2003 = 1400
June 2003 = 1900
July 2003 = 2300
Aug.2003 = 1800
Sept.2003 = 2600
Oct.2003 = 3750
Nov.2003 = 5000 est.
Dec.2003 = 6250
Jan.2004 = 5800
Feb.2004 = 4900*
March 2004 = 4600
April 2004 = 5400
May 2004 = 5200
June 2004 = 5750
July 2004 = 6000
August 2004 = 5400**
Sept.2004 = 4100
Oct.2004 = 4400
Nov.2004 = 3750
Dec.2004 = 5200
Jan.2005 = 4175
Feb.2005 = 3550
March 2005 = 2950
April 2005 = 2850
May 2005 forward - Spam Assassin Box Used, reducing spam on
PC by over 90%
(Approximate maximum number of spam emails
per week)
*I removed an email address that I received only spam through.
** I "Blackholed" randomly addressed emails to the server.
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Okay, One MORE Last Trick
Create a web page with countless fake email addresses that
simply go nowhere (with the email configuration for the web server set to
make them "black hole" instead of "fail" clog the server with bounced
messages). The more fake names on spamholes' illegitimate lists, the
less response people who buy the list will get, and therefore may not use
that method or spamhole company again. Just be sure the page is
accessible somehow for bots to find (using a simple link from a dot
somewhere invisible to the human browser). For an example, click
HERE. |
* The term "Spamhole" was coined by Ken Stuczynski of
Kentropolis Internet Services in 2002 to describe the heinous individuals who
knowingly make their living off the corporate and consumer suffering caused by
spam.
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