Search Engines and Spam

What is Spam?

Spam (for Search Engines) refers to the use of any illegal technique to improve a page' ranking in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Who decides what 's illegal? The SEs, who else?

Tons of articles have been written about search engines and spam. Why the need for another article? Because, believe it or not, at the end of 2001 MOST of the major search engines are still vulnerable to MANY unethical techniques used by malicious Webmasters.

Spam has been known for a long time. For years, Webmasters tried to cheat the search engines. Today, many SEs say they know all the tricks and penalize those pages. As you will see, most SEs only SAY that they will punish spammers, but in fact they DON'T.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization, Placement, Positioning, Ranking, or whatever you want to call it, is the process of designing a Web page that can be easily indexed by the SEs and receive high rankings in the SERPs.

My Experience with Search Engines

Recently, using some major U.S. SEs, I made a search for a Web design company in New York. Let me to share with you my highly disappointing experience.

The search engine results pages (SERPs) in most of the search engines were full of Web pages that used one or more spamming techniques. The most frequently encountered illegal strategies used by many SEs were:

Keyword stuffing
Page redirect
Mirror domains

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the adding of many relevant, sometimes irrelevant, words in the:

Keywords META tag

One of the criteria some search engines use to rank pages in the results list is the presence of relevant words in the Keywords META tag. From use to abuse is a little step, so some webmasters place many words, repeating them many times in the hope that the page will rank higher. The record was a page that had 1,150 words (no mistake, WORDS not characters) in the Keyword Meta tag. The word "design" was repeated 209 times. Unbelievable, right?
What are Search Engines' positions regarding this spamming technique? One of the Web's most important Search Engine, in their submission guidelines, states that it will "exclude submissions" with "excessive keywords". It looks like 1,150 words are not "excessive" enough, because THAT SE and many others index the page.

Besides stuffing words in the Keywords META tags, some Webmasters also add lots of words in the:

Visible page

Another criteria some search engines rank sites in the results list is the so-called "word frequency": the more times a word is repeated in the content of a page, the higher are the chances it will be near the top in the results list.

Some Webmasters often abuse these criteria by placing words or phrases- most of the times- at the bottom of the page, many, MANY times. Do you recall the site that has 1,150 words in the Keywords Meta tags? Well, the same site just "copied and pasted" those words in the copy of the page.

You might think that it's weird to see a bunch of words inserted in the page. Well, Webmasters have found two methods to work around this problem: "tiny text" and "hidden- or invisible- text". "Tiny text" means that the Webmaster places the text in a very small size, most of the time hardly legible. "Invisible text" means the use of the same color for text AND for background, so users will NOT see the words but SE's spider WILL see, so the page will rank higher that it deserves.

The Search Engines' position regarding this spamming technique? One of the Web's most important Search Engine, in its guidelines writes: "We must sometimes exclude submissions" of "pages with text that is not easily read, either because it is too small or is obscured by the background of the page". Another SE's will "significantly downgrade a page's ranking" ... "if words cannot be read due to their small size or color".

Despite these statements, both SEs, as well as other SEs, index pages with text in the same color as the background. To illustrate the total lack of respect for users with little fear for SEs, one Web page has a whopping 936 words in BLACK text on a WHITE background. Incredible!

Page Redirect

One page can be redirected either by using the "refresh" META tag or using cloaking techniques. Why the need to redirect a page? One of the legitimate reasons to redirect a page is having a new URL for the site. But some Webmasters abuse page redirection to obtain higher rankings for their pages.

How does it works?

Using the "refresh" META tag:

This technique consists in building 2 pages: one, highly "optimized" - read "spammed"- with many, MANY words in the KW and Description META tag and also in the Title tag. Most of the time the copy of the page is also highly "optimized" with KW stuffing- many times with invisible text.

These pages called: "Doorways Pages", "Gateway", "Entry" or "Bridge" pages most of the time display a "Click here to enter the site" or simply "Enter" or sometimes "select Flash or HTML" message on the entire page. Using the "refresh" META tag the Webmaster will "redirect" the user to a second page, which will appear after a determined number of seconds after seeing the first page. If the time is set to "0" (zero) seconds, the viewer will NOT see the first page, but directly the second one.

Why two pages? The first one shown to SEs as highly "optimized" will help the page rank very high in the SERPSs, by cheating the SEs. The second one is "nicer", not too much spam, a good page for viewers.

Cloaking technique is probably the most controversial spamming technique.

It also uses 2 pages, one for the SE and another for the viewer. The big difference between this technique and the one above is that in the first case it is possible to see the code of the first page (shown to SEs), but in the second case it is not.

Hiding the Meta data (especially keywords) in the code can provide a huge advantage in this current highly competitive market, as there are known cases of Webmasters that stole a competitor's keywords in an attempt to rank higher.

What are search engines' positions regarding redirecting? Do not submit any site with an address that redirects to another address" or "Your site cannot mirror or redirect to another Web site" or we "may permanently ban from our index any sites or authors who engage in cloaking to distort their search rankings" or simply: "Don't cloak".

Pretty clear, right? Then why some Webmasters insist in using cloaking techniques? To hide their pages' code from prying eyes. Bad guys are not afraid to spam- most of the time, SEs only SAY: "don't do that". If you do, there will be NO- or sometimes very little- punishment.

Mirror domains

Consists in building hundreds or even thousands of pages with SAME content but with altogether DIFFERENT URLs (Web addresses). The advantage is clear: by finding the "right" tricks to cheat the SE algorithm one can "dominate" the SERPSs with pages one after another. One company had 62 pages in the Top 100 results list.

What are the search engines positions regarding this spamming technique? "Do not submit mirror sites". "Your site cannot mirror or redirect to another Web site". "Do not submit" . . . "the same pages from multiple domains". But in practice most of the SEs are vulnerable to this technique.

Questions for:

Search Engines

When are you going to be SERIOUS about your job?

When will you PUNISH the spammers? Have CLEAN indexes? It is not difficult. A dialog with the Webmasters community might result in opinions such as THIS ( http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum5/830.htm ) one:

"I can't understand why the search engines aren't professional enough to put their anti-spam efforts into a detailed agreement and have anyone that wants to be listed sign their agreement. Such an agreement would spell out very clearly what is and what isn't allowed. Anyone breaking the rules would be subject to specific penalties or banning, but would be notified and have a chance to fix the problem especially if the infraction was not too serious".

Clear enough?

Why do you accept advertising from sites which use spamming techniques? So, if a page cannot achieve high rankings, for few buck it becomes "featured" site or listing and voil!, on the top of the list. Is this the latest trick for a poor site to be listed high? Now, on one hand, in your guidelines you tell Webmasters not to spam, on the other hand, if a spammer PAYS, that's no problem. Good bye relevancy, hello profits! Here is a comment by a high-ranking official from a major SE: "the more we take payment for listings, the more you'll get great results" Excuse me? "Big" pockets' sites are NOT always more relevant than "poor" pockets' sites.

I know I'm not the first ( http://www.commercialalert.org/releases/searchenginerel.html ) one to ask but, when are you going to make a CLEAR distinction between paid listings and real results? The user needs to make an informed decision. The user needs to be helped, not confused.

Webmasters

Why use techniques seen by the SEs as spam? Why take the risk of having pages penalized, or even permanently banned, from indexes? Two months of glory, then a new domain, blacklisted again- poor way to market any business.

Think it's impossible to get higher rankings WITHOUT using spam? My answer is NO. Do your homework, read thoroughly and abide to SEs guidelines, cross your fingers and you'll be # 1.

Have you ever seen one of your page's ranking lower than a page which uses spamming techniques? I bet you did. Now, how did you react? Did you report it to the SE or you said "nah, that's no use anyway"? Or perhaps you thought it's not nice to turn in the Webmaster. OK, let me ask you something: would you like, that while waiting in line to buy a ticket to a movie, somebody, who comes AFTER you, go in the front and buy a ticket BEFORE you do?

Or perhaps THIS ( http://www.globalserve.net/~iwb/search_engine/spamdex.html ) is the solution?

A site will be nominated and posted on a listserv which any member can second then the offender will be notified of his conviction by the spamdex police. They will have a week to clean it up and re-submit and remove the offending listing from the search engines. After a week the offender will be reported to the search engines. The search engines will have a month to act or they will be added to the list as an accomplice to the activity.

Huh? What do you think?

Site Owners

When are you going to wake up? What am I talking about? Well, I'm taking about a report, which says, "nearly 46 percent of the marketers surveyed said they allocate less than 0.5 percent of their annual marketing budgets on search engine optimization (SEO) services". Now, read it again, and again.

So, you spend 95,5 % on gizmos such as Flash and Java Scripts and less than 1% for SEO. Let me tell you something: bells and whistles will never help a page rank high in SERPs. NEVER. I fact it will work against.

Which are your rankings, by the way? When was the last time you checked, if ever? Are you in the Top 30 results for your strategic keywords when the user runs a search? You're not? Practically you don't exist for your prospects. Still wonder why so many .com CLOSE? Are you going to be next?

