Spam and Autoresponders - How They Do It

By Kurt Naulaerts

In today's virtual world the spam or unwished-for messages is a genuine issue. It seems the spammers are using autoresponders to do their dirty work. This is bad for everyone who uses an autoresponder with good objectives. Their messages are often understood as spam making the owner wonder what's wrong at times. Sometimes a user may also wonder why their messages are blocked or reported as spam.

The autoresponders do their job and respond to legitimized emails indiscriminately. Spam messages are usually forged and they seem to be from a third party. If an autoresponder receives a forged message they'll send misdirected e-mails. That is how an autoresponder can become a spam source itself and its messages are blocked or reported. Many times users don't know the way to notice if this starts to happen or to handle it.

The usual autoresponder is a simple program designed for normal e-mail users to inform their contacts if the user is available to answer certain question or just to send the preset message. These messages are often sent to wrong people and that's how spam is born. How can you fix that? It's pretty simple. Just stop using this kind of autoresponder and answer the mail yourself for the transitional period. If you're too busy to answer the emails yourself you may have to hire someone for the time being.

A big issue in the spam world is the "misdirected bounces." If a mail server takes a message and can't deliver it, it will send a bounce mail to the original sender but often this message will be misdirected. How are you able to fix that? Upgrade or configure the post server in a way to avoid this problem. You can do this by setting your software to reject the message or accept it permanently . Don't let it take the decision of delivery for you after the software received the message.

Usually the autoresponders are sending messages to their mailing list, but without permission. The people who receive these messages consider them unsolicited and therefore spam. If you own a mail sever you should consider these changes because today's spam is a problem. Lots of mail servers have been blacklisted because of spam issues. Fortunately there are ways to prevent your autoresponder from becoming a spam tool. By doing some research on the internet you will discover new ways that are developed daily. If you really don't want to become a spammer the last option is to stop using an autoresponder, because these programs do a great job.

Spam is a huge issue when it comes to Internet advertising. If at any moment you're leery of what you're doing, you can always talk to a professional who can advise you in the right path. Autoresponders were created to ease the life of busy pros but unfortunately used for the incorrect purpose can taint their good use. Do some research and always be a defensive consumer. Know what you are purchasing before you do buy it. - 29941

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