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DNS - Domain Name Search Tools  Firewall Spam Busters Spam Controls Spam Removal Tools

Google Web Directory - Computers > Internet > Abuse > Spam > Tracking

SORBS (Spam and Open-Relay Blocking System) - We're all getting so paranoid about Spam, and rightfully so, we're going to such extremes as to consider whether we literally block ALL users vs. Allowing Spam. We have other options to consider. If Your Email has been Blocked, by a Domain Mail Server for whatever reason, check your Server Reply Message Rejection Notice with Headers turned ON. And see IF you're (SMTP) Mail Server is being Blocked. We recently found both EarthLink.Net & Comcast.Net Mail Servers being Blocked by SORBS. Check SORBS for your best course of action. (4/25/2008)

Spam and Open Relay Blocking System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Worth Reading.

The Spamhaus Project - Blocking just an IP does not always solve the problem. IPs can be spoofed and Spammers will also change PC's, IP's & Service Providers for that very reason. Keep your PC safe with proper, up to date AntiVirus & Anti-Phishing Tools! And always think 3 times before clicking on a link sent to you, by anyone, no matter how innocent things may appear!

Abuse.net Home Page: "...if you can identify the origin of an unwanted message, abuse.net can help you get your complaint to the right place."

SPAM - Comes to us in 4 ways.

We ask for it - 'click here', we receive it by friend or foe 'forwarded' - Or we say No to it 'I'm with Stupid!' and get more of it! Or they find us through 'Dictionary Attacks'! As an ongoing project based on our weekly discussions, we'll enlist your help to learn and understand our rights to eradicate it. SPAM often breeds like rats so maybe we need a better mousetrap? Stopping SPAM is only a small part of a bigger problem along with Mail Relaying & Viruses.

1. Never reply to a Spam message. Replying only indicates to the Spammer your e-mail address is valid and can be used for more Spam.
2. Be very careful about submitting your e-mail address to any website. Make sure you read the disclaimer and any other small print before submitting your e-mail address.

O'Reilly & Associates had an interesting book on Stopping Spam well worth your time especially for the price below. October 1998, this book is out of print - so... The best deal on this book may be found @ 75% Off Books - New Books - Nothing Over $5. They have a store in Houston, TX on Westheimer near the Health Food Store @ Wilcrest. ...IF wtill in business. Their old website points to someone else now.

Or a more serious approach which may be beyond most users: Stopping Unsolicited Commercial Email. Choice number 3, the message user agent - Your Email Program! Yes, create those filters or use a different email address if you think you might have to use it risking SPAM instead of your main email address. Lots of places provide ways for alternative temporary email addresses.

K.I.S.S. Filters - Create a filter based on content (Containing) and not the offending email address (From). The content will remain the same however the SPAM email address will change rapidly with each new SPAM broadcast! Go a little further and read this informative article: Stopping SPAM - How do spammers get my email address.

You can also read your mail headers (In Netscape: View, Headers, ALL) and figure from a WhoIs Search who is coming from where and use their offending IP netblocks for filtering if you're using a Router. As our BuildOrBuy Members continue to update us on what works for them, we'll do so by sharing here too with you! Users might also want to check their PC's with Gibson Research Tools or use the LavaSoft Ad-aware application to remove any offending SpyWare which also might be causing you SPAM grief. Steve Gibson has a great new tool for the Universal Plug and Play Network Support in Windows. See: UnPlug n' Pray - Disable the Dangerous UPnP Internet Server. Some Users have found Success using PestPatrol or Mail Washer to kill Spam before it gets through to the Desktop.

1. PostMaster - PM 4.0 - Features See: Spam Control
2. sendmail.org: Anti-Spam Configuration Control

4 Things To Remember When Dealing With SPAM:

1. Don't ask for it! And what List did you sign up for to receive? And what email address did you use?
2. Don't use MSN or LookOut, oops, I mean OutLook. You'll get more than you asked for in Viruses. Yes Outlook is good and easy to use but Viruses are bad and also find it very easy to use. Now what part of that do you NOT understand?
   
3. If you Reply to SPAM, to NOT receive SPAM, you have just verified you're a Target for more SPAM by verifying you email address is valid!
   
