[Dialogue] Spamming etc.

[Wayne Nelson]

"Harry Wainwright" wrote:

> 
> 1. I received an e-mail that looked like it was
> from my ISP asking me to click on a web link and verify personal
> information.  

Your own ISP should have certain basic information about you - just like the
phone company. The kind of information involved in any standard business
transaction. You have a contract with them - they have to know who you are.
Verifying information and asking you to provide information are quite
different matters.  You should be able to access their privacy policies.

All of the forms used in those things have required field and optional
fields.  Certain information about you is necessary; and ISP's are probably
required to ask you for certain information. It's pretty basic, though. They
don't need much.

> 2. One of the messages that was clearly spam
> asked me to verify an auto reply. . . . . . This is a tactic to
> verify that the spammer has reached an active e-mail address.

The same goes for "unsubscribe" notices.  They are often just a confirmation
that you're alive. I've discovered that the ones that actually have a way of
unsubscribing on a web site do work.

Spam filtering is a white water adventure at the moment and most ISP's are
tightening their filters as snugly as possible in response to client outcry.
I'd sure hate to have that job.

Bounces from listserves happen because they often don't follow the spam
filtering rules. They are technical and I don't understand exactly how it
works, but it happens in the sequence of beeps and hiccoughs we know as the
"handshake."  

- The originator's server says "I have mail for your server"
- Your server says, "Who are you?

As I understand it, it's the originator's response that either opens the
door or diverts your mail to the junk bin.  If something in the response
tells the ISP's server that the mail is coming from a mass mailer, it gets
dumped.  

Listservs have to do something with the preferences and settings in order to
get through.  ISP's have to recognize that kind of message and be able to
let them through. 

It's obviously for more complex than that, but that's the idea.

I had a devil of a time with Topica and my own email provider in that
regard. They are not easy conversations, because they each say that the
other one has to change their practices.

Wayne


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Wayne Nelson - ICA Associates Inc.
655 Queen Street East ­ Toronto, Ontario M4M 1G4
416-691-2316 - http://ica-associates.ca - wnelson at ica-associates.ca