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News | About Us | Affiliations | Careers/Jobs | Why WFC | LocationsHow to Protect Yourself from SPAM
Overview
According to a recent study conducted by Ferris Research, a market and technology research firm specializing in messaging and collaboration, Spam will cost U.S. businesses over $10 billion in 2003.
Spam not only clogs our servers and in-boxes, but it also costs us hours and hours of lost time in productivity.
Although the estimated cost of Spam focuses mainly on lost productivity, this picture may be much broader than you realize.
Some of the more popular email providers, such as AOL (America Online), Yahoo! and Hotmail, are now utilizing filters to cut down on Spam. These filters are dumping Spam and/or bulk mailings into a separate location. Although this may cut down on Spam in your in-box, these filters are also dumping some legitimate email messages.
What's more, some hosting services not only filter the email messages, but they're also blocking entire hosting companies. For example, the blocking host may have gotten some Spam complaints about a few marketers that host with ABC hosting company. (Keep in mind, ABC hosting company may host thousands of sites.) Rather than block the offending marketers, the blocking host decides to blacklist the entire ABC host.
What this means is if you try to contact someone and their hosting company has blacklisted your host, your email will not go through -- it will bounce right back to you.
If you suspect you may not be receiving all of your email, contact your host and ask them if they're using Spam filters or have blocked entire hosting companies.
How Much Will Spam Cost Your Business?
How much time do you spend sorting through the Spam in your email each day? Add it up sometime -- I'll bet you'll find you spend a lot more time than you even realized -- time that could have been spent on your business.
If you're publishing an ezine or sending out any form of opt-in mailings, how many subscribers are actually receiving your mailings? Most-likely, not nearly as many subscribers as you may think. How many lost sales has this cost you?
How many messages, such as information requests, customer support requests, etc., have you not received due to filtering?
How many messages have you replied to that your customers or potential customers have never received due to filtering?
As customer service says a lot about your business practices, how many customers will you lose?
The list goes on and on. But the point is this, Spam is costing you dearly.
Protecting Your Email Address
So how can you defend yourself? Well, it depends on which side you're on -- how to protect yourself, and/or how to make sure your messages are getting through.
In order to protect yourself against Spam, you first need to understand how your email address is obtained.
There are many unethical businesses online that collect and sell email addresses. They use robots that travel from link to link in search of email addresses. Their customers are led to believe that these email addresses belong to individuals who want to receive mailings. However, much of the time, this isn't the case.
To protect your email address from these robots, instead of displaying your address on your site, use a feedback form. Not just any type of form, but a form that doesn't display your email address within the hidden form fields. Working with your Web Design firm to create an online form for you Website is the best solution.
Anytime you're filling out a form online and you're asked to provide your email address, make sure you review the site's "Privacy Policy" to ensure that your email address will not be sold or shared with a third party.
Protecting Your In-box
To protect your in-box, you can use a Spam filtering software program. Although there are several available online, the best one I've found is GFI Mail Security. This program is perfect for small businesses and provides the control to prevent you from missing actual emails. Once you've reviewed your messages and find SPAM that did make it through the system, you can move the emails to a folder and the system automatically learns from your settings. Although you can pick up the program free, these are not the best solution for businesses.
Conclusion
The Spam problem continues to get progressively worse. Although there isn't a simple solution to the problem, the information provided in this article should assist you in not only avoiding Spam, but also avoiding the filters for your legitimate mailings.
It's really a shame we're even in this position. However, we cannot allow Spam to continue to infiltrate our businesses. We must take the necessary steps to ensure our success.
News | About Us | Affiliations | Careers/Jobs | Why WFC | LocationsHow to Protect Yourself from SPAM
Overview
According to a recent study conducted by Ferris Research, a market and technology research firm specializing in messaging and collaboration, Spam will cost U.S. businesses over $10 billion in 2003.
Spam not only clogs our servers and in-boxes, but it also costs us hours and hours of lost time in productivity.
Although the estimated cost of Spam focuses mainly on lost productivity, this picture may be much broader than you realize.
Some of the more popular email providers, such as AOL (America Online), Yahoo! and Hotmail, are now utilizing filters to cut down on Spam. These filters are dumping Spam and/or bulk mailings into a separate location. Although this may cut down on Spam in your in-box, these filters are also dumping some legitimate email messages.
What's more, some hosting services not only filter the email messages, but they're also blocking entire hosting companies. For example, the blocking host may have gotten some Spam complaints about a few marketers that host with ABC hosting company. (Keep in mind, ABC hosting company may host thousands of sites.) Rather than block the offending marketers, the blocking host decides to blacklist the entire ABC host.
What this means is if you try to contact someone and their hosting company has blacklisted your host, your email will not go through -- it will bounce right back to you.
If you suspect you may not be receiving all of your email, contact your host and ask them if they're using Spam filters or have blocked entire hosting companies.
How Much Will Spam Cost Your Business?
How much time do you spend sorting through the Spam in your email each day? Add it up sometime -- I'll bet you'll find you spend a lot more time than you even realized -- time that could have been spent on your business.
If you're publishing an ezine or sending out any form of opt-in mailings, how many subscribers are actually receiving your mailings? Most-likely, not nearly as many subscribers as you may think. How many lost sales has this cost you?
How many messages, such as information requests, customer support requests, etc., have you not received due to filtering?
How many messages have you replied to that your customers or potential customers have never received due to filtering?
As customer service says a lot about your business practices, how many customers will you lose?
The list goes on and on. But the point is this, Spam is costing you dearly.
Protecting Your Email Address
So how can you defend yourself? Well, it depends on which side you're on -- how to protect yourself, and/or how to make sure your messages are getting through.
In order to protect yourself against Spam, you first need to understand how your email address is obtained.
There are many unethical businesses online that collect and sell email addresses. They use robots that travel from link to link in search of email addresses. Their customers are led to believe that these email addresses belong to individuals who want to receive mailings. However, much of the time, this isn't the case.
To protect your email address from these robots, instead of displaying your address on your site, use a feedback form. Not just any type of form, but a form that doesn't display your email address within the hidden form fields. Working with your Web Design firm to create an online form for you Website is the best solution.
Anytime you're filling out a form online and you're asked to provide your email address, make sure you review the site's "Privacy Policy" to ensure that your email address will not be sold or shared with a third party.
Protecting Your In-box
To protect your in-box, you can use a Spam filtering software program. Although there are several available online, the best one I've found is GFI Mail Security. This program is perfect for small businesses and provides the control to prevent you from missing actual emails. Once you've reviewed your messages and find SPAM that did make it through the system, you can move the emails to a folder and the system automatically learns from your settings. Although you can pick up the program free, these are not the best solution for businesses.
Conclusion
The Spam problem continues to get progressively worse. Although there isn't a simple solution to the problem, the information provided in this article should assist you in not only avoiding Spam, but also avoiding the filters for your legitimate mailings.
It's really a shame we're even in this position. However, we cannot allow Spam to continue to infiltrate our businesses. We must take the necessary steps to ensure our success.
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| "We also have a number of clients with Parent offices overseas. These relationships have allowed us to understand that time zones, cultures, and business practices need to be taken into account when working on IT issues. These companies include “Team Red Bull” with parent offices in Austria, “AP&T” with parent offices in Sweden, and “Snug Seat” with parent offices in Norway. We understand that at times we may be working on an IT solution that involves over seas communication, and are aware of the time zone differences." |