E-mail: Managing Spam
Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE), commonly called Spam, is a rapidly growing problem for people responsible for
maintaining mail servers. Not only do spammers flood E-mail accounts with numerous undesired messages, many spammers
will try to use an unsecured server to send their E-mail messages. Your AlpineWeb Hosting plan is designed to keep
spammers from using your server to send their messages, as well as providing you with numerous options to help keep
spam from filling up your E-mail accounts.
Tangled Up in Spam
What Is Spam?
While the legal definition of UCE varies from one place to another,
spam.abuse.net provides a general description on their
What Is Spam? page. The following is an
excerpt from that page:
Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would
not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes,
or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send -- most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the
carriers rather than by the sender.
Recent laws enacted by some states have extended or limited that definition. For specific information about spam laws, see
www.spamlaws.com.
The AlpineWeb AUP specifically bans sending spam:
Subscribers violate AlpineWeb policy and the service agreement when they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage
in ... spamming. Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet ... is not only harmful because of its
negative impact on consumer attitudes toward AlpineWeb, but also because it can overload AlpineWeb's network and disrupt service
to AlpineWeb subscribers. Also, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited. When a complaint is received, AlpineWeb has the
discretion to determine from all of the evidence whether the e-mail recipients were from an "opt-in" e-mail list.
Preventing Spam Relays
Spammers frequently try to use another person's E-mail server to send their messages. Your Hosting Account is designed
to prevent your server from being used as a relay. SMTP-AUTH
authentication prevents anyone who doesn't have a legitimate E-mail account on your Virtual Private Server from sending
E-mail from your server. We also provide NMS Formmail, which
prevents spammers from using your Web-based forms to send spam.
Blocking Incoming Spam
We provide a number of powerful and configurable tools to help you protect E-mail accounts on your Virtual Private Server
from spam.
Mail Filtering with Spamassassin by Hosting Plan:
More Information
For more information about spam and resources that can be used to fight it, see the following Web sites or contact our Service Staff:
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