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SPAM is all of the stuff that
shows up in your email
inbox
that you never asked for.
It's usually a mixture of unrelated sales promotions, advertisements,
sometimes shady and often times a scam which could also
carry secret spyware programs without your knowledge
"SPAM" is the term that somehow became the easy way to refer to all of this "Unsolicted
Commercial email", often called "UCE".
Unscrupulous people, and even your unsuspecting family and friends who think
they are doing you a favor, can unknowingly forward 'SPAMMY' email to you.
Think about all of those chain letters, jokes, even some of the greeting
cards that end up in your
email box...
many have been forwarded a half dozen or more times, and at each stop along the
way, it's possible that the cute little message could pick up a virus, trojan
horse or worm...
... and there are dishonest 'SPAMMERS' who
have the tools to harvest email addresses, including yours, so that they can
send out their
scams
and junk mail. |
It's often difficult to
separate real good
deals from the
scams
and junk sent by the spammers
Because many unscrupulous people take advantage of the free nature of the
internet to email their often shady deals and pornographic material to those of
us who don't want it, there is an ongoing effort to eliminate these intrusions
into our private lives.
The US government passed anti-spam
legislation called the CAN SPAM Act, which provides severe penalties for
those shady people who continue to abuse the emails. It became effective on Jan
1, 2004.
 The rules that must be followed are very stringent and
rigid. For people like us, who use our websites and emails to try to help people
and provide legitimate information, it means that we must be certain that we
email only to people who have given us permission to do so.
That's why we have those "Sign-up" forms on our web pages. We will not send
anything to anyone who has not given us permission to do so.
The Rules even seem to require that we go back to our
subscribers a second time to confirm that it was 'they'
who had actually sent the opt-in form response initially.
This is referred to as "Double Opt-in permission".
Subscribers opt to (agree to) receive our messages. We then must ask them to
confirm the email address they used when they 'opted' to receive them.
This may tend to minimize the Spam abuse.
There are organizations like 'i-Cop, the
International Council of Online Professionals', that promote
integrity, honesty, and a professional approach to our internet marketing
efforts.
They have published an easy to understand review of the Federal Trade
Commission's year 2003 Rules and Regulations controlling commercial email. It's
available for FREE by
CLICKING HERE. It's a valuable tool for
small businesses or private persons who have reason to send email that could be
considered to be commercial in nature.
There are TWO VERY IMPORTANT POINTS:
●
The act does not prohibit the sending of non-solicited commercial e-mail. It only regulates the MANNER OF SENDING non-solicited commercial e-mail.
●
The most common question people ask is, if I am a legitimate marketer or
newsletter publisher and I e-mail my newsletter and offers to a list of people
who have subscribed; do I need to change any of my practices to conform to the
new law?.
Unless you are sending Non-Solicited commercial
e-mail to consumers, this act does not apply to you.
This is how the act defines unsolicited or non-solicited Email that is:
● Sent to a person who has not specifically requested to receive communications
from the sender and with whom the sender does not have a prior business or
personal relationship, or to a person who has previously requested not to
receive communications from the sender (i.e., has opted out).
Here are recommendations to anyone sending emails in the course of their
business
●
Make sure you put an accurate Name and E-mail address
in the FROM LINE of your
e-mail.
● Make sure to include your actual physical mailing address
in the body of every
e-mail you send.
● Make sure you are using an autoresponder service or other
email program that
has an easy one-click opt-out procedure
for people who no longer wish to receive
your e-mails.
● Let people know at the beginning of your email, that they
are receiving it
because they or someone on their behalf
subscribed using their address.
● If
you are sending unsolicited commercial email, identify it
as an advertisement or
solicitation in the subject line.
Save this Brief Summary
Every UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL must contain:
●An accurate Name and E-mail address in the FROM LINE
●A subject line accurately representing the content of the
body of your email.
●An actual physical mailing address in the body
●A "clear and conspicuous" notice in the SUBJECT LINE
that the message is an advertisement or solicitation.
●An easy opt-out procedure for people who no longer
wish to receive your e-mails
. |
(The materials available here are for informational purposes only, are not
legal advice and should not be relied on as such. The Materials are not
intended to substitute for obtaining qualified legal advice from competent,
independent, legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction).
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Only Time
Will Tell How Effective
the
CAN-SPAM Act Will Be
Unfortunately, it
has not completely Stopped Spam, but there are steps you can take to STOP a lot of
SPAM from entering your Mail Box
CLICK HERE
for a
FREE Guide to
Stopping Spam -
Once
and For All
.
Get the Guide plus
a Free Subscription to the Security Alert News Reporter and the 23
Vital Security Tips that
will help you protect your Computer Security and Online safety
against Cyber crooks
Download instructions will be sent to your email address.
 |
More
about Dangerous Spyware
Fears about "spyware" raises a lot of attention in computer security
and policy circles around the world. The term itself is slippery, frequently
used hazily to apply both to the information-thieving programs and the
often-annoying advertising programs typically bundled with free software
programs such as Kazaa or Grokster.
Among the more dangerous kinds of
spyware are the commercially available programs for "remote surveillance"
applications like iSpyNow, which allow the spying software to be disguised on a
computer, and then report back every keystroke that is made on the computer to
whoever installed it.
These kinds of remote-spying applications were solely the property of hackers or
other malicious computer programmers, but now they have been
marketed by some vendors as ways to keep tabs on children's or spouses' computer
use.
Among the many different kinds of Spyware, you'll find:
● Trojan Horses
● Keyloggers
●
System Monitors
●
Dialers
● Adware
● Adware Cookies ● HiJackers
Many of these arrive in your Unsolicited email.
More
Security Suggestions Here -
Internet Security Software
check
Out
Avoiding Identity Theft
Are
you in danger of losing your identity to thieves?
Links to Safe 'Family
Friendly' online resources
Are your Keystrokes
being secretly monitored?
10 Practical Steps to
avoid Identity Theft
Follow these links for information,
advice, and
protective tools
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