Microsoft Outlook Spam Filter

Unsolicited e-mail advertisements -- spam -- have emerged as one of the top concerns of consumers in the US and over the entire World Wide Web. Unwanted e-mails and outlook 2000 spam clutter mailboxes while delivering viruses and worms. Microsoft Outlook spam filters can help win this battle.

At best, consumers are harried by straightforward but intrusive attempts to sell real services and products. But also, they are tempted by shady and deceptive offers that are too often outright scams or frauds. Worse, consumers are repeatedly baited by increasingly sophisticated tricks designed to steal personal financial information without the aid of Microsoft Outlook spam filters.

Much spam received by consumers is adult in nature, raising concerns for parents about the appropriateness of material that their children might be exposed to. Microsoft Outlook spam filters that blocks spam in outlook are essential in reducing spam.

The government hears from consumers every day asking:

• What can I do about spam?
  
• Can you stop this person from sending me this unwanted e-mail?
  
• How can I report illegal spam for enforcement action?

The short answer is that the government's Consumer Protection Division is making every effort to deal with the issue of unsolicited e-mail but Microsoft Outlook spam filters and outlook express spam blockers can help. Yet:

1. Spam as such is not illegal under either federal or state law. Therefore, while the law makes it possible to stop certain kinds of spam, enforcement will not protect you from the sheer volume of unsolicited e-mail. Much of it is legal.
   
2. The new federal "Can Spam" law pre-empts certain portions of state law and is in some ways less stringent.
   
3. A big part of the spam you get either starts from or is routed through one or more foreign countries. These spammers are, realistically, outside the reach of any state power. Enforcement against these spammers will be difficult even on the national level. Some outlook express spam filters recognize different languages and is one way to fight unwanted spam. There are even free spam filter add-ons for outlook express.

The bottom line? However determined and successful the efforts of state and federal enforcement authorities, consumers looking for relief from spam will have to make it a priority to protect their e-mail accounts. Just as you lock the doors and windows of your house at night, you should take steps to protect yourself from incoming e-mail advertisements. A good Microsoft Outlook spam filter is the way to go.

Tips for Protecting your Mailbox

You can take steps to reduce and manage the flow of unwanted e-mail into your mailbox. If your e-mail address is getting a large volume of spam, you are already on several active mailing lists. You are probably being spammed from all over the world. You might want to weigh the benefits of closing your account altogether and starting over with a new one, which you can then protect. Although it is inconvenient to change your e-mail address, wading through a large volume of unsolicited mail is time-consuming, too, and no power in the world today may stop all the spammers who may be targeting you once your e-mail address is in wide circulation. If you decide to keep your existing email account, you can block macintosh outlook spam if you are running a Macintosh with a Microsoft Outlook spam filter.

One of the most important ways to protect your e-mail address is not to post it on a website if you can avoid it. Spammers regularly "harvest" e-mail addresses from websites. Once you are on one list, your address may be sold to other spammers. Harvesting is now illegal, but that does not mean that the practice has been dropped by all spammers everywhere. If you need to provide contact information on the Web, you might want to set up a dedicated mailbox just for accepting contacts, and keep a second mailbox for your personal e-mail correspondence.

Work with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to take advantage of all the filters, blocks and other junk mail management techniques they have to offer. Familiarize yourself with the different levels of security available to you. ISPs are under considerable pressure from their own customers to cut the influx of bulk mail. Most offer information, guidelines, and services to reduce spam. Shop around. Some providers do a better job than others at protecting their customers from spam.

Use the "remove" feature with great caution. A reputable business concerned about customer relations will honor your request to be removed from their list. But, it has been standard running procedure among unscrupulous spammers for years to use the remove feature to find active mailboxes. The reality is, when you use the remove feature, you may be inviting more, not less, spam. Here again, state and federal law have outlawed an undesirable practice, but that doesn't mean it will be stopped.

