[RedEvo]

Another thread on here asked about spam solutions. I mentioned Bopspam but someone else mentioned using Googlemail. Here's how to use Googlemail - at least it's how I'm now using it, and lovin it. If any of this is Greek, ask someone to help you, don't mess up your email!

1. Create a Google Mail account.
2. Go to 'Settings'
3. Go to 'Forwarding and POP/IMAP'
4. Select 'Enable POP for all mail (even mail that's already been downloaded)'
5. Set 'When messages are accessed with POP' to 'archive Google Mail's copy'. This means you can see your emails on Google even when you've downloaded them to your mail client.
6. Go to your email control panel on your server (Plesk, CPanel etc)
7. Turn on mail forwarding and forward your mail to your new Google account
8. Test and make sure your email is being forwarded to Google
9. One last time download your mail using your mail client (Outlook Express etc)
10. Turn off your mailbox so your email is now being forwarded to Google and not stored on your server.
11. Change the settings in your mail client to pick the mail up from Google. Google has a link for this on the 'Forwarding and POP/IMAP' page for all popular mail clients.
12. Enjoy owning your mailbox again, for free....

d

[andysv1k]

So how exactly is this working? Does google mail have its own spam splatter? i undertstand how your above instructions work, just not how the spam is stopped.

If it is a google spam filter, do you know how it works? is it an ip blacklist type or does it need training on content?

Cheers

Andy.

[Pixels Ink]

I accept all mail as I've nearly missed some big jobs in the past as they have been filtered out as spam / junk mail.

[RedEvo]

Originally Posted by andysv1k

So how exactly is this working? Does google mail have its own spam splatter? i undertstand how your above instructions work, just not how the spam is stopped.

If it is a google spam filter, do you know how it works? is it an ip blacklist type or does it need training on content?

Cheers

Andy.

Yes, sorry, should have said. By using the above, Google's spam filter kicks in and it's superb. 987 since 23:00 on Friday and counting

d

[andysv1k]

me too, im very cautious of how i implement things like this.

Only last week a spam program i was using diverted an email with a £5,000 purchase order in it into the spam folder, even though i had exchanged emails with that address previously.

Had i not checked the spam box, i could have missed this order, plus many more as its a multi-site client who we deal with fairly frequently.

Andy.

[Pixels Ink]

Originally Posted by andysv1k

me too, im very cautious of how i implement things like this.

Only last week a spam program i was using diverted an email with a £5,000 purchase order in it into the spam folder, even though i had exchanged emails with that address previously.

Had i not checked the spam box, i could have missed this order, plus many more as its a multi-site client who we deal with fairly frequently.

Andy.

Precisely my fear. I've had e-mails from clients i deal with all of the time be blocked or moved by spam filters due entirley to the subject line which it didn't like.

I only became aware of the situation when the client called asking why i hadn't responded to an e-mail they had sent a few days earlier. As far as i was aware i didn't get it

[RedEvo]

Nobody is twisting your arm. For me a spam filter is a must and this one's effective and free

d

[awebapart]

Since this thread currently talks about cures/solutions for the spam problem, I'll add my 2 cents with some tips on spam prevention. My opinion is that when it comes to spam, prevention is better than cure.

Here are some tips to stop spam in the first place, prevention rather than cure tips:

1. Don't use obvious, popular email addresses like sales@ info@. Spammers can easily find lists of new registered domains, and the first thing they will do is start spamming the popular email addresses at the new domains they find. Instead of sales use something less popular like thesalesteam.

2. Don't make it easy for spam farms to extract email addresses from your website pages. Have a look at your contact us page, click on view source and search for @, if you can easily see email addresses then it is even easier for spam farm robots to automatically visit your page and extract them.

3. Don't use catch all on emails (i.e. receiving email sent to anyname@ your domain), just receive email on the addresses you have set up. And don't bounce back other emails as this adds to the spam congestion, and spammers don't use their own names as the from part, they use other normal people's addresses, so you will be bouncing back and spamming innocent people.

4. Don't display your email address in forum posts, again it is easy for spam farms to extract

5. Don't submit your website to directories where the directory displays your email address in an easily extractable format.

6. Don't register or provide your email details to any site where you are unsure whether the site might sell your details on. Generally be careful who you give your email address to.

7. Don't get involved in forward email lists, ask your friends not to forward every joke or other type of forwarded message they receive, as this is a sure-fire way of getting your email address in more people's outlook as the email is passed on, and spammers nowadays also have spyware, malware, viruses, trojans to call upon to farm email addresses from outlook. The people who receive forwarded jokes, attachments are also more likely to have spyware etc on their PC via the attachments they open.

8. Make sure you have the lastest security updates on your PC to minimise the risk of having a virus or spyware used by spammers to get at your outlook email addresses. Also make your friends aware of this too, especially friends who have your email address in their address list.

9. If you send out emails, say automatically on your site or via your own mailing list, consider using a noreply email address as the from address, that way your real email address isn't in other people's address lists.

10. Provide a contact form on the contact us part of your website, a server based one without an extractable mailto: address in its code, so people can contact you that way as well as via normal email - another way to avoid your address appearing in other people's address lists.

If you are getting a lot of spam then chances are you have been lapse in one or more of these areas.

I think spam prevention is better than cure because:

a. No spam filter is fool-proof, which means you should still manually double-check what has been filtered out just in case an important email is in the spam folder. The old example of a potential new client contacting you saying they want a 'specialist' in your field, then having their email classed as spam because it has the word 'cialis' (a drug which is often sold via spam) is a good example, although most spam filters are smarter than this now. Unfortunately spammers get smarter too. Since manual checking is required it is better to minimise the chances of getting spam in the first place.

b. Spam filtering attempts to solve one side of the problem, that of you being pestered by spam. It doesn't solve the other side of the problem, that of other people being pestered by spam, spam from your email address, which happens when your email address is on a spam list, since it is easy for spammers to fake the email from address to make it look like a real address. If people receive spam from your email address, and they see that it is a valid email address on your website, they wont be happy, and not everyone understands how spam works and that it is not you spamming them. Again, minimising the risk of having your email address added to a spam list in the first place helps with this issue.

Originally Posted by RedEvo

987 since 23:00 on Friday and counting

Originally Posted by RedEvo

For me a spam filter is a must

Looking at your site, if you had implemented prevention tips 1 and 2 above, I do think that your own spam situation wouldn't have escalated so much to the state it is in now. Whilst it is probably too late to address these issues now, since once you're on spam lists you need to find cures rather than preventative measures (unless you declare email bankruptcy and start again with new email addresses), it is something to consider for new websites and new email addresses, and your new client's websites.

[RedEvo]

I see things differently. I've always preferred to just filter. It works for me. But it's only my point of view

But the list IS great advice and worth the effort!

d

[Interconnect IT]

I don't have a huge spam problem here, but I prefer to filter at the Outlook level so that I can occassionally check the junk folder and make sure nothing's been missed. I do a lot of my business by e-mail. We also send invoices out to clients by e-mail and do ask clients to make sure we're suitably whitelisted on their systems or they'll miss electronic demands.