(revised and simplified 9/10/02) In order to effectively fight spam, two things must be done. 1. Forward all spam to spam@corp.webtv.net in order to allow WebTV to update our junk mail filters. 2. File a report to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) where the junk mail originated. This will usually result in the spammers getting their email service terminated, causing them much annoyance! A service called SpamCop makes it easy to file spam reports. You must first register with SpamCop in order to use the service. Here's how.... Visit http://spamcop.net/ and click on the link which says "Free Reporting Service." On the next screen, you'll find a place to enter your email address. It will say Verify Email Address, and there will be a blank box for your email address. Enter your full, complete email address and press the Return key. After doing that, you will receive a confirmation email from your own email address. In that email, you'll find an authorization key. This "key" will be a URL, or website address, and it is where you can report spam manually. More on that later. Be sure to Save this "key", or URL, since you will have to use it when you report spam manually. You may save it in a Fav folder and place it on an F-key, as well as saving the reply email in your Saved email folder. Additionally, the "key" or "URL" will also reveal your own, personal SpamCop reporting address! Place that addy in your address book. It will begin with the word "submit." Now that you have registered with SpamCop, here's how to let them report spam for you. While viewing the spam e-mail, choose Forward on the left sidebar. Address the forward to the "submit" address from your authorization "key". Be SURE to click on remove signature (if you use one) before sending! Click on Send. Shortly afterwards, you will receive an acceptance reply from SpamCop. Open that email, then click onto the link right below where it says, "Use links to finish spam reporting:" After clicking, you will be taken to a screen allowing you to choose where you would like the spam reports to be sent. Look for the link which says "Skip to the reports" and click on it. You will be transported to near the end of that page, where you will find one or more boxes checked. If you are new to spam fighting, you should leave the check marks alone. Do not add check marks to unchecked boxes. Click onto the box that says, "Send spam reports now" to send out the report(s) to the proper domain(s). That's all there is to it! You will then see another screen which asks if you wish to report another spam. But don't worry... you are finished. You may now go back to your email and delete the offending spam message, as well as the auto acknowledgement from SpamCop. There is another way to report spam to the originating ISP. It requires you to expose the headers of the spam. Afterwards, you must copy and paste the headers and body of the spam into a special place at SpamCop. Here are my instructions on how to do this. 1. Open the spam email. 2. Choose Forward, and address it to yourself. 3. Place your cursor at the very end of the subject line, and use your Delete key to erase the entire subject. (Using the CMD key along with Delete makes this process faster.) 4. Press Return three times. 5. Press ALT+Z. 6. Press CMD+A . 7. Press CMD+X . 8 Use up arrow to put your cursor at the beginning of the subject line. 9. Press CMD+V . 10. Use down arrow to go to Send. 11. Press Return to send it. 12. Go to Mail and open it. You will now receive an email from yourself that will look quite different from the original spam. Remember the authorization key that you got from SpamCop? This is when you use it. Copy the entire spam message and then go to the the authorization key URL. You'll find a large empty box where you should paste the spam message, complete with the "exposed headers." Important: After you have pasted the spam message into the box, be sure to go back up into the message, using your Up arrow key, and then use your Return key to place one blank line between the headers and the email body. Next, scroll all the way down and place your highlight box over the words Process spam. Press your Return key. You will then see a screen which will have the correct boxes checked for the administrators who need to be notified of the spam. Go down the page to the box which says "Send spam reports now" and click there. That's it. You've done it! To learn more about fighting spam, read everything at: http://spamcop.net/ and see SpamCop's FAQ (frequently asked questions) at: http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/1.html and lurk for a while at the following newsgroups...... news:alt.discuss.activist.fighting-spam news:spamcop news:spamcop.help Best of luck in your spam fighting! **Except when it is the first word in a sentence, the word spam should not be capitalized, since SPAMŽ is a registered trademark of Hormel Foods Corporation, and refers to SPAMŽ Luncheon Meat. |
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