Do you need a Ph.D. to realize that the SEO- your Web site "salesman"- is more necessary than ever? One of these days you'll discover the power of search engine marketing: the cheapest yet most effective way to promote your site to more than 300 million prospects. Bright future for SEO.
I can see a bright future for the SEO, don't you?

When are you going to understand that SEOs is NOT only optimizing the Keyword Meta Tag? SEO is a highly specialized, time-consuming and sometimes expensive but absolutely NECESSARY task. It's both an art and a science to position a Web page near the top in SERPs. So, forget about your in-house SEO "expert", shop around and find a reputable SEO firm or consultant.

Dos and don'ts when you talk to the SEO guy:

If a Web Marketer suggest you to get rid of that flashy or framed Home Page, just DO IT! Or, don't blame HIM for the consequences. If a SEO says something about cloaking and doorways, run, and I mean it.
Don't even think telling a SEOs, that you'll pay him, AFTER the pages show up in the search engines. Enough said. Don't be a kid by asking him to GUARANTEE you Top 10 positions! No honest SEO will do it. The only think a SEO can guarantee is an increase of the number of pages indexed and an increase of the current rankings. With some luck your sales will sky rocket.

Last thing: please, avoid those submission tools and their hype: "submit your site to 500,000 SEs for $24.95". Submit your Web site by hand. Period.

IN CONCLUSION:

Since the summer of 1995, when I worked for the first time with a Search Engine, I saw some SEs disappearing, and lots of new SEs appearing.

Competition is good, but users might be confused with thousands of SEs. Besides, not everybody knows sophisticated searching techniques such as the Boolean operators, so there is a lot of frustration out there. If we add the irrelevancy of the results in most of the SEs, we have a pretty sad picture.

A clean index should be the main priority for any search Engine. If a SE gives irrelevant results, the user will switch to another SE. Can a SE afford loosing users in the todays' fierce competition between SEs? I don't think so.

To wrap up, I am not saying here that ALL the Search Engines are vulnerable to ALL the known spamming techniques. All I say is that MOST of the Search Engines are vulnerable to MOST of the bad tricks.

I also believe that is NOT important to list WHICH SEs are vulnerable to WHICH spamming techniques or WHICH sites spam WHICH SEs. The important thing is it STILL happens.

At not only in the American SEs. I've checked also Spanish, German, French and Italian SEs. Less spam, but still there.

From now on, monthly I'll make an update of this article. I can only hope that one day I can say "everything is fine". Be back!

Daniel Bazac is the Web Marketer for Web Design in New York, a design, redesign and promotion company. He's specializing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). He's been online from 1995 and he's also a professional Internet Information Researcher. You may contact Daniel Bazac at mailto:danielbazac@hotmail.com or visit his Web site: http://www.web-design-in-new-york.com/

Reporting SPAM To Spam

Aaron Turpen

The number of unsolicited emails I receive seems to increase by the day. This is apparently a part of the job when youre doing business online. After all, I have over a dozen email accounts for various things and each of them will get on someones UCE or SPAM list eventually. The question is what to do with this SPAM once its been received.

Most people already know the conventional wisdom:
Dont respond to SPAM, if the return email address does actually work, the sender is more than likely to ad you to his or her good emails list and send you even more stuff.
If there is an opt-out link in the email, click it and try to unsubscribe. Beware that this can sometimes be a more elaborate version of the above ruse, but at least you tried.
Use filters on commonalities in the SPAM you receive to automatically trash or move potential SPAM to another folder and out of sight until youre ready to wade into them. Common words and phrases like MAKE MONEY or !!! and especially viagra should be flagged as potential SPAM. I recommend setting up filters based on SPAM you already receive. Dont bother with email addresses (they change all the time), just focus on subject lines and/or message bodies.

Now Im going to show you another way to report this SPAM and possibly get the SPAMmer shut down by his or her ISP for sending it. If enough complaints are made, most ISPs will shut down the offender for fear of losing their own connections to the Internet. Loss of a connection or the addition of their network to blockades or blacklists means the ISP will lose money as customers realize they cant send email to certain places and are not allowed access to some websites.

The SPAMmer will probably just move on to another ISP and set up shop again, but for the time being, youve shut down their operation and caused an interruption. Youve also hit them where it hurts: it costs money to move your operation on the fly and the SPAMmer has also lost hits to the website they were advertising. All of this ads up to dollars lost and dollars are what make the SPAMmer do what he or she is doing.

So who do you report your SPAM to and how do you go about it? The most respected anti-SPAM operation on the Internet today is SpamCop. Started by a college student who got tired of seeing his inbox fill with unsolicited email every day, it has grown to be a respected and powerful cornerstone on the Internet. Thousands of ISPs subscribe to the blacklists that SpamCop publishes and updates regularly - which contain IP addresses and website addresses for known SPAMmers and the ISPs who allow them to operate. These lists are used to filter incoming email and sometimes to block users from visiting certain areas of the Internet.

For regular users, signing up at SpamCop is free. For those with a high volume of email or who wish to subscribe to the blacklists SpamCop offers, there is a cost involved. Youll be surprised how small it is, though!

The first thing youll need to do is sign onto the SpamCop site and open an account. Obviously, for a site like this, keeping your information safe is a priority. Signup is quick and painless. Once youve signed up, youll receive an email with a website link and email address personalized for you. Using these two tools, you can report SPAM that you receive. There are also options for filtering your incoming email using SpamCops built-in filters for about $5 a year.

Now on to reporting your SPAM to the SpamCop system: when you receive an email that qualifies as Unsolicited Commercial Email (check SpamCops rules, theyre fairly strict about what qualifies), you will need to report it. I generally collect all of them throughout the day and then report them all at once by forwarding them through my email to my personal SpamCop reporting address. You can do them one-at-a-time as well, though. Just forward the email (hit your Forward button) or send it as an attachment (Outlook: Message Forward As Attachment most other email clients are similar). Either way, youll need to send it to your personal SpamCop reporting address. I suggest putting that into your contacts list as SpamCop or something similar for easy use.

Once youve forwarded the email, youll receive an auto-response from the SpamCop system asking you to follow a special link, which will take you to a page that contains a bunch of information about the email you reported. Included in that information are checkboxes for the ISPs the email traveled through and the originator of the email (if known). Usually, the checked boxes by default are all you need to use and you can leave the other boxes unchecked. Press the Send Spam Report(s) Now button and youre finished. The report is added to the database and, if enough people complain about the same email or the same source of that email, that source will be added to the blacklist.

From an ISPs perspective, each complaint (without your contact information or email) is sent to the administrator or administrator account on the particular server in question. This person gets an email from SpamCop indicating a complaint has been made and gives them a chance to follow a link to the website and try to defend themselves. Before a site is added to the blacklist, a SpamCop reviewer will look these reports over and decide whether the complaints are faulty (based on the emails sent to the system) or the ISP should be banned. Once on the blacklist, it is very difficult to be removed. Most are on the list for at least six months.

There are some other great resources on the SpamCop site you might also be interested in - especially if youre an email list administrator, newsletter publisher, or other bulk-mail-related business. If you are serious about slowing down or culling the amount of SPAM proliferating around the Internet, if you are tired of receiving SPAM and want to do something about it, or even if you just wish you had somewhere to send it other than just your computers trash bin, I would suggest joining SpamCop. Heres another hint to do something about the junk mail you receive in your postal mailbox as well: open all of them and take the ones that include a return envelope (postage paid) and stuff all of their crap back into that and send it back to them theyre paying the postage! Try it; itll make you feel better.

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Aaron Turpen is the proprieter of Aaronz WebWorkz, a provider of online services to small business including Web Development, Hosting, and Consultation. Aaronz WebWorkz publishes a free newsletter featuring articles for the small business owner/manager. www.AaronzWebWorkz.com

Online Marketing: SPAM / Mass-Email Marketing

Online Marketing: SPAM / Mass-Email Marketing By Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

I'm undoubtedly broaching the most controversial subject for Internet marketing. The title of this article shows the fine line between a morally criminal way of thinking and a viable and useful marketing tool. Sending SPAM (officially called UCE or Unsolicited Commercial Email) is wrong - I will go into the reasons for this later. However, sending commercial email for advertising is an effective and low-cost way to market your business or products.

Email marketing will probably be around for as long as the Internet is alive and supports email protocols (or any similar type of communication). Contrary to what some would say, it also has its place. Advertising is a form of communication. However, just like any other form of advertising, there are rules governing this medium as well.

No matter what country you live in, some sort of free speech law probably governs you. No matter which country you're in, however, that free speech law does not give you the right to take over the local newspaper and force them to print whatever you want printed on the front page because of your right to free speech. They are under no obligation to pay for your free speech. The same applies to the Internet. With email, the people receiving the email or that person's ISP (and most likely several others along the way) are flipping the bill for your message. This is akin to walking into the newspaper and demanding they print your words for free.

In addition to all of these moral issues, there are legal ones to consider as well. There are several laws governing the way that you are allowed to advertise anything anywhere in the United States and elsewhere. Since government is just a large committee of people making decisions (in most places), it is always one step behind when it comes to technology under the law. However, since the Internet is really just a large cooperative of commercial and private networks, it is a little more dynamic in its dealings with "perpetrators." One network can effectively ban whomever they deem a miscreant and others will eventually follow suit as the offender moves through the different networks to try and bypass the blockage.

