Is reporting spam effective ?
Is reporting spam effective ?
Sometimes I just delete the spam messages and others I report them as spam. Never noticed that the second option helps reducing the ammount of spam msgs. Sometimes they even seem to increase. What is your experience ?
I agree, I don't think it really does much to stop the volume of spam one gets.
However, it can be useful in individual situations...
Before the advent of sophisticated spam filters, I used to get regular spam e-mails advertising print cartridges and toner from this one particular company. I regularly traced their ISP and reported them to their hosts. Unfortunately, it didn't stop them from sending their spam mails -- they just switched to a new ISP every time I reported them.
Eventually I left a message on their toll-free number saying, "Hi, I'm on your mailing list and I want you to unsubscribe me. Here's my e-mail... oh, and by the way, I am the one who keeps getting you banned from your ISP, and if you don't remove me from your list, I'll just keep doing it."
I never got an e-mail from them again -- so that tactic worked -- but as the years have gone by the amount of spam trying to infiltrate my inbox has only increased.
I still report spam from time to time, whenever someone is clever enough to send a message that gets through the spam filters. We can't have that!
However, it can be useful in individual situations...
Before the advent of sophisticated spam filters, I used to get regular spam e-mails advertising print cartridges and toner from this one particular company. I regularly traced their ISP and reported them to their hosts. Unfortunately, it didn't stop them from sending their spam mails -- they just switched to a new ISP every time I reported them.
Eventually I left a message on their toll-free number saying, "Hi, I'm on your mailing list and I want you to unsubscribe me. Here's my e-mail... oh, and by the way, I am the one who keeps getting you banned from your ISP, and if you don't remove me from your list, I'll just keep doing it."
I never got an e-mail from them again -- so that tactic worked -- but as the years have gone by the amount of spam trying to infiltrate my inbox has only increased.
I still report spam from time to time, whenever someone is clever enough to send a message that gets through the spam filters. We can't have that!
Brooke
Chianti,
Oops! I was referring to something totally different. I agree that marking messages as spam in your e-mail client can be useful. Thunderbird, for example, asks you to train it to detect spam by marking spam messages.
What I meant was "reporting" spam in the old sense -- tracking down their origin via the e-mail headers, and then reporting to the ISP that someone is using them to send out spam. That usually gets them booted and banned from that ISP, but it's only a matter of time before they set up shop with someone else as a host.
Gosh, now I'm wondering what Fil meant!
Oops! I was referring to something totally different. I agree that marking messages as spam in your e-mail client can be useful. Thunderbird, for example, asks you to train it to detect spam by marking spam messages.
What I meant was "reporting" spam in the old sense -- tracking down their origin via the e-mail headers, and then reporting to the ISP that someone is using them to send out spam. That usually gets them booted and banned from that ISP, but it's only a matter of time before they set up shop with someone else as a host.
Gosh, now I'm wondering what Fil meant!
Brooke
Vrooje
I didn't know one could do that.
I don't open spam in case it has a virus or could cause problems to my computer.
Three cheers if you do that, but just thought, don't the servers do that for you, when you click on the SPAM button?
Must say, I do like to eat spam in a sandwich with pickles on the odd occasion.
Chianti
I didn't know one could do that.
I don't open spam in case it has a virus or could cause problems to my computer.
Three cheers if you do that, but just thought, don't the servers do that for you, when you click on the SPAM button?
Must say, I do like to eat spam in a sandwich with pickles on the odd occasion.
Chianti
Your provider is certainly better than mine. I sometimes have the feeling that spam increases when i use the "report as spam" button.Chianti wrote: When I finally found the SPAM button & used it, it all stopped about a week later.
They wouldn't put a button there for nothing
Chianti
I believe that in these cases the sender receives a msg saying "sorry, this msg could not be delivered" and wonder if this cannot have the opposite effect of showing that the address is alive.