[thelist] Is this too harsh? :-)

[Michael Pemberton]

Michiel Trimpe wrote:

>Hi Rudy,
>
>I disagree, I sign up for numerous accounts all over the Internet.
>Several of them don't allow you to opt-out when subscribing with them
>but according to state law they have to unsubscribe you when you
>request. If you keep receiving ''spam'' from such a service the
>unsubscribe option often helps.
>
>I recently did that for about 30 ''spam'' emails (or at least unwanted
>emails ... ) and my spam count has almost been cut in half since.
>
>
But we can all remeber the old saying "just ignore it and it'll go away". :)

But seriously, there is still a good reason for the theory that by
responding in this fashion you make two very significant mistakes.

1. You identify the account as being active.  This often means that a
spammer will "flag" the email address as one to target in future campaigns.
2. You also indicate that you read the spam and take note of it's
contents.  This can result in the spammer using your address ahead of
others.

With all of this talk about the matter-of-fact nature of spam, I have to
point out that good management of who / where you send you details, it
is possible to keep your spam count to ZERO.

Here's my current method of managing my email:

ONE main forwarding address used for all personal email addresses.
This then on to a second POP3 service.  This service has features such
as filters and bouncing of emails based on subject or other headers.

I then take advantage of two *very* worthwhile services:

SpamGourmet.net:  This allows for the creation of self-destructing email
addresses that will only allow a certain number messages through (max:
20).  This is great for this services that force you to give an email
address just to be able to download a file.

SneakEmail.com:  This is great for generating multiple email addresses
that for then forwarded to your real account.  You can create / destroy
as many accounts as you want.  This is an easy way of giving a new email
address for each service you sign up to.  It is also possible to track
where a given piece of spam has come from because only one source has
any given account.

By using the various tools available, it is possible to keep track of
each piece of spam that does arrive and take steps to stop it happening
twice.

--
Michael Pemberton
mpember at phreaker.net
ICQ: 12107010