With all of the hype and hysteria surrounding the use of email as a marketing tool, why do people continue to use it? Well...because it's effective. People wouldn't spend the money to send junk mail through the post if it wasn't effective and they wouldn't spend millions on a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl if it weren't effective as well. If you follow some simple guidelines and use the email marketing tool wisely, you can reap great rewards.

If you are selling a product or service which rarely leads to residual sales to the same person or entity (i.e. they buy it once and will probably never ask for it again - coffins are a good example), then you can use email marketing effectively. Why? Because you aren't building a business name (aka "branding" your business) or consumer trust. You are just making one-time contacts and make more money by contacting en masse instead of by specifically targeting customers. You aren't building lasting relationships through your business.

There is nothing wrong with this business approach. For some types of businesses, it is just a fact of life. Customers don't need your product or service more than once. There are still some rules of etiquette which you should use when email advertising, however. Your incentive for following them? Less negative feedback and possibly higher return on your sales: more respect = better chances of success.

The first rule to follow is to make sure that yourself or the company you're paying to send out the emails includes a short note to the recipient that explains where their email came from. A hyperlink will suffice for this if you don't personalize your mails from a database. Make sure that you include the EXACT location they used to sign up for whatever list they are on. Not only does this give them a way to get off of that list, it also serves as a reminder as to how they signed up to receive your emails in the first place. If they opt-out of the list, then you're better off for having an unresponsive customer off of your list. Win-win.

If you're purchasing your list from someone else, get all of the information before you buy. Where did the list come from? How were the addresses culled? How targeted is this list to your expected market? Has anyone else used this list before? What is their guarantee as to the validity of the emails on the list? Some of these questions make sense from a marketing and business standpoint as well as a moral one.

The next step is choosing how to convey your message inside the email. If you visit www.scambusters.org, you'll see a huge list of Internet scams in all categories of "business." Everything from buying swampland in Florida to sending used credit cards to be used as paint scrapers instead of "filling landfills with environmentally nasty plastic" - yes this con has actually been used. Why do I bring up these scams? Because most of them have been perpetrated using unsolicited email at one time or another. Make sure your sales letter/email doesn't sound like one of them. Nothing enrages SPAM-conscious email readers more than a get-rich-quick scheme or any other senseless hype.

My next piece of advice is for you to get to the point. Whether you're sending email advertising using text email, HTML, or even Flash-embedded email to get the user's attention, KEEP that attention. Don't waste their time babbling on. Get to the point of your letter. You don't have to be blunt or unimaginative, but don't write a treatise on your great product either. People don't want you to waste their time. Some people pay for their online time by the minute, others are busy working or running a business, while still others may be hogging up the family phone to get to their email.

Everyone on the Internet has received one form of SPAM or another. The best rule you can follow is: if you received your email, would you respond to it? Would you really care about the product? Why not test this theory? Open up a free web-based email account somewhere and send your email to a test group - people you know personally and who won't hang you for using them this way-of five or ten people. Then wait a couple of days and ask them if they got an email about such-and-such product. If they remember getting that email, you're doing a good job. If they remember it and are mad or have bad things to say about it, then you need to rethink your strategy. At this point you can let them in on your scientific prodding. Be prepared to duck and run at this point.

In closing, I hope that this series of articles has been useful in some way. Remember that marketing is 80% of your business. Also remember that proper marketing, using both imagination and ethics, can carry you further and can help solidify your business better than anything else ever will.

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Aaron Turpen is the proprieter of Aaronz WebWorkz, a full- service provider of Web needs to small businesses. www.AaronzWebWorkz.com

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Spam Filters

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Spam Filters

You've likely been plagued to some extent by junk email that unscrupulous marketers send indiscriminately to millions of email accounts. Unfortunately, the more Internet marketing you do, the more spam you'll be deleting from your Inbox. I've had as many as 300 uninvited emails show up in a single day. That's more than frustrating, it's maddening!

Fortunately, more and more ISP's are fighting back by using spam filters to lessen the amount of junk that reached their customers. From that perspective, spam filters are a welcome addition to the Internet world.

Although I'm thrilled that filters cut down on Inbox garbage, and save time anddelete' finger overuse; they also present a potentially serious problem to honest email marketers.

If your outgoing messages aren't reaching your ezine subscribers, that means they're not getting what they signed up for, and you're losing income. That's a problem.

For example, until recently, my Net Profits Coach eZine messages had a fairly consistent rate of undelivered messages, between 1.3 and 1.5 percent. Over the last couple of months however, I noticed that the number of 'undeliverables' was slowly but steadily increasing .

One may think that 1.3 percent isn't too high a number, and not worth your concern. However, if you're the one 'percent' eagerly anticipating the arrival of your favorite ezine which then doesn't arrive, that number takes on a much larger meaning.

When the NPC's percentage of undelivered messages reached an all time high of 2.6, and hundreds of subscribers missed out, I knew it was time to tackle the problem.

Fortunately, my answer was close at hand.

The best way to avoid getting caught up in the filters, is to use a list server that incorporates a spam analyzer to check your messages. Both Aweber and Ken Evoy's Site Build It! use the Spam Assasin(tm) technology. Spam Assasin(tm) is a scoring system that instantly lets you know whether your ezine message might be filtered. The analyzer goes through your message and then returns a report that displays key areas that might be caught in filters.

Most ISP's using the Spam Assasin(tm) software allow anything with a score under 5 to pass through. Aweber's autoresponder service flags messages with scores over 5 by highlighting them in red. The red flag is linked to a list of terms and phrases that the software found objectionable, giving you the opportunity to refine your message and reduce your score.

Using the analyzer made such a difference to the NPC's rate of undeliverables. I was able to get it down to 0.6 percent, and I know that if I pay more attention to avoiding spam-type phrases, that number will go even lower.

So, are your messages reaching your customers, or are they getting caught up in spam filters? Don't sweat great drops of blood over your hard work and then let it become cyberspatial flotsam. Use an analyzer.

As the old saying goes - the mail must go through!

Rosalind Gardner is the author of the 'Net Profits Coach' ezine. Her online success has been profiled in 'Secrets to Their Success' and 'Six Figure Income' magazine. To learn how to build your own lucrative eBusiness, subscribe to the NPC at:

http://RosalindGardner.com

Fight Spam & Stop Taking It Lying Down!

Please consider my article for publication in your e-zine or website. You are permitted to reprint my article electronically or in print so long as you include the resource box. Exact word count 664 words.

Fight Spam & Stop Taking It Lying Down! By Andres Munoz

Spam is the #1 annoyance on the net it seems these days and the fact is that not much is being done to stop it. The good news is that there are measures you can take to stop spammers with incredible results. Nothing drives me more insane than receiving spam in my business e-mail, it's one thing to receive it in your Yahoo or Hotmail account but having to waste your time to sift through the trash in your business e-mail is ridiculous.

I discovered one tool that has made a difference, www.samspade.org this website will allow you to perform a "Who Is" query of the offending website and locate who their Host Servers are! All you need to do is contact the hosting company and report the spammer. All right how do you find the spammers web address from the spam message?

IT'S SIMPLE!!
99% of the time they will use phony 'From' and 'To' addresses to hide their identity but they include their real web address within the message. Next go to www.samspade.org and paste the offender's web address in the first text box and press, "Do Stuff". You will then find out the spammers true identity. You will discover all types of information about the spammer but the single most important is their "Domain Servers". These are the servers that host their site and will look like:

NS.ABCHosting.Com
NS2.ABCHosting.Com

All you need to do is replace the "NS" with www. In this case the offender's host server is www.ABCHosting. All reputable hosting companies will have a very strict abuse policy and will list an e-mail address to report such abuses (ex. abuse@abchosting.com) You should however visit the website and locate the email address to report abuse, most likely it will be located on their "Terms of Service" page or their "Contact Us" page.

(Note: Some websites in particular porn sites use http://201.234.21.6 as an address. They are NOT immune paste that address in the text box and find out who they are and report them.)

I should also note that be careful when using this tool. Don't report spam especially if you signed up for their Newsletter or Sales Message, remember you "Opt-in" their mailing list.

Likewise be very careful when it comes to websites with affiliates, they may have affiliates that simply don't know how to market a product and will resort to spamming. These are easy to identify, the address may look like: http://www.abccompany.com/4556MS the 4556MS is most likely the affiliates ID. Simply contact the website and report the affiliates ID.

Some spammers are truly dumb and will not hide their IP address. If you receive spam try to view the message headers and sometimes it will reveal the "X-originating IP" this is the spammers IP address. Again paste the IP address in the text box and press "Do Stuff". You will find all you need to know to report them and they will lose their IP address.