4. When someone sends you something warning you of impending doom and tell you to tell all of your friends or they tell you to delete some file on your PC, verify the real source before you start crying like Chicken Little about the 'Sky Is Falling'. Your friends will thank you later. This also includes Urban Legends. Enjoy! GB

SPAM Busters:

Know Thy Enemy! Knowledge Is Potential Power!

1. Web site gives e-mail senders a reputation Tech News on ZDNet: (8/30/2005).
   1. TrustedSource™: "Spam senders by geographic region."
    
2. www.ExtremeTech.com - Microsoft's Sender ID Stirs Internet Controversy: "Microsoft's recently proposed Sender ID anti-spam protocol... " (8/3/2004).
3. www.Microsoft.com Security - Fighting unwanted e-mail (spam): (6/23/2004).
4. www.eWeek.com - Spammer Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison: "Before spammers send one more spam e-mail, we think they should remember that what happened to Howard Carmack can happen to them," said Karen Casion, Earthlink's assistant general counsel. (5/28/2004)
5. Rainbow Innovations - Mail Snoop Pro: "If an email is found to be spam, it will be archived for future reference and deleted from the server, alternatively it can be "bounced" back to the sender or used to generate an automatic complaint to the senders ISP." (3/5/2004).
6. bcentral.com - How to cut spam without shooting your PC: (2/26/2004).
7. www.pcmag.com - Spam Blockers: MailWasher Pro did not fair so well! (2/17/2004)
8. Spam Filter Review 2004: (1/27/2004).
9. Unwanted ads prompt 'spam rage' CNET News.com: "In other cases, Internet vigilantes have bombarded spammers with both unsolicited e-mail and regular mail and phone calls, launched attacks on spammers' computers and posted spammers' personal information on the Internet, according to reports." (11/25/2003)
10. House passes antispam bill CNET News.com: President Bush has indicated he will sign the measure, titled the "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act" ( CAN-SPAM ). (11/24/2003)
11. www.eweek.com - SpamShark Wins Analyst's Choice: The Fight Against Spam! (7/15/2003)
12. Jerry Lee has a friend who says he found a really great SPAM Mail Filter, it's called Matador from MailFrontier. Works with Outlook & Outlook Express. Jerry Lee said, "Not certain yet if it will work with Hotmail or Yahoo Account either for that matter." (3/27/2003)
13. www.extremetech.com - Spam Fighters Plot Strategy: "On Thursday, a task force of engineers began meeting in San Francisco to discuss the best methods of fighting spam." (3/20/2003)
14. pcmag.com - Personal Antispam Tools (2/2/2003).
15. Email: Hivelogic Email Address Encoder By Dan Benjamin (1/22/2003).
16. Bloodgate.com - spam statistics (1/22/2003).
17. Why So Much Spam In Hotmail? The Spamhaus Project - NEWS: Dictionary Attacks (1/13/2003).
18. Marshal Software Internet Content Security: MailMarshal with PestPatrol (12/13/2002).
19. Cloudmark SpamNet: Outlook add-in (11/30/2002).
20. Lyris MailShield email filtering software to stop spam and prevent relay (11/14/2002).
21. SpamButcher - Cutting Edge Anti-Spam Software (11/14/2002).
22. CoffeeCup DirectAd Blocker - Blocks and Stops Messenger Service Ads - Getting tired of those potentially threatening POP Ups? (10/26/2002).
23. KnowledgeShare - Spam, Anti Spam Software and Anti Spam Techniques (10/9/2002).
24. eweek.com Making Short Work of Spam Published on 9/09/2002 (9/16/2002).
25. Special Offer: PestPatrol and iHateSpam for $39.95 (9/5/2002).
26. You've got spam, and more spam - Tech News - CNET.com (8/29/2002).
27. eWeek Labs: Spam Killers (8/22/2002).
28. pcmag.com:  Product Guides and Reviews - Anti-Spam Tools (8/3/2002).
29. Sunbelt Software iHateSpam™: Eliminate Annoying Junk Email! (8/1/2002)
30. Email Spam Link from Robert Clay: Personal Technology -- Personal Technology from The Wall Street Journal: ChoiceMail Designs Top Cop To Thwart Tricky Spammers (7/23/2002).
    • DigiPortal.com:  ChoiceMail
31. internetnews.com:  Cloudmark Unveils P2P Anti-Spam System (6/24/2002).
32. YIL Column: Critical Eye... E-Mail Sanity: Take My Boulder Pledge (6/12/2002).
33. Email Spam: ClickZ.com:  Potential Spammer Our Readers Intervene! (5/30/2002)
34. internet performance - performance tool - performance measurement - VisualRoute, VisualProfile, VisualPulse, and AuthentiShield (5/20/2002).
35. Visualware - Press Release: Visualware Introduces System Security Software to Identify Intruders and their Geographical Locations (5/06/2002).

