======================>  WSO Newsletter  <======================
              h t t p : / / w w w . w s o . n e t
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May 2003                                              ISSUE: 068

                     E-MAIL FEATURE EDITION
                     E-MAIL FEATURE EDITION

-> Highlights
        1. New SPAM Dump Available
        2. Don't Leave Your Mail on the Server
        3. SMTP (Outgoing Mail Server) Review
        4. MailWasher is Still a Good Spam Fighter
        5. No SPAM Originates from WSO
        6. For SPAM That Makes it Through
        7. Web Based E-Mail Retrieval
        8. Hate Spam? Then Don't Do it Yourself!
        9. Eudora E-Mail Program is Free

-> Useful WSO Links
        Newsletter Back Issues - http://www.wso.net/news.htm
        Referral Program - http://www.wso.net/referral.htm
        Tech Support - http://www.wso.net/support.htm


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-> ARTICLE #1: New SPAM Dump Available =========================
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This issue is dedicated to e-mail related issues. We've created
a "spam dump" e-mail address called "spam". If you find
that a spammer or e-mail virus has "attacked" a particular
e-mail address, you can setup a specific entry in your E-Mail
Routing Editor table (located in the WSO SupportCenter) to
forward mail coming to that address to spam.

Just to be clear, if you want to forward mail into our spam dump
then put the word 'spam' in the "forward to" side of the E-Mail
Routing Editor. There is no "@" sign, just simply forward to
the word spam.

About every hour we will simple delete the contents of the
spam account. E-mail forwarded there will never be read by
anybody. If you forward mail to spam, it will be gone forever.
Please be careful when deciding what you are going to
forward there.

ATTENTION!! Absolutely do not forward mail from anywhere else
other than an account hosted here at WSO. If we find that you
are forwarding mail from (for example) your ISP e-mail address
to our "spam dump" you will be charged a service fee.

The spam address is a free service only to WSO customers and
exists as a convenience for deleting spam before you have to
download and sort it yourself.

This is not a spam filtering service. There are lots of
dedicated spam filtering services out there and they are great
at what they do. We are not going to reinvent the wheel. Our
"spam dump" is just for situations where a specific e-mail
address is being targeted and you do not want to deal with any
e-mail coming to that address anymore.

You can also set your "catch all" to forward to spam, but please
be aware that you understand what this means. Basically it means
that you must define each address where you expect to receive
mail explicitly in the E-Mail Routing Editor. Anything not
specifically defined will drop through to the catch all and
ultimately into the abyss of spam.

Hope this new feature will help some of you!



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-> ARTICLE #2: Improve Your Mail Checking Speed ================
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While we are on the subject of e-mail, lets talk about an
important e-mail setting. In most e-mail programs there is a
setting that allows you to "leave the mail on the server."

Make sure this setting is NOT enabled. Each time you check your
mail, a temporary copy of your mail file is made. The larger
your mail file is, the longer it takes to copy. This is one of
the main reasons for an initial delay in checking e-mail.

Make sure you have this set to NO or OFF to be sure your mail
file stays small and fast. If this setting was already off, and
you still have a long delay before your mail is checked, let
us know. You may have stuck mail.

Customers with outrageously large mail files will be contacted.
If we do not hear back from you about the situation your mail
file may be reduced in size and you may lose mail.



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-> ARTICLE #3: SMTP (Outgoing Mail Server) Review ==============
================================================================

WSO provides SMTP (outgoing) mail services for its customers.
The way it works is that you first must check your e-mail
account before you are allowed to send e-mail through our
system. This verifies that you are a WSO customer and not a
spammer. As long as you do this, you are able to WSO's SMTP
service for a period of time and then you must successfully
check your mail again to re-authenticate.

In some cases, your ISP may require that you use their SMTP
server.  For example, we reported in the past that Earthlink
started blocking port 25, which means you could only use their
SMTP (outgoing) mail server to send mail, not your WSO SMTP
server.

So, instead of using yourdomain.com for the SMTP setting in
your e-mail program, you have to use 'smtp.earthlink.net'. It
should be noted that you don't have to change the "reply" or
"return" address, just set it to whatever you want the FROM
address to be in the e-mails you are sending. This does
not affect the way your mail looks to those you are sending
it to, they will not know the difference.

Other people may be experiencing the same problem. The symptoms
look like this: the e-mail never actually sends, it comes
back with a 550 error and says something like "relaying denied."

If you are seeing errors like this when you try to send e-mail,
check with your ISP and find out what their SMTP server name is
and use that in your e-mail program instead. The problem should
go away immediately.

Often your ISP's SMTP server can be more responsive and faster
because it is located closer to you on the network. So even if
you are not required to use your ISP's SMTP server, you may want
to consider using it anyway.



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-> ARTICLE #4: MailWasher is Still a Good Spam Fighter =========
================================================================

MailWasher is free. It is a very interesting program that can
help put YOU in control of fighting spam. The basic concept goes
like this.

Let mail washer download your mail and analyze it. In seconds it
can determine, with fairly good accuracy, which mail is real
and which is spam. You can make it smarter by adding your own
filters as well. Once MailWasher has "washed" your mail, use
your regular e-mail program to download and read your e-mail.

There are probably several best ways to use MailWasher, but for
those of you who normally leave your e-mail program open all the
time, try this. Shut off the auto-check in your main e-mail
program. Instead, let MailWasher auto-check.  When you want to
read your mail, click over to MailWasher (it minimizes to a
small icon in your system tray for convenience). Make any
adjustments to the proposed deletions and then press "Process
Mail". You can then have MailWasher bring your main e-mail
program to the forefront where you can hit the check button to
actually download your washed mail.