On the flip side there are some spammers that are smart, they use a stealth bulk mailer that hides their IP address. Hopefully they will include a web address or an e-mail address. If it's the case that the spam message only contains an e-mail address to respond to like Yahoo, Hotmail or Excite then you can fight back by forwarding that e-mail to:
mailto:abuse@yahoo.com
mailto:abuse@hotmail.com
mailto:abuse@excite.com

You are now armed with a powerful tool to fight spam. Use it wisely and stop taking it lying down! Here are some additional tools for your arsenal.

http://www.samspade.org
http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/antispam.html http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/nospam.html http://spamcop.net/

************************************************ Andres Munoz Andres publishes the "MyBiz E-zine" newsletter featuring articles about Promotion, Internet Marketing and Home Business advice and tips. The MyBiz reader will receive an article rich e-zine with few ads. To subscribe visit http://www.mybusiness-resource.com/ and download your free e-book. Discover how you can write killer ads in 5 simple steps that will hit your mark!

Enough is enough, Anti Spam is going to far?

Ok before entering into this argument I will say that some form of spam control is needed and understandable. I am intolerant of unsolicited e-mail as I think are most people. However, I think the time has come for the Internet Industry to take a lead in this.

It is rather ridiculous, for example that certain States in the US have one set of strict legislation while others have less. This is particularly the case from my perspective in Australia where that legislation has no power over me in any case.

The thing we all have to accept is that the Internet is a global tool. It is no longer owned nor controlled by a single country. Hence the way to deal with spam is by Industry Control not legislation. However this control must work both ways.

Although many spam complaints are real and should never happen and need to be dealt with there are a significant number that are not really spam. If you loose your domain or ISP due to a false complaint you are going to feel trodden on, accused of a ?crime? you did not commit. There needs to be an alternative.

The concept of ?guilty upon demand?, which is effectively how a spam complaint works, is a concept foreign to the laws and beliefs of countries like the USA and Australia. However I will label it as it is, its fascist. Basically a ?right wing? opponent to receiving e-mail (that they most likely did request) has put in a complaint to the ISP and the Line Provider.

The ISP is so fearful of the potential damage if the Line Provider cancels their connection that they terminate the account of the person accused of spam. That this person actually did anything wrong is irrelevant. It also has virtually no grounds for review. I was always told that the USA prides itself on certain freedoms, as does Australia. Somehow these freedoms have been lost on the Internet.

So what is the way forward? The Internet Industry must come up with a set of policies that are equally enforced across the Internet, by all ISP?s and the Line Providers. These rules need to be fair. Based on the principles of law where you are innocent until proven guilty, not guilty wether you can prove otherwise or not.

To Spam or Not to Spam - The Dilemma of the Internet Marketer

A few years back, I had the opportunity to manage a telemarketing group selling long distance services and one of our
problems was generating enough leads for our telemarketing representatives. The company had about 600 representatives who should make outgoing calls and one can imagine the number of leads we needed to keep them calling and selling in a normal telemarketing six-hour day. At normal phase, a person can dial about fifty numbers per hour. With automatic dialing, this is increased fifty to sixty percent or about a hundred telephone numbers an hour. Multiplied by the number of people, we needed at least 60,000 numbers to call every hour or 360,000 in six hours. With these numbers, I can assume that you may have received one of the calls our representatives may have made. How we got those numbers ?-- that is the company's responsibility and whether solicited or not, I had no idea.

On another scenario, how often do you receive mailed offers from business opportunity brokers, credit card special offers and many other mail (others call them junk) from direct marketing companies? I receive them as regular as the sunset every evening. And by the way, how they got my name and traced my address-they have their means.

Now, we are in the high-tech era. We have grown to live with the unwanted direct mail and have considered them a regular content of the mailbox everyday. In fact, we already formed the habit going straight the trashcan and gave it a name-junk. Some business opportunity offers, I can already memorize because they keep sending the same one. On the other hand, the telemarketers have more difficult time connecting with prospects nowadays because the line is being used in the computers all the time. Nobody complains anymore.

As the technological breakthrough begun in the 1990s with the introduction of the Internet, direct marketing and MLM (otherwise known as multi-level marketing) discovered a much easier, faster and cost effective way of promoting their products and special offers. What used to be a market nearing saturation, suddenly opened up like the rays of early morning sunlight reaching out markets wherever that electronic signal reaches. Here, in the Internet, they can reach anyone who has an Internet connection as long as they have an email address. No stamps-just a few dollars for Internet connection and a phone line. The service is instantaneous - no waiting and fear of losing the mail in transit. A wrong address is returned in an instant.

In the same contention as we have complained and complained and complained and still complaining about unsolicited calls and filling up the recycling box with "junk" mail,-we now have a new "cancer" at hand and a new issue to complain about invasion of our sacred privacies. The mailing list industry immediately took advantage of the situation and email addresses became readily available at remarkably cheap prices.

Unsolicited e-mail otherwise defined by almost everyone as "Spam"

Unfortunately, I cannot provide a definition of the word because Mr. Daniel Webster did not have the opportunity to list
the word in one of his Webster's Dictionaries so we have to settle with the definition provided by the Internet Service Providers or the web hosting companies and agree with however they interpret or define the word. Anyway, the word will automatically assume its meaning as everyone understands it to be. But my contention is that, as long as there is sales and marketing going on around our world, no matter in what type of endeavor you choose to be in, unsolicited announcements or solicitation will always be there. How about complaining to your church minister or parish priest for sending you an unsolicited email for a church donation?

Now, I must confess that maybe I am different. I take time reading the "unsolicited" emails, and I purposely opened
a separate email account where I can receive all these type of email. And so far, I have been lucky that all the messages I receive comes from individuals who wants me to "Be a Millionaire." And tells me that I can only become one if I replied and ask for more information.

Of course, occasionally, a guy writes a sales letter better than I do and I make the mistake of replying. And lo, I get the deluge of follow-up letters sent automatically by an autoresponder-expertly timed in between a number of days until maybe he /she assumes that I will be pest and will sign up. For those who are not familiar with the word, the auto-responder is some kind of a robot that is programmed to "respond" automatically-that's why it is called that.

To avoid this autoresponder harassment-you can "kill it" by replying to remove your name by following the removal instructions which is always written somewhere in the message. That autoresponder is programmed to do that.

But I love the spammer!

Why? Of course, as an Internet businessman and I gain one email address every time. In fact, I set the "bait" as others before me may have already done. I reply to one or two of those sales letters and the flood of emails in the same category automatically rushes into my address.

Now, when it is my turn, I cannot be accused of spamming. I am just responding!

The Internet spammer is an individual or maybe a group of individuals, who are definitely new in the Internet, lacking
or short of friends, no connections, and somewhat urging to do something mischievous or possibly a "con artist" lurking around searching for a victim or a new "netpreneur" trying out his newly purchased email addresses from those database companies who made assurances that the email list is "Spam free". One basic characteristic of a "spammer" is his defensive positioning of himself which he conveniently writes either at the top or at the bottom of his message. Messages like, "you are receiving this because you subscribed, someone subscribed for and on your behalf," and several other reasons -- all for his defense.

In my opinion, if I was sure that I am sending this newsletter to real subscribers, I don't see the need to post that statement. I can use that space for more advertisements. However, as an Internet businessman, there is also a chance that I may have inadvertently included one or two email addresses which I copied somewhere else, so, I also placed this defense at the bottom of the page.

No matter what law is passed against these practices, the solicitor will always try to find a way to go around that.

And lately, I noticed a new disclaimer posted by the MLM marketers, chain letter senders, and other e-zine publishers. Here it is:

"This message is sent in compliance of the new e-mail bill: SECTION 301. Per Section 301, Paragraph (a)(2)(C) of S.
1618, http://www.senate.gov/~murkowski/commercialemail/S771index.html

Further transmissions to you by the sender of this email may be stopped at no cost to you by sending a reply to this
e-mail address with the word 'REMOVE' in the subject line."

Being a spammer lover, I clicked on the URL above and this is what I got:

(A statement from Senator Frank Murkowski)

If you have been directed to this page, you have probably received spam from an Internet marketer. I was the author
of anti-spam legislation in the 105th Congress since I believe that spam is a burden upon citizens who use the Internet. Although my bill passed the Senate, the House of Representatives took a different view of the issue by merely recommending self-regulation. Ultimately no legislation was adopted into law. I will shortly be re-introducing similar anti-spam legislation in the 106th Congress.

If the spam you received contains illegal and/or offensive material, I encourage you to forward the spam to the
Federal Trade Commission at uce@ftc.gov. The FTC is beginning to take legal action against these abusers of the Internet and is seeking examples of spam to initiate its investigations and prosecutions.

Spam is a burden that needs to end. I look forward to seeing the day that this occurs.

Thank you,

Senator Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senate

Someone may have advised them to use that notice to show the recipient some semblance of knowing the law. Do they really know what they are talking about in the first place?

But, as I said, these guys are only trying to earn a living.

As a note to our MLM and chain letter friends, I say, no matter how you want to argue with it, the ISPs and the web
hosting companies have the final say to decide whether you are spamming or not. Sometimes, when I have time to review their policies, it seems like they are not in the Internet business. But if you want to stay in the Internet, I recommend that you keep in line

20 Words That Kill - At Least When It Comes to Spam Filters

Spam, spam, spam. It's terrible not only for those of us on the receiving end, but for those of us who SEND e-mail.

