-- Jay DeLong Olympia, WA (read on)---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOURBUS Volume 7, Number 30 -- 06 Nov 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: War On Spam
Two questions that people ask me often are "How do spammers get my email address?" and "What can I do to stop spam?" In today's issue of TOURBUS, you'll learn which online activities are most likely to get your email address on spammer lists, and where to look for help in stopping the flow of unwanted email.
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--------------------- WHENCE COMETH SPAM? ---------------------
Matt Lake, author of a CNET spam study that examines the sources of spam, says the activities MOST LIKELY to reveal your email address to spammers are posting to Usenet or other message boards, entering AOL chat rooms, and signing up for online sweepstakes and lotteries. Other moderate risk activities included registering a domain name, and placing email links on your own Web site. (I would add having an AOL profile to high-risk list.)
Activities that DO NOT generate significant amounts of spam include online shopping, getting free email accounts, and (ahem) subscribing to email newsletters. Lake didn't mention one point that I think is important to stress -- that spammers CANNOT get your email address or any other personal information if you're just visiting a website. They can only get this information if YOU provide it by filling out an online form. It's a good idea to check a site's Privacy Policy first before giving up any personal data.
The article also has tips on how to participate in those spam-risky activities without compromising your inbox. Here's a link to the complete CNET article:
<A href="http://cnet.com/software/0-3227888-8-6602372-1.html"> http://cnet.com/software/0-3227888-8-6602372-1.html </A>
--------------------- DECLARE WAR ON SPAM ---------------------
Are you angry about unwanted email? You're not alone: Spam forces unwanted and objectionable materials into your inbox, impairs your ability to communicate freely, and costs Internet users billions annually. If you want to do something about it, here's a great weapon in the war against unsolicited email: The SpamCon Foundation.
<A href="http://www.tourbus.com/cgi-bin/spamcon"> http://www.tourbus.com/cgi-bin/spamcon </A>
The SpamCon Foundation is a broad-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the amount of spam on the Internet. By bringing together email users, network admins, marketers and legal pros, SpamCon seeks to stop junk email and protect email as a medium of communications and commerce. Here's what you'll find at the SpamCon website:
* What to do when you get spammed, and how to shut down spammers.
* Discussion lists about spam law, antispam tools, and responsible email marketing.
* Projects to lower the total amount of spam, and how YOU can help.
The SpamCon Foundation also offers excellent resources, including hundreds of informational pages to help protect your inbox, respond effectively to spam, and learn how to market responsibly using email. The site also hosts a database of 7000+ articles about spam and award winning legal resources.
----> LETTER FROM UNCLE SPAM: POSTAGE DUE!
Did you know that $2-3 of your monthly Internet bill is for handling spam? The damages fall disproportionately on the poor (who have fewer choices for email access), the rural (who pay for Internet access by the minute), and the disabled (who may have difficulty handling email in bulk). As such, spam significantly deepens the digital divide, and harms the public at large.
I don't know about you, but that makes me angry enough to take action. So I've joined the SpamCon Foundation, and I've also decided to work with SpamCon founder Tom Geller to raise awareness of this organization's efforts to stop spam.
Please visit the SpamCon Foundation website, take advantage of all the free resources there, and join as a member. You'll get a Web button that proclaims your support, continued access to the most thorough collection of anti-spam resources in the world, the acclaimed SpamCon Foundation newsletter (if desired) and the satisfaction of knowing you're a part of the solution. Let's declare war on spam!
<A href="http://www.tourbus.com/cgi-bin/spamcon"> http://www.tourbus.com/cgi-bin/spamcon </A>
That's all for now, I'll see you next time! --Bob Rankin
=====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]=================== The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-2001, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
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