You can remove your e-mail address from many national direct e-mail lists, by visiting www.e-mps.org. Think twice about giving your e-mail address to a website for any reason. If you are registering with a reputable company, read its posted privacy policy. If you choose to provide your e-mail address to a company, look for a choice to keep them from sharing your address or sending you periodic e-mail newsletters. Most responsible companies will have a checkbox and will respect your wishes. Think twice, and think again, before you respond to any unsolicited e-mail contact.

Buy products and services through spam solicitations at your peril. Spam offers abound with fantastic promises, unrealistic allure, and dirt-cheap prices. The same offers on TV, in magazines, or on the street would be equally suspicious. If you can't believe what a great product, what a great price, what a great offer --- then DON'T believe it.

Protect Yourself from Spam-based Fraud

The Office of the Attorney General is dedicated to educating consumers about Internet fraud. If you once fall prey to some dangerous schemes circulating on the Internet today that was in your spam in outlook express, the damage can be devastating, and the chances that the perpetrator will be caught or your money recovered are, frankly slim. You can, however, employ a Microsoft outlook 2003 spam blocker or outlook 2002 spam filter to assist in blocking these schemes.

Many of the most vicious schemes start in foreign countries, where even our federal government is challenged to look into or prosecute. Governments of other countries do actively cooperate to name and apprehend perpetrators of foreign lotteries and Nigerian advance fee frauds. But our most effective weapon against these criminals is to educate consumers.

• You did not win a foreign lottery. Do not send "fees" or "taxes." These are crooks. You will lose your money.
  
• The deposed "president" of an African nation, or his "widow," or his "son," is not going to deposit tens of millions of dollars in your bank account. The e-mailer wants your account number so he can raid it.
  
• Do not send a buyer the difference between the price of an item you are selling and an overly large cashier's check. The check is counterfeit. It may be such a good counterfeit that your bank won't even realize it until it is too late.
  
• No one standing for your credit card company, any reputable company, or a governmental agency is going to e-mail you to "verify" your personal financial information. Be aware also that if an e-mail of this nature has a link to a Web site, that site may be a deceptive mirror of a real company's website. The phony site has been built just for you -- to steal your identity.

State and Federal Anti-Spam Laws

A new federal law, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, went into effect on January 1, 2004. The CAN-SPAM Act gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to enforce its provisions and pursue penalties for violations. This office also has limited authority to enforce certain provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Like state anti-spam law, the new federal law does not make spam illegal. Rather, it sets certain standards for e-mail marketers to follow. Unfortunately, it also replaces certain portions of state law and is in some ways less stringent.

Under the CAN-SPAM Act, unsolicited e-mail advertisements must have a functioning return e-mail address, a valid subject line suggesting that it is an advertisement, the legitimate physical address of the mailer and a way for people to opt-out of future mailings.

The Act makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally send spam with false header information. In certain circumstances violators face five years in jail. It is also now a criminal offense to send spam containing sexually oriented material that is not properly identified in the subject line.

The sale or other change of an e-mail address received through an opt-out request is also now illegal. It has been a common practice for spammers to use a consumer’s opt-out request as validation that the e-mail account is active. This often leads to the sale of active e-mail lists, which means more spam for the owner of the e-mail account. This practice is now banned.

Spammers also face civil penalties if they use automated means to register multiple e-mail accounts from which to send spam. This practice makes it difficult for Internet Service Providers (ISP) to track down the spammer and to filter out the unsolicited e-mails they send. Civil penalties can also be levied for harvesting e-mail addresses. It is a violation of state law if the subject line of the email is misleading about the content.

Again, we caution you that much of the spam you may be getting starts in foreign countries, well beyond the reach of state or even federal law, but outlook spam control will help with a Microsoft Outlook spam filter. It has been common practice for spammers to use the remove feature to find valid e-mail addresses. Use the remove feature of an unsolicited e-mail advertisement with discretion. A legitimate business will be motivated to keep to the new spam laws. A criminal in another country will probably see little reason to change his standard working procedure.

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