This deluge of irritating junk has unfortunately interfered with
legitimate e-zine publishers, because we're caught in the anti-spam crossfire. If you publish any type of e-mail publication, there's a likely chance that your e-zine is NOT reaching a portion of your readers. Why? Their Internet service provider (ISP) or e-mail program uses a spam filter.

These software programs search for words and phrases that are typical of spam and assign each incoming e-mail a "score." If your e-mail has too many of these words and phrases, you receive
a high score, and you may be blocked.

While there are other words that will cost you more "points" than these do (e.g. sexual phrases), here are the most common "trigger" words and phrases that you may be using in your e-zine:

1. amazing
2. cancel at any time
3. check or money order
4. click here
5. congratulations
6. dear friend
7. e-mail marketing
8. for only ($)
9. free (including toll-free)
10. great offer
11. guarantee
12. increase sales
13. order now
14. promise you
15. risk free
16. special promotion
17. this is not spam
18. to be removed
19. unsubscribe
20. winner

You have two choices when it comes to beating the filters. One is to avoid using these words and phrases altogether. I've found that hard to do. For example, in a recent issue, I discussed how to use your e-zine to increase business. Unfortunately the word "increase" cost me a fat 1.4 points in SpamAssassin, one of the
most popular filter programs.

Your second choice is to disguise these words and phrases in clever ways by inserting keyboard symbols within them and/or replacing a letter in them with a symbol. The trick is not to make it too cryptic -- you want your readers to be able to understand what you're saying. For example, in my e-zine, I use "fr*ee" for free.

While some spam filters pick up on this trick and penalize you for doing it by adding onto your score, I've found that the points this tactic costs you penalize you much less than using the words and phrases themselves. It's not a perfect solution, but it's working for now.

>

It's a great idea to test how YOUR e-zine stacks up before you send it out. The good news is you can do this for FREE.

Lyris' Content Checker (http://www.lyris.com/contentchecker/)
tells you how your e-zine ranks in Spam Assassin. All you do is copy your e-zine text and paste it into the box on their site. They'll run your free report and e-mail a copy to you. It usually arrives within minutes.

The report will tell you exactly which words are costing you points. Usually you should only be concerned if your score is over 5 points. If so, you can either delete those words or disguise them, as I mentioned above.

I test each issue of my e-zines in Content Checker before I publish them, and often I'm surprised (and relieved) that my score is low. That makes me a happy publisher. : )

Alexandria K. Brown

Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-
winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine" and the publisher of the e-zine, "Publish for Profits." To learn more about her book and FREE tips, teleclasses, and resources, visit
http://www.EzineQueen.com.

Internet 101: How To Make SPAM Disappear Like Magic!

It absolutely amazes me how many people over-react to receiving e-mail SPAM.

What is this obsession...this preoccupation with SPAM?

Where are our priorities?

There are who knows how many pedophiles out there abusing children; whom barely serve more than a couple of years in prison before they're free to walk the streets again.

Where's the public outrage over that? Yet, when it comes to SPAM, many of us are ready to support the severest anti-SPAM legislation. Yes, we want to lock up all the spammers and throw away the key.

What's wrong with this picture?

I personally receive over 500 e-mails every single day. Approximately half of that is SPAM. Want to know how I deal with the problem? I use magic. That's right, magic. I hit that magic little "delete" button and just like magic, my SPAM disappears!

And since I have high-speed cable access, it literally only takes me a few minutes to make hundreds of uninvited SPAM guests disappear like magic. No problem!

I don't let SPAM annoy me or upset me. And I certainly don't let it ruin my day.

When you let SPAM annoy or upset you, all you're doing is letting the spammers win. However, when you use that magic little delete button, you win. You've got the power to delete. Why not use it?

What's so hard about doing that? It's certainly a lot easier on your emotional well-being than getting upset over the situation.

Unfortunately, SPAM is a part of everyday life like telemarketers, reality television shows and junk mail. Learn to treat it as such.

Don't get mad...use magic!

Til next time...

Dave Turner is a writer and entrepreneur with over twenty years of marketing experience. Questions? Comments? Dave can be reached at mailto:internet-marketing-xpert.com Website: http://www.internet-marketing-xpert.com/ Internet marketing expert will teach you how to get a Guaranteed Monthly Income!

Email Marketing Without SPAMming

A few months ago, I wrote a series of articles on online marketing - the last of which dealt with email marketing and SPAM. This article in particular garnered many responses from readers both for and against the idea of mass-email marketing of any type. You can read that article online at this URL:
http://www.aaronzwebworkz.com/resources/newsletter/articles.shtml?spam

Although that article is itself a great resource, I still find myself being asked questions about the use of email marketing online. Since I didn't go into depth about the specifics of marketing using email in that previous article, I thought another was in order.

How do you go about sending email or marketing yourself online without crossing into the "SPAMmer" category? First and foremost, KNOW WHO YOU ARE SENDING YOUR EMAIL TO. You don't have to be familiar with each recipient personally, but you'd better know whether or not they really want to hear what you have to offer. Always keep that in mind when sending an email to anyone, especially if it's an email meant to market your product or service.

Building An Opt-In List
For anyone with an established website and a known web presence, building an opt-in list is generally an easy affair. The best type of list is the "double opt-in list." This simply means that the subscriber to the list was required to complete at least two steps - apart from one another - to join the list. Usually this means that the user filled out a web form (name, email, etc.) and submitted it. They were then emailed with a "click here to activate your subscription"-type link. Once they click on the link, they are subscribed to the list. This strategy prevents those who aren't sure what they're doing from joining and, more importantly, keeps Bob from signing up his friend/enemy Larry without Larry's consent. I recommend you find someone who specializes in newsletter list keeping and delivery (such as Topica - http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-10280459) to do this for you.

Whether your website is brand new or well established, you should be collecting customer contact information (email addresses in particular) for further contact. You can provide a free newsletter, periodic updates via email, or "exclusive opportunities" for those who join. There must be some kind of incentive or you won't gather many email addresses. For an established website, this is usually enough. You already have traffic to see your offer and sign up. You need do little more.

For the new site, though, this is only a portion of the battle. The real effort comes in marketing your offer to drive traffic to your website and build your opt-in list. There are a LOT of great ways to do this without causing much of a stir. My favorite is to participate meaningfully in discussion lists related to your business. I spend a lot of time in Web Design and Development forums speaking with others in the business as well as amateurs just looking for tips and help. Doing this without pushing myself down people's throats has gained me both fame and website traffic.

Another way to gather fast results is to advertise in newsletters/e-zines related to your business. Every business has trade, gossip, or news-related publications both on and offline. An advertisement in an e-zine online can get you 3,000 people looking at an ad you only spent $10 to list! The best thing about the Internet is that these ads can usually include a hyperlink so that they can read your ad (which hopefully contains some kind of call-to-action) and immediately click through to your website!

In addition to all this, there are some great tools at Roving Web (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-1668329) for the email marketer. They offer free trials on many of their services and give top-notch service to their customers.

A slower and more time-consuming way to get the word out is to talk to the publishers of these e-zines, the writers who write articles for them, and even to the website owners of related websites and tell them about your product, service, or offer. If what you have seems interesting enough, they may write an article or include a "blurb" free of charge! Or even trade links with you so you can help each other promote your individual websites.

You Have The List, What Now?
Now that you've got a list of those interested, you'll have more considerations. The first is the question of how each individual subscriber will remove themselves from your list if they so desire. Most list maintenance programs allow for this. At the very simplest, you can make sure they know how to email or contact you for removal. Make sure that EVERYTHING you send to this list of subscribers includes instructions for removal from the list. Not doing so immediately places you into the "SPAMmer" category.

What will you use to email to this list? There are a lot of options, including online email services, server-based bulk mail handlers, and PC-based software that does the same through your Internet connection. Each has pros and cons to consider. For instance, the online service may or may not store your list for you and therefore you may have worries about them stealing the list and selling it. This can happen. Another example is the PC-based system. If you routinely send out several thousand emails from your Internet account, your ISP may start to wonder just what it is you're doing. Many will shut you down and ask questions later. Make sure they are aware of what you're doing and don't have a problem with it. This will keep you out of hot water.

Again, a great way to keep out of hot water is to use a professional service to handle your list, email your newsletters, and even write the newsletters for you! I recommend Topica (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-10280459), Roving Web (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-1668329), and eZine4Hire (http://www.eZine4Hire.com) for these services.

What and When To Send
Don't send things willy-nilly to your list. The more often you send things, the more often you will have people wanting to unsubscribe to avoid your constant barrage. As a general rule, sending twice a week at maximum is acceptable. The shorter your emails, the less likely you are to receive complaints or unsubscriptions.

Don't send more than you have to. If you are sending your emails using an HTML format, make sure the design is simple, clean, and uses few graphics. The more you use, the larger the email. The larger the email, the longer it takes to download and view. Whatever you do, DO NOT include browser-control "features" or code that automatically redirects the browser to a website. Very few people like these and it's not widely supported by many email clients, so a lot of your readers may see only garbage in their email.

