In the fight to prevent unwanted unsolicited emails (spam) one
helpful step you can take is to report it to hopefully limit further
attempts by the same spammer. One well-known and reputable
organisation which provides a spam reporting service is SpamCop.
SpamCop maintains a central register of known spammers and the
computers they use. Whenever SpamCop receives enough reports
relating to a particular spammer, they add that spammer's details to
their database for so long as the spam continues to be reported.
The way that organisations make use of this service is by setting up
their mail servers to check every incoming email message against the
SpamCop database to see whether the sender is a known spammer and, if
so, blocking that message.
Take a look at <http://spamcop.net/anonsignup.shtml> to see how you
can sign up for free as a SpamCop reporter. When you sign up,
SpamCop will give you a unique spam reporter address to use for
reporting spam.
Whenever you receive a genuine spam message - and I emphasise that it
must truly be spam, not a legitimate email message - firstly make
sure that your email program is displaying all the header information
for the message (all that gobbledy-gook technical stuff which
precedes the message).
Next, forward the header information and message in their entirety to
your SpamCop reporter address.
SpamCop will then send you an email to confirm receipt, and give you
the URL of a web page to visit to finish your report. Visit that URL
and click the button to submit the report.
Your spam report is sent anonymously to the people responsible for
the server in question, and potentially also to their upstream
service provider.
You might also ask your Internet service provider or your employer if
they subscribe to the SpamCop black list, or a black list which
incorporates SpamCop's service. That way you'll avoid receiving
further messages from the spam server and you'll be helping everybody
else to avoid them as well.
SpamCop offer other services on a commercial basis which might also
be of interest to you, so take a look around their web site while
you're there.
I don't suggest for a moment that SpamCop is the only way of tackling
the problem of spam, but it is one service which I've found useful
and therefore commend to others.
--
Andrew Nielsen <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Starfish Technologies Pty Ltd <http://www.starfish.net.au/>
ACN 076 426 714 / ABN 49 426 849 601 Tel: 0500 555 677
Consultants in Unix, Mac OS, Windows & networking technologies