Using this method there is very little inconvenience but a huge
savings in time because you don't have to deal with all of that
junk mail. After you use it for a while it will become second
nature.

There many options (but not too many) and there is an on-line
FAQ to answer your questions. Try it out and let us know how it
goes.

http://www.mailwasher.net

NOTICE: Disable the "bounce" feature for every account your
setup in MailWasher. Spammers do not look at bounced back e-mail
and this just creates more mail traffic.

We do not make any money if you use MailWasher and we do not
know, nor have we ever talked to, the author of the software.



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-> ARTICLE #5: No SPAM Originates from WSO =====================
================================================================

It has come to our attention that some WSO customers think we
are sending spam e-mails or are allowing our servers to be the
source of spam e-mail. Please be absolutely assured, we DO NOT
sell or make available in any way your personal information
(including e-mail address) to anybody, period.

Spammers have many techniques for tricking e-mail systems into
showing headers that are false. For example, just about anybody
can send an e-mail and put somebody else as the reply-to
address. Spammers will also put illegal names in the FROM
header and often this is misinterpreted by mail servers. The
result is that it can look as though the mail originated, or was
sent from, the mail server that is delivering the mail (the WSO
mail server).

Of course we can't stop somebody from sending you a spam
message. But you can be assured we have not provided these
spammers your e-mail address or allowed them to use any of our
servers to actually send the e-mails originally.



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-> ARTICLE #6: For SPAM That Makes it Through ==================
================================================================

What can be done about spam and junk e-mail that isn't trashed
by some of the automated methods available, like Mailwasher?

Most people have simply resigned themselves to the fact that
they will have to weed through their e-mails. It is similar to
how you throw away regular junk paper mail. You get good at it,
you don't even have to open it, you just throw it away.

Similarly, you can get good at identifying spam in your computer
in-box and you'll find that you hardly ever have to open them,
you just delete them. But it takes human eyes to make that
judgement, not a computer (in most cases).

Instead of using your mouse to highlight an e-mail and then
click on a trash or erase icon, try using the cursor keys on
your keyboard and the delete key. You'll find it is MUCH faster
to weed through your in-box. Give it a shot.

Unfortunately, there isn't a silver-bullet to solve spam and
junk mail issues. Arguments can be made that technology can
solve the spam problem, but in the end, human eyes are the best
judge. Sometimes the low-tech solution is the most effective.



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-> ARTICLE #7: New Web Based E-Mail Recommendation =============
================================================================

Once again WSO has chosen not to reinvent the wheel when it
comes to web based e-mail service. Currently WSO offers POP3
based e-mail services only.

In the past we've recommended using pop3now.com to retrieve your
mail via the web. We've found a better alternative called
Mail2Web.

http://www.mail2web.com

Once at this web page, click on "Secure Login" and then click on
"Advance Login". You will need three pieces of information.

1. Server name or IP address. This is your domain name or web
address without the "www" part attached. For example: wso.net

2. User ID or Login name. This is your Unix username. This is
the same one you use for FTP, E-Mail, and SSH (Telnet). It is
NOT your WSO SupportCenter UserID or FrontPage username.

3. Password. This is your Unix password. This is the same one
you use for FTP, E-Mail, and SSH (Telnet). It is NOT your WSO
SupportCenter Password or FrontPage password.

4. Mail Protocol: Choose POP3.

5. You can even choose your language if you would like something
other than English.

This is a great free service with minimal banner ads.



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-> ARTICLE #8: Hate Spam? Then Don't Do it Yourself! ===========
================================================================

Do you hate spam? Please don't add to the problem. If you own
a web based business and host here at WSO, sending unsolicited
e-mails (spam) is NOT going to get you more customers. But here
is what it will get you:

1. Your WSO account will be closed with no refund.
2. You will be charged a "clean-up" fee of up to $500.
3. You will possibly cause our mail servers to be blacklisted.
4. You will receive more complaints and hassles than customers.

Please only send e-mails to people that have signed up to
receive them. And even then, make it very easy for those people
to be removed from future mailings if they desire.

Any e-mail you send that is of a bulk mailing type should include
VERY easy instructions on how to be removed from future mailings
and also exactly how you obtained their e-mail address.

Read our full policy document, which includes a section on
e-mail:

http://www.wso.net/policy.htm

Our policies are no different than most other web hosting
companies. But we don't hide them. They are presented at the
time of ordering, they are sent via e-mail when your account is
set up, and they are always available on our web site.

These policies allow us to maintain a high level of service and
to weed out abusers (and potential abusers) that could adversely
affect the quality of service to our good customers.



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-> ARTICLE #9: Eudora E-Mail Client Now Totally Free ===========
================================================================

Qualcomm, the makers of the Eudora e-mail program have decided
to try the "paid for through advertising" waters.  You can now
get the new, full-featured Eudora totally free.  It includes
some rotating advertising that you can customize, but frankly,
it is a steal.  The advertising is not intrusive at all and the
software is world-class. 

It is absolutely worth trying.

http://www.eudora.com

There are two main reasons we use Eudora over Outlook:

1. It is not prone to virus attacks like Outlook.
2. You can have multiple mailboxes open at the same time.

Eudora uses POP3/SMTP and has always been WSO's recommended
e-mail program. It is available for both Windows and Mac!

There is an article in the WSO SupprortCenters' Tech Support
Articles section on how to configure both Eudora and Outlook
to work with your WSO POP3 account.



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