Only send useful information for your readers. Don't send information that you wouldn't want to read if you were a prospective customer. Your email recipients probably don't want to read about your dog Tilly, your son's graduation from Webelos, or your new-found love of dirt farming. They want to know how you're work/offer is going to benefit THEM. And they want to know this in as little time as possible. Try not to ramble. This is my biggest struggle. :

When You're Accused of SPAMming
When you do receive a SPAM complaint - and you will, eventually - try to be professional about it. Remove the person from your list immediately and, if needed, send all pertinent details (including the signup process and a copy of your Privacy Policy or Anti-SPAM Policy) to those who need it. Let the person know, in a business-like and non-aggressive manner, that they have been removed from your list and will not receive further contact from you. From then on, it's best to just ignore them if they continue to harass you with complaints. So long as they aren't receiving any more of your emails (without signing up for them), they have nothing to complain about.

Despite the horror stories you may have heard (usually perpetrated by SPAMmers who don't want SpamCop or similar services to exist), you will NOT be blacklisted after only one or two complaints. It takes several complaints about the same instance and issue to get blacklisted. Even then, these lists are generally temporary and will only last a few months at the longest. Unless you are a REAL SPAMmer or are ignoring one of the fundamental rules of non-SPAM emailing, you will never get yourself listed on one of those lists.

In the end, email is still a great marketing tool when used properly. If you take the time to do the research, learn what you need to know, and employ the tools you need to use; you will benefit greatly from this powerful marketing tool. If, instead, you rely on purchased "safe lists" and use nefarious tools like "header screens," you'll eventually reap the painful rewards you're due.

Aaron Turpen is the proprietor of eZine4hire.com. Does your business need a newsletter? Don't have time to do it right? Come to us! You can get an e-zine for as little as $4.95/issue! http://www.eZine4hire.com

Are You Compliant With The Law? Take The CAN-SPAM QUIZ!

Are You Compliant? Take The CAN-SPAM QUIZ!

Test Your Knowledge of The Law - 22 Questions You Should Know.

ANSWER THESE STATEMENTS: TRUE OR FALSE?

The Can Spam Act went into effect Jan. 1st, but marketers have 90 days to become compliant with the new law.

The Can Spam Act Pre-empts many tougher state anti-spam laws.

You may send commercial email with falsified headers.

You must include your phone number in all commercial emails.

You may send UCE as long as the message contains an opt-out mechanism, a functioning return email address, a valid subject line indicating the email is an advertisement, and the legitimate physical address of the sender.

You must include a privacy policy when you collect subscribers.

You may harvest email addresses as long as the messages you send contain an opt-out mechanism, a functioning return email address, a valid subject line indicating the email is an advertisement, and the legitimate physical address of the sender.

You must have a process for handling unsubscribes within a 15 day window.

Referencing or including a link to a commercial entity in an email message is sufficient to make it a commercial email message.

You must add your postal address to all your marketing emails.

The Can Spam Act is enforced by the Attorney General in the state wherein the alleged spam originated.

You must not share the address of a person who unsubscribed with any other entity seeking to send that party email.

It's O.K. to use a misleading subject in your marketing email, as long as you identify the email as an advertisement or solicitation somewhere within the body of the email.

The FTC is required to report back to Congress within two years on the effectiveness of the law and the need, if any, for modifications.

Wireless spam is not covered by the law.

The new law allows for a $250 fine per non compliant email, and possible jail time, for intentionally sending UCE with falsified header information.

All persons in charge of running web servers that relay email must close all open relays within 90 days of enacted of the law (Jan. 1st).

Sending commercial email through an open relay is prohibited by the Can Spam Act.

You must include an unsubscribe mechanism in every commercial email.

Under the law, businesses knowingly promoted in UCE with false or misleading header information are also subject to FTC penalties and enforcement remedies, regardless of whether the FTC is able to identify the spammer who initiated the email.

All commercial email (except those sent to opt in lists) must contain ADV in the subject line, to indicate the email is an advertisement.

All commercial email (except those sent to opt in lists) must be identified as an advertisement or solicitation.

For answers to these questions, take the quiz online at: http://www.EmailMarketingSurvey.com/CAN-SPAM-Quiz.html

Jim Symonds, EmailMarketingSurvey.com. All Rights Reserved.

Jim Symonds publishes "Web Secrets Exposed!" Eye popping, and jaw dropping, sneaky little web design tricks & web marketing secrets revealed. How'd they do that? We'll show you! Subscribe Now FR*E! Learn 1001 Sneaky Tips 'n Tricks http://www.WebSecretsExposed.com

The Lighter Side of Spam

Every morning when sit down at the ole computer and go to check my email I know two things will happen. (1) I won't have received any new sign-ups in any of the hundreds of affiliate programs that 'guaranteed' me a massive downline and (2) I will have at least 30 emails that are unsolicited or SPAM.

As an experienced 'Interneter' (definition: One who spends way too much time on the internet) I know that the lack of sign-ups may change. One morning I may awaken to 30 new affiliates in each of my programs. Or at least that's what my guru friends keep telling me... The SPAM however, 'ain't goin' nowhere.' It's just become a fact of internet life. 'He Who Hath Email, Will Get SPAM.'

I personally use the Delete-It-And-Forget-About-It Method to deal with SPAM. This time tested method has three basic steps:

1. Select the 'suspected' spam email

(Note: I use the term suspected because according the Internet Law Code Title 12 Chapter 15 Subtitle 3 'All spam is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of it's peers, or until it emails a virus to your whole address book.)'

2. Hit the 'Delete' button

3. Move on to the next email

This highly complicated method for dealing with SPAM is not, I have found, for everyone. There are some people who feel that this method lets spammers off too easily.
These are people who feel very strongly about SPAM. They don't just dislike SPAM, they DESPISE it. I'm talking about the kind of people who, judging by their actions, must be allergic to SPAM.

These kind of people prefer the I'm-Going-To-Get-You-If-It's-The-Last-Thing-I-Do-Online Method. This method involves any or all of the following steps:

1. Quitting your day job so you can have more time to write nasty replies to all the emails that you get that you don't remember requesting.

2. Doing an exhaustive 30 hour online search for a suspected spammers IP address so you can report them to their ISP. And their hosting services. And their mother.

4. Attempting to get in touch with Tom Ridge, newly appointed Director of Homeland Security, because you think spamming is a form of terrorism.

5. Showing up at suspected spammers front door at 3 AM wielding an AK-47 assault rifle and wearing only WWJD bandana and a mousepad, and shouting, "If I want Spam I'll buy a can" between gunshots.

However you deal with SPAM is of course your business. I, by nature, am a passive person (by passive I mean lazy) so SPAM doesn't usually annoy me to the point where I feel the need to take action. I will admit that occasionally though SPAM does get me a little angry. Like when I open my inbox and see that of the 25 unread emails I have, 20 have subject lines like:

* Let Me Show You How To Make An Extra $5000 An Hour Selling Squid!

* Hot Blonde Men Want You!

* Congratulations You've Won An All Expense Paid Trip To Uzbekistan

* Do You Know What You're Children Are Doing Online?

(A quick note to all spammers: If you are going to illegally fill my inbox with SPAM at least be kind enough to send me something that might interest me. SPAM about children does not interest me in the slightest bit seeing as I have none. And if I did have kids I wouldn't care what they did online as long as they stayed quiet and left me alone. Thanks.

* Become A Catholic Priest In Two Short Weeks

* Here Is The Information You Requested On Llama Breeding

These are just a sample of some of the subject lines that I have seen in my inbox. I assume they were SPAM since I don't remember every requesting any information about any of those subjects. Although the one about selling squid did seem interesting. Which brings me to a question.
If you know that an email is SPAM but the subject line is just sooo darn catchy, is it wrong to open the email? Do I become an accessory to spamming? Am I aiding and abetting known spammers? I sure hope not because truthfully every now and then I open an email that I know is SPAM just to see what it's about. It's just that some of those spammers
have gotten so good with their subject lines that I just can't help myself. For instance I'm GOING to open emails with subject lines like:

* Free Fried Chicken For Life

* Fast Hemorrhoid Relief

* Drink ALL You Want And Never Get Drunk

* Drew Barrymore and Tara Banks Want To Meet You

(Another quick note to spammers: If you were the online law breaker who sent me the unsolicited email about Drew and Tara could you please send it to me again. I think I accidentally deleted it.
Thanks. P.S. If you have anything about Angelina Jolie send that too.)

* Even Faster Hemorrhoid Relief

* Stop Premature Balding

* Legally Get Back All The Money You've Ever Blown On Women

There are some of you who probably think it's deplorable that I admit to reading emails that I know are SPAM. You probably think that people like me are the reason spammers keep spamming. You probably think I'm just as bad as the spammers. You're probably trying to figure out who my ISP is at this very moment so you can report me. All I can say in my defense is: I'm only human. And I only do it on weekends.

In conclusion, even though I've poked fun at anti-spammers in this article, I do feel that spamming is wrong and illegal. My purpose in writing this article was just to bring a little
humor to the otherwise ever-so-serious SPAM table. Whether you're an avid anti-spammer and a card-carrying member of the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email or a lazy
Delete-It-And-Forget-About-It slacker like me, you'll probably agree that spammers need to stopped. Anyone caught spamming should be punished. And I know the ideal punishment. They
should be forced to clean my house and keep my llamas fed while I'm on my 2 month vacation in Uzbekistan with Drew Barrymore, eating fried chicken-hemorrhoid free.

