Spam Proof Your
Website
by Scott F. Geld
You realize that it's important for visitors to your Website to be
able to contact you by Email, and you want to provide easy Email
access for customers and potential customers. Somehow though, you
need to protect yourself from a ton of unwanted junk mail (Spam)
arriving in your inbox. With a little forethought you can minimize
your vulnerability.
There are people who compile Email addresses just for the purposes
of selling them to spammers. It's hard to control Spam when this
happens. To fight back against Spam, the first step is finding out
how the spammers got your Email address in the first place.
A wise Internet marketer uses a Website host provider that allows
unlimited Email addresses or aliases. An alias refers to an
alternate email address that forwards email to your real address.
When you use an alias, you're 'real' Email address doesn't have to
be generally available and susceptible to Spam. If you have
several employees in your company, you will need multiple aliases.
You have to provide a contact Email address when you register your
domain name. If you use your real Email address, then it's readily
available to everyone, and that means the spammers too. When you
set up your domain, use a portable Email address, for example
Hotmail. If you have multiple domains, you should use an alias
(domains@domain.com) on your primary domain for all registrations
. This allows your email software to filter and save any
legitimate Emails that come to the alias from your registrar's
domain.
You are asking for problems if you use your real Email address
when filling out a Web form or when you subscribe to a newsletter.
It's better to create an Email address that is unique for each
Website or newsletter. In fact, many Email users create a
customized email address for each newsletter they receive, or for
each Website that they filled in a form. If for example, you
subscribe to a newsletter from Greatideas.com (fictitious site
name) create an Email address of "greatideas.com@yourdomain.com",
and route the email that this address receives to your real Email
address. That way you will always know where the Email originated.
If that address starts getting Spam or junk mail, you can simply
filter it out with your software. Use a unique Email address if
you submit to search engines or free-for- all pages (FFA.s).
Your own Website can be the biggest source of Email addresses used
by junk mailers. Many Websites list multiple Emails in their
contact details, and any time an Email appears on your site in
plain text, even hidden in a Javascript or form field, that
address can be captured.
If you want to avoid being the victim of spammers, always think
about where and how your Email address is broadcast and consider
if you are making it easy to be a victim of unwanted junk mail.
Scott F. Geld is the Director of Marketing for
MarketingBlaster.com, a company providing targeted traffic and
direct leads starting at only $5. For more info:
http://www.MarketingBlaster.com
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