Spam Emails

 
Unfortunately, spam is an inevitable part of today’s internet world.

Here are some tips and facts that can help you control it.

  1. We have noticed the spam volume go up in the last few months. This is a reflection of the internet activity and not any one hosting solution. We work with 4 different hosts and they all have spam problems.

  2. If your spam volume goes up ten or twenty or more-fold in one day, contact us immediately at support@sandismith.com. You’ve likely been hacked.

  3. We recommend and use Norton 360, including the spam component, on our PCs. It tags the spam and they are sent to a spam folder that can be reviewed and deleted periodically.

    4. NOTE: If you are using other anti-virus software other than Norton 360, you will have conflicts, so work with an IT person if you need help. You should only have one anti-virus program per PC at a time.

  4. Another option is Spam Assassin which comes with your hosting package. It will add a label to the beginning of the subject line so you can set up a rule in Outlook to move the spam to a specified folder.

    If you want us to set this up for you, please let us know.

  5. We never recommend any type of auto-delete because you WILL lose good emails.

  6. Another option is to set up a challenge and response software such as SpamArrest. When an email is sent to you, SpamArrest intercepts it and ask the use to verify himself or herself through filling out a captcha. Only then do you get the email.

  7. If you have an email you have used for a long time (more than 5 years), you will get a huge amount of spam, perhaps more than 100 emails a day. We recommend you consider retiring that email or adding SpamArrest.

Tips to avoid getting on spam lists:

Unfortunately, a few of these tips hurt your marketing, so choose wisely.

  1. Don’t use email addresses that spammers can guess, such as info@, webmaster@.
  2. Keep the number of email addresses you use to an absolute minimum.
  3. Periodically retire old email address and start with new ones.
  4. Avoid placing your email address on your website or in public forums where it can be “scraped.” The alternative is to format it as a non- email address but in a format that you client can still “get it.” Example: Instead of support@sandismith.com, on the web site it would look like “Support [at sign] SandiSmith [dot] Com” and there would be no hyperlink.

These tips are provided as a courtesy. Please note that spam questions and support are not included in your hosting package and will be billed at $100 per hour.

Need more answers?

If you would like to set up an appointment to cover more spam support, you may reach us at support@sandismith.com or 408-550-4325/a>.