*************************************************
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The Internet is far too serious these days. You need a break from all the gurus and money-making schemes and paid email ads. You also need a new car, a babysitter for Wednesday night, and a good plumber. Unfortunately, I can only help you with the Internet stuff. Visit me at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlinejester
to join my mailing list so you can receive more entertaining articles that poke fun at all things Internet. *************************************************
*************************************************

Tim Ward, the self-proclaimed Online Jester, writes a monthly column that takes a warped look at the World Wide Web. This column is published in his ezine, The Online Jester's Ezine. To find out more visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlinejester/

ANTI-SPAM, SCAM and SPAM, What do they have in common?

You would be shocked. I am angry and hopefully you will be too after you read this.
Anti-spam program = Scam and Spam to your Address Book.

I won't pull bones here. Lies, misrepresentation, invasion of your privacy, e-mail abuse and more. That is what they claim the SPAMMERS are doing to you. They promise to stop it. Eliminate unwanted e-mail SPAM. Yup that's what it said.

First let me apologize for any of you that got this e-mail from me. I did NOT send it and did NOT authorize it.

===================
This courtesy message is being sent to you as a contact in my address book.

It is to notify you that I have installed SPAM | BAR, an Anti Spam filter, on my incoming mail.

As long as you write to me using this particular address, your messages will come straight through to my mail in-box.

If, however, at any time you should write to me using a different e-mail address to this one, the SPAM | BAR program will reply to you asking you to confirm you are a real person, and not a "Spammer".

For further information on SPAM | BAR or to obtain a courtesy copy please check out:

http://www.spambar.com/
===================

On a recommendation of a friend, I agreed to look at this program for them. I looked at everything on the SpamBar site and e-mailed them with several questions as well as some concerns. They e-mailed back assuring me that I was wrong about their product and would be happy with it. I installed it and set it up on an account that is seldom used just in case (still not trusting the program) it did to me what another one did previously, deleted a lot of important mail.

After following the instructions and being assured that the program was not invasive it was time to check my e-mail. I started Outlook Express (I have 23 e-mail accounts) and went about some other things away from the Puter while my e-mail downloaded (I normally do this because who wants to sit and watch your download screen).

When I came back to the Puter it was trying to send out 758 messages. I caught it at 123 sent and stopped it. That was the first part of this Anti-Spam nightmare. Again I am sorry some of you got this unauthorized message. The Damned thing had taken over Outlook Express like a VIRUS. It took over all of my accounts instead of the one I indicated in the set-up, automatically Spawned a SPAM to my entire Address Book, blocked most of my incoming mail sending it to a folder somewhere on my hard drive, that I finally found, and was able to recover.

The nightmare didn't stop here. But I won't go into the rest of the details here. Let me say this, I have uncovered many bad things about SPAM BLOCKERS over the last several months and found out things that will curl your hair even if you are bald. The result is that I will be writing a new E-Book exposing all the garbage and damage these programs can do to your e-mail and E-Business. The E-Book will be out within 3 weeks, it will be $3.00 to cover the additional costs we will have in production and bandwidth. It is a must read for anyone with a Puter. Yup I have about 30% of it done already so we can get it out.

You will want a copy and this is important enough that you should share it with everyone you know (unless you have someone you want to get even with. Then recommend an ANTI- SPAM program and screw them good). We are going to make it re-brandable so you can sponsor it and get it out to your visitors and customers. It is time to stop this Internet Dictatorship. With your help, we can get this out where folks can see what is happening to them.

Please do a couple of things for us.

1. Forward this Ezine to your friends, family and subscribers if you have an Ezine.

2. Give us your feedback at the new Puter Tutor Message Board.
http://pub57.ezboard.com/bputercentral

3. If you have a story that will fit this please send it to me so it can be considered for addition to the E-Book. Don't procrastinate. We want this E-Book out ASAP (deadline 3 weeks) Include your signature for publication. mailto:e-books@makemoneyhowto.com

4. Don't install any ANTI-SPAM software on your Puter until you have read the E-Book. Then you won't want to. If you have any, get rid of it.

If you want to eliminate senders just use the Block Sender in your e-mail program or use filters. We will show you how in the E-Book.

Happy Putering,
Mike and Gail

Mike Smith, owner of CM/YMTC, and author of the Free "Easy Guide Series, has extensive experience with computers and the Internet, and is always willing to answer any questions about computers, software or anything related to E-Business. mailto:mike@makemoneyhowto.com His latest venture offers beginners a 4-page customizeable Website for a remarkably small investment. http://cmymtc.com/index1.htm

The Real Cause of SPAM - Open SMTP Relays

Permission is granted for the below article to forward,
reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,
offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long
as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the
resource box below is included.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Real Cause of SPAM - Open SMTP Relays

By Stephen Bucaro

Email is transported across the Internet via Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SMTP relays email from server to
server in route to your mailbox. When email arrives at
your ISP's server, it is stored there until you download
it via Post Office Protocol (POP3).

Smart businesses relay email only between SMTP servers
within their company's domain. Email from outside the
domain can be deposited in your mailbox. But email from
outside the domain, that is not addressed to a mailbox
within the domain, is bounced back to the originating
domain with a Nondelivery Receipt (NDR).

Unfortunately, there are many incompetent system
administrators that have configured their SMTP servers to
relay email for everyone, not just those in the local
domain. Spammers use these open relays on the Internet to
send millions of unsolicited messages.

Stopping SPAM is not difficult. If every system
administrator configured their SMTP servers routing
restrictions to not relay email for everyone, spammers
would not be able to steal server resources that we all
pay for. These inept system administrators should learn
how to specify which domains they will allow to relay
messages through their servers.

They should not relay messages that originated from open
relay SMTP servers. There are several services that
maintain lists of open relays on the Internet.

Www.ordb.org Open Relay Database
www.mail-abuse.org Mail Abuse Prevention System
http://relays.osirusoft.com Osirusoft

Osirusoft has a link that enables you to test your email
server to see if it is open relay.

An administrator can configure their SMTP servers to
check one of these lists and reject messages from domains
on the list. They should also configure their SMTP
servers to accept messages only from connections that
authenticate first. Authentication requires the
originating server to provide a security certificate
which verifies the servers identity.

SPAM can be eradicated today if the incompetent system
administrators that have their SMTP servers configured
as open relays would learn how to specify which domains
they will allow to relay messages through their servers.
They should not be relaying messages that originated from
servers on the open relay list.
----------------------------------------------------------
Resource Box:
Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain
your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web
site and make money on the Web visit
http://bucarotechelp.com
To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank
email to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com

I want a website, but I don't want spam!

Question: If I start a web site, won't I get loads of spam?

Answer: Yes. But there are ways of cutting it down.

1. Hide your email address so it can't be "harvested" by
spam robots. You can do this simply by replacing the @
symbol with the special Unicode symbol @ Browsers will
display it as normal. Robots that search the web for e-mail
addresses won't be able to recognise it as an e-mail
address. Robots are getting more sophisticated - I "cloak"
or hide my complete address on every web page. Email
Scramble is an easy-to-use program that will produce the
code for you, ready to paste into your web page. Read more
details at
http://www.firstwebbuilder.co.uk/info/escramble.html

2. Set up filters in your email program. I KNOW I don't want
a mortgage or a new credit card, as well as less pleasant
offerings, so I filter any messages containing those words
straight into my Trash. Check your email program's help file
for instructions on how to filter out messages that you know
you don't want.

3. If you get persistent spam from one source, send a copy
of the message to their email provider. Look at the "From"
address, and note what comes after the "@". If you address
it to "abuse@" and the name you noted, with a short
description of the problem, they may be able to close the
account. But many spammers are using hidden and re-
directed accounts, so that the account name which actually
appears is nothing to do with them!

4. DON'T use your personal email address on your web site.If
you have a domain name, or paid hosting, you're almost
certain to get e-mail addresses in the package. If you use
free hosting, many now provide an e-mail address to go with
your web site. If not, sign up for a web-based mail address.

5. DON'T use the "Reply to this email to be removed" link in
spam e-mail - all that does is tell them that your email
address is real! You could try a "bounce" program that sends
a false "bounce" (invalid email address) message - you'll
find some at http://www.webattack.com

Dianne Reuby is co-author of the e-book "First Website
Builder". Dianne created and runs the First Web Builder
site, dedicated to providing ebooks and tips for new
webmasters.
Visit FWB at http://firstwebbuilder.co.uk/
AOL

Bulk Email, Spam and Email Marketing

This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time.
Excerpted from PlanetLink's Enews - an email newsletter delivered for FREE to your computer. To subscribe, go to www.planetlink.com

This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients whom you have had no prior contact or permission.

The issue of whether or not to send Spam can be summed up in three words - "don't do it." While it's not currently illegal under Federal law, (although sending bulk non-approved faxes is), it is generally not permitted by Internet Service Providers under their "terms of service" agreement (PlanetLink's terms of service can be found at http://www.planetlink.com/policy.html). Most ISPs will issue a warning on the first occurrence and cancel a client's service on the second. The reason for zero tolerance is that while the responsible party can literally send millions of messages almost for free, the costs associated with sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by the recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as the ISPs that transport and store email. A recent European Commission report found that the world wide cost is $9.36 billion per year.