How To Diagnose & Remove SPAM!

1. Spam Source Tracking (5/30/2002).
2. ExtremeTech.com:  McAfee Debuts SpamKiller Tool (5/9/2002).
3. McAfee.com, Get SpamKiller and Say Goodbye to Junk Email. Offer Good Until May 15, ORDER NOW FOR JUST $29.95 - SAVE $10 (5/9/2002)!
4. YIL Column: Privacy Watch - Don't Let Spam Choke the Next Net (5/5/2002).

Spam Removal Help:

1. LPSCI.COM Software: Spam Reporter - Paste the Offending Email Headers into the Dialogue Box to Prepare Email ID of the Offending IP Address to know the ISP for Reporting.
2. Software Tools For Selling, Organize your sales and marketing: Download IP LookUp.
3. www.MailWasher.net - Stop spam with MailWasher anti spam software:
   1. www.FireTrust.com - Email Security, Anti-spam, Anti Virus Software, MailWasher creators:
4. www.Zaep.com - Eliminate all email spam. Use Zaep AntiSpam with your email accounts and you will never have to look at another spam message again.: Uses Challenge / Response based system.
   1. From: www.RhinoSoft.com
5. www.email911.com:  What can I do about spam - Ten Tips for Reducing Spam.
6. Mail-Filters.com
7. Mailshell: Intelligent Email!
8. Mike's No SPAM Page
9. REMOVE ME NOW!
10. remove-spam.com:  Stop spam e-mail; Stop junk email (5/1/2002).
11. SamSpade.org:
    1. SamSpade.org Tools
    2. Sam Spade for Windows

12. Spam Removal Services

13. Spam Removal Sites!

14. The DMA's e-Mail Preference Service
15. EMPS Registration Form: Allows you to "opt out" of national e-mail lists for two years.
16. NewsAdmin.Com - Home Page: See Spam Stats. 
17. How to prevent the Messenger startup homepage in Communicator 4.5x and higher
18. Junkbusters Guide to Staying Off Junk Email Lists
19. Inbox Protector Anti Spam Filter for Microsoft Outlook 2000 - XP. Stop Spam Now!
20. Spam Removal: www.spamx.com - Anti Spam for any OS - Block & Report junk email - Mac, Windows, Linux, UNIX, Solaris: (2/23/2004).
21. CBS News Revenge of the Spam Slayers March 27, 2002 155649
22. Existing and Emerging Anti-Spam Laws

Denotes Information Resource.

Spam Controls:

1. www.apnic.net - Reporting network abuse Spamming and hacking: (11/22/2003)
2. Trusted Sender News from ePrivacy Group (2/5/2002).
3. ePrivacy Group -- Your privacy services and technology company (2/5/2002).
4. TRUSTe For Consumers (2/5/2002).
5. Advertising Report -- Privacy Groups Create E-mail Seal Program (1/31/2002).
6. SpamKiller by Novasoft (1/22/2002).
7. Mail Abuse Prevention System LLC - Reporting Abuse to ISPs (1/19/2002).
8. GFI’s Email Security Testing Zone Launches 2 New Tests -- www1.internetwire.com (1/3/2002).
9. SpamCop - Welcome to SpamCop: The Premier Spam Reporting Service!

The links below are taken from our weekly BuildOrBuy News Briefs:

Resistance Is Futile! TheRemoveList.org - Gone! (11/25/2003) Designed to completely remove your email address from the databases of hundreds of bulk email providers. To be removed you must submit your email address (12/18/01).

1. Stop-spam.org... Making the net a safe place to play: Replaces Whew.com. Site currently being redesigned. (11/24/2003)
2. Welcome to CAUCE: The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (12/18/01).
3. Fight Spam on the Internet!
4. SpamCon Foundation to reduce spam (junk email)
5. Spychecker - database of Spyware (adware) products lets you detect spyware before you download.
6. Surely you've had this link quoted to you upon receiving SPAM? Spam Laws Summary (107th Congress)