Internet Pests:
Spam and Viruses
Most of us agree that having a Web presence – a Web site and e-mail is a good business venture in today’s market. One negative aspect of having a Web site and having your e-mail address exposed to the Internet is a vulnerability to spam (annoying unsolicited e-mails) and computer viruses. Unsophisticated users sometimes believe that there is a personal conspiracy against them and their site, while in reality this is happening worldwide. A great deal of time and money is wasted on combating spam and viruses. An anti-spam law was passed by the U.S. Congress this year, but apparently has had little effect on the volume of spam, partly because many spammers are based outside the United States.
One reason you get spam is that your e-mail address is displayed on the Internet if you have a Web site. Another is that spammers today use sophisticated techniques to bypass typical mail server checking mechanisms in order to retrieve valuable information, such as a list of valid e-mail addresses. That means spammers attempt to deliver messages to multiple addresses, such as john@yourdomain.com, joe@yourdomain.com, and jon@yourdomain.com. Addresses that are not rejected by the receiving mail server are assumed to be valid. These address lists are compiled and sold to other spammers worldwide and the spam multiplies.
Spam Filters
Private parties can choose to block mail from all senders except those folks they know, but business Web sites need to accept e-mail from unknown parties. Usually you are given a certain amount of protection by your Web server. Anti-spam software is available for your personal or business computer system and some can add a certain amount of protection by filtering out specific words, senders, and kinds of e-mail. The e-mail programs we ordinarily use also have filters that we can apply to mail. Outlook Express is a common e-mail program and it has a Message Rule tool that you can use to delete unwanted mail or sort mail into Important and Spam folders that you can add to your inbox. In order to make these Message Rules effective, however, you must teach the program what is acceptable and what is not. That requires putting time and effort into creating new rules for each acceptable party and rules for unacceptable words, subjects, and senders. Some purchased spam filters already have rules built in and some can be periodically updated from the company that sold the program. Rules can be added manually. One draw back with filters is that they will occasionally generate a “false positive,” a legitimate e-mail that mistakenly fits one of the criteria for spam. Businesses can not afford to lose their customers by mistake.
Do not reply to a spam e-mail or click on the unsubscribe link. You will be telling the spammer that your address is valid and you will receive more spam than ever. If you are on the mailing list of a legitimate company and choose to no longer receive their e-mail, unsubscribing is the correct way to cancel your subscription.
Most importantly, even if the e-mail is from someone you know, never open any attachments unless you are expecting them or they are explained to your satisfaction. Opening e-mails with attachments can release a virus into your computer and can cause you to lose your stored business data or can disable your computer. You can assume that a file attachment is a virus if it ends with .vbs, .scr, or .exe. Bogus e-mails often have a suspicious subject line. If you are unsure, ask the person who sent it. E-mail or call them. Usually they have no idea someone stole their address and are using it and probably thousands of others to propagate spam. They are not at fault. Virus spammers are similar to people who scribble graffiti on walls. They do it for the thrill of doing something destructive without getting caught. Delete the e-mail message without opening it or its attachment.
It is uncommon but possible to launch a virus embedded in an HTML-formatted message automatically when a message is displayed in a message window or a preview pane. You can minimize that risk by disabling your e-mail program's preview pane.
In Outlook Express, choose View, Layout and uncheck Show preview pane.
In Outlook, click View and deselect Preview Pane.
In Eudora, select Tools, Options, choose Viewing Mail in the Category list, and uncheck Show message preview pane.
Be sure to use a virus protection program. Keep the program’s virus definitions up-to-date by subscribing to the programs automatic update service. Make sure the definitions are updated at least weekly.
By using a few of these protective aids, and being aware of the problems and dangers involved, the e-mail user can continue to enjoy the benefits of swift and efficient electronic communication and minimize the pitfalls.
by Lee Raine
A version of this article appeared in Equestrian Retailer Magazine, September 2004.
Most of us agree that having a Web presence – a Web site and e-mail is a good business venture in today’s market. One negative aspect of having a Web site and having your e-mail address exposed to the Internet is a vulnerability to spam (annoying unsolicited e-mails) and computer viruses. Unsophisticated users sometimes believe that there is a personal conspiracy against them and their site, while in reality this is happening worldwide. A great deal of time and money is wasted on combating spam and viruses. An anti-spam law was passed by the U.S. Congress this year, but apparently has had little effect on the volume of spam, partly because many spammers are based outside the United States.
One reason you get spam is that your e-mail address is displayed on the Internet if you have a Web site. Another is that spammers today use sophisticated techniques to bypass typical mail server checking mechanisms in order to retrieve valuable information, such as a list of valid e-mail addresses. That means spammers attempt to deliver messages to multiple addresses, such as john@yourdomain.com, joe@yourdomain.com, and jon@yourdomain.com. Addresses that are not rejected by the receiving mail server are assumed to be valid. These address lists are compiled and sold to other spammers worldwide and the spam multiplies.
Spam Filters
Private parties can choose to block mail from all senders except those folks they know, but business Web sites need to accept e-mail from unknown parties. Usually you are given a certain amount of protection by your Web server. Anti-spam software is available for your personal or business computer system and some can add a certain amount of protection by filtering out specific words, senders, and kinds of e-mail. The e-mail programs we ordinarily use also have filters that we can apply to mail. Outlook Express is a common e-mail program and it has a Message Rule tool that you can use to delete unwanted mail or sort mail into Important and Spam folders that you can add to your inbox. In order to make these Message Rules effective, however, you must teach the program what is acceptable and what is not. That requires putting time and effort into creating new rules for each acceptable party and rules for unacceptable words, subjects, and senders. Some purchased spam filters already have rules built in and some can be periodically updated from the company that sold the program. Rules can be added manually. One draw back with filters is that they will occasionally generate a “false positive,” a legitimate e-mail that mistakenly fits one of the criteria for spam. Businesses can not afford to lose their customers by mistake.
Do not reply to a spam e-mail or click on the unsubscribe link. You will be telling the spammer that your address is valid and you will receive more spam than ever. If you are on the mailing list of a legitimate company and choose to no longer receive their e-mail, unsubscribing is the correct way to cancel your subscription.
Most importantly, even if the e-mail is from someone you know, never open any attachments unless you are expecting them or they are explained to your satisfaction. Opening e-mails with attachments can release a virus into your computer and can cause you to lose your stored business data or can disable your computer. You can assume that a file attachment is a virus if it ends with .vbs, .scr, or .exe. Bogus e-mails often have a suspicious subject line. If you are unsure, ask the person who sent it. E-mail or call them. Usually they have no idea someone stole their address and are using it and probably thousands of others to propagate spam. They are not at fault. Virus spammers are similar to people who scribble graffiti on walls. They do it for the thrill of doing something destructive without getting caught. Delete the e-mail message without opening it or its attachment.
It is uncommon but possible to launch a virus embedded in an HTML-formatted message automatically when a message is displayed in a message window or a preview pane. You can minimize that risk by disabling your e-mail program's preview pane.
In Outlook Express, choose View, Layout and uncheck Show preview pane.
In Outlook, click View and deselect Preview Pane.
In Eudora, select Tools, Options, choose Viewing Mail in the Category list, and uncheck Show message preview pane.
Be sure to use a virus protection program. Keep the program’s virus definitions up-to-date by subscribing to the programs automatic update service. Make sure the definitions are updated at least weekly.
By using a few of these protective aids, and being aware of the problems and dangers involved, the e-mail user can continue to enjoy the benefits of swift and efficient electronic communication and minimize the pitfalls.
by Lee Raine
A version of this article appeared in Equestrian Retailer Magazine, September 2004.