The other reasons for not sending Spam are the impact it has on the reputation of the company and the risk of interruption or cancellation of service. The other issue of importance for ISPs whose client's repeatedly send spam is that mail sent from their network can be blocked by other ISPs trying to stop spam from reaching their clients; potentially affecting thousands of customers. Under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17538.45, sending spam through a mail server based in California is illegal and allows for damages of $50 per message.

So, if we can't send Spam, what can we us bulk email for?

Bulk email is great tool for keeping in touch with your clients and customers, sending newsletters, service messages, announcing special offers and more. It can also be used to keep in contact with prospects on an ongoing basis and is an effective sales tool for generating new business. Systems can be implemented that make it easy to send automated messages on a regular basis. Systems can also be implemented which make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your list. Subscriber management features also make it easy for you to add, delete, schedule and send messages as required.

PlanetLink can assist you in setting up an effective email list system for your business and can implement anything from a fully automated system to a manual system. For more information, call us at 415-884-2022 or email info@planetlink.com.

Important Tips:

Create an opt-in email list on your website.

Don't buy a database of email addresses and send them bulk email - this is Spam.

Spam can be reported to http://www.spamcop.net.

Collect email addresses on a "sign up sheet" at public events, trade shows and presentations. Let them know on the form that they will be added to your email list and give them a check box to confirm their participation.

If you send bulk email to your list, make it easy for them to unsubscribe.

In the bulk message that you send, remind them of how and/or why they are on your list.

Be sensitive to your list - people are busy and they get lots of email.

Steve Lillo author of Websites That Work! is the President of PlanetLink, a website design and consulting firm which specializes in creating websites which get results. They also provide their Web Rx Service for increasing the effectiveness of existing websites. PlanetLink can be reached at http://www.planetlink.com or by telephone at 415-884-2022.

Do Not Spam!

The temptation to sp*m is powerful but must be resisted.
The temptation among internet marketers to SPAM is greater than ever. If you're new to the Net, be aware that SPAM isn't the popular food from Hormel but a pseudonym for "unsolicited commercial email," also known as UCE.

SPAM is a definite no-no. It's also the quickest way to destroy your online reputation.

Unlike conventional mail, unsolicited email can provoke a hostile, negative, and destructive reaction. There are individuals on the Web who will contact your Internet Service Provider, harass you, "bomb" your server with countless emails and do everything possible to either shut you down or generally make your online life miserable.

There have been instances where marketers have sent SPAM to recipients with great results. The benefits are only short-term, however.

"Netiquette" allows for the selective transmission of emails to recipients who have expressed an interest in specific subjects or topics related to what you offer because they have "opted-in" to an email directory or source.

Purchasing email addresses from an "opt-in" source is considered to be acceptable but should still be approached carefully. Make sure the lists are up to date and highly qualified.

There are other methods available that are appropriate to the Internet and do not risk the wrath of SPAM. Banner advertising and ads on ezines, or electronic magazines or newsletters, are cost-effective and highly targetted.

Geoff is a professional online marketing consultant and writer with nine years of continuous experience. His diversified background includes search engine marketing, e-commerce strategy and online public relations. He has lectured extensively on subjects related to online marketing and has worked for some of the Web's highest traffic brands, including eDiets and myTravelUSA.

Using the power of NON-spam email

If you own a local retail store or local service business where customers come into your office or shop, you're going to love this report. I'm going to show you how to maximize your current customer base and improve sales by using NON-spam email.

Your business doesn't need a website to do what I'm going to show you here. This method is so simple, but overlooked by most local business owners, that when I explain this simple system to you, you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't think of it sooner. Best of all, you can start using this system TODAY.

If you're running a local business of any kind:

* cleaners
* pet supply shop
* hair salon
* grocery store
* lawn service
* window washer
* ice cream shop
* dentist
* personal trainer, etc...

...you should be using email RIGHT NOW to increase your profits.

Let's say you own a local hair salon, for example. Obviously no one is going to go on the Internet looking for a hair stylist. People will not type the words "hair salons" in a search engine to find a local hair salon. So what you should do is maximize the income potential of every local customer that does frequent your establishment.

Here's what you do: When a customer is paying for their service and they come to your register, make sure you collect their contact information. You want to get their first name, last name and email address logged into your database. I'm sure next to your cash register you have a computer where you could easily enter this information. If you don't have a computer next to your cash register...GET ONE!

Or you could simply write down this information on a sheet of paper to be transferred to your database later on. If the concept of a database seems to complex, just enter the information about each customer in a simple text file. The text file should look like this:

"EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME" "EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME" .
.
.
"EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME"

That's it! If someone asks you what you need this information for, tell them it's for your "preferred customer list" to tell them about specials being offered at your establishment before the general public hears about them.

Don't say "mailing list." No one wants to be on some old, impersonal, stuffy "mailing list." But a "preferred customer list" sounds more valuable. Which would you rather be on? I think it's pretty obvious.

Do this for EVERY customer that comes through and leaves your doors. What you'll notice is that after doing this for a month, you should have a few hundred or a few thousand email addresses of customers. Now that you have their email address and name, you can contact these people as often as you like by email for FREE. Instead of sending postcards, letters or paying someone to call past customers about new products/services or specials that you offer.

You can simply send them a small email notice FREE!

This is NOT spamming. These people have given you permission to email them. After all, they voluntarily gave you their email address. They have used the products or services of your shop. They love what you sell. Yes, they will be happy to hear from you by email. They will consider this EXCELLENT customer service interaction.

So what you do next is whenever you have a new product, service or special you want to announce - first hit your "preferred customer" list with and email announcement. This should help you generate some quick cash for your business.

Christopher Sewell enjoys showing beginners how to build a successful business online. Want MORE valuable tips on how to build a successful online business, or tips on how your local retail store can use the Internet to increase profits - download Chris's FREE 24-page training guide today at http//www.beginnersguidetoecommerce.com/

Build Awareness Through Email Without Spamming!

Most web marketers have seen the usual promotion strategies dozens of times. Search engines, newsletters, email ads and the like. Yet it can seem like a painfully slow process to build up from a trickle of visitors per day. Slow and steady marketing programs will pay off, but sometimes slow is just too discouraging! Unfortunately many web business owners will give up because of the psychological toll of a slow start.

To boost your site (and your confidence), you need to focus on bringing traffic to your site NOW to build an awareness of your site’s existence, even if it does not immediately translate into sales. You also need to let the big guns in your industry know that you are online, and that you intend to be a player. You need a promotion strategy, not an advertising program. If there is one concept to keep in mind throughout your web marketing career, it is this…

You can promote without advertising. In fact, promotion is often a much more powerful way to succeed. We tend to think of these two concepts as one and the same, but you are severely limiting your results if you concentrate only on "advertising." For one thing, there are rules about advertising (i.e. spam). In addition, we are all growing more impervious to ads; we see and hear so many per day that we unconsciously filter them out.

Advertising is geared towards the sale. Promotion, on the other hand, is geared towards building awareness. Promotion focuses first on the person you are communicating with, and then subtly returns the focus to you. You can advertise your site without emitting those bad vibes that "advertising" usually produces. How do you accomplish this? There are several ways, only one of which we will discuss in this article.

Email. Not email newsletters, or email ads, or email discussion groups but person-to-person email. Yes, you can send free email to people you don’t know, provided that you are offering something of value (or potential value) for the recipient. A blatant ad is simply spam, which will win you no friends at all.

The first step involves making a detailed (if not exhaustive) list of other companies/web sites related to yours. Now carefully formulate the approach you are going to take to inform these companies of your existence.

You need to have some feature on your site that might benefit them, which becomes the angle you will be using. (You should actually have these features on your site; please don’t lie just to get the "angle.")

1. Have a links page. Institute your links first and then inform other sites. Obviously, you can’t link to 500 web sites, but you CAN email them, ask for more information about their company and tell them that you will consider a link to them (make sure that you do add some of these companies, or rotate your links periodically)

2. Write a monthly (or weekly) feature on a related company that is doing something new and/or exciting. Email a large selection of companies, tell them that you might like to feature them in the future and ask for more information. (You can email them again when they are featured!)

3. If you feature/review/promote any type of product, you have an immense opportunity to contact hundreds, if not thousands, of companies for information. Most often you will have little trouble getting a response.

Every company loves to talk about itself, and have others in their industry acknowledge them as an important player. Even if your site is small, companies will value the exposure you can give them. Your carefully constructed emails will not only stroke their ego, but will let them know who you are. You might develop a correspondence relationship with some, and those that benefit from your features will often help you in return. Others may return to your site periodically to see their feature.

So start sending those emails, but remember… it’s not about you, it’s about them!

Michele Haapamaki writes for Eworksworld, the only Internet Marketing Portal that reviews marketing companies and sites all in one place, so you spend less time searching the web! Send in your tips to our Red Ink Watch, which provides unbiased commentary on the (mostly negative) balance sheets of major Internet companies!