Conquer that SPAM with the Right Web Host

Articles on Hosting | Topics: hosting, web, host

by Zain Kinney

Anyone who has ever had an email account does not need spam explained to him or her. It is the menace that clogs up your email account and takes up steals megabytes of bandwidth daily. And the more active your email account is, the more spam finds its way in. Many of us get thousands of spam messages a day. This is why it is important to makes sure that you conquer that spam with the right web host.

While user friendly website tools and services are important to consider, email delivery and receipt is critical to your growing business. When choosing a web hosting service, be sure that their Terms of Service / Acceptable Use Policy includes a specifically worded provision for blocking spam. How well do they fight spammers? Do they have controls in place to block spammers from using their servers to produce spam? You should look for controls against many aspects of spamming.

The most basic of these is the prevention of receiving spam. It sounds obvious and because most potential investors overlook it, it is often left out of most policies and leaves you vulnerable. Your web host should prevent your email account from receiving bulk email by any means. This means that spammers should not be able to reach you through email, http, or any other route.

Spam does not just include email. Often times, if not properly protected, your website can also fall prey to unscrupulous spammers. Make sure that your web host provides protection from your site being linked to from a site that advertises through spam. This is a good way to turn potential customers off. No one wants to do business on a website when it puts their own computer and email inbox in jeopardy.

аBit of History

The soul knows only the soul; the web of events is the flowing robe in which she is clothed.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

Although you may not be involved in spamming, you should make sure that your web host takes a firm stance against other websites promoting spamming. This helps keep the population of spammers controlled as much as possible. Your policy should enumerate punishments for violators of the anti spamming agreement, which will ultimately result in the immediate termination of their account, the barring of that offender from using your web host in the future, and the report of the violation and termination to the proper authorities.

It is important that your web host take strong action against any spammers it may be harboring unknowingly. You do not want to end up in the all too common situation where you find that your emails to others are being blocked because your web host is on a blacklist because other people's anti spam protection services have identified your host as a spammer. Do your research. Visit sites like www.dnsstuff.com or www.spamhaus.org to make sure that your site has not been blacklisted before you invest in them.

Even the most vigilant spam guard can fail to protect you from the ever-changing tactics of hi-tech spammers and your email box can quickly flood with unsolicited mail. Your web host should also maintain an abuse help desk on a 24-hour basis. It should also be easy for you to contact a real human being to explain the problem to. When they receive a report of abuse, they should take steps to alleviate the problem within at least two hours.

While it is good to have a web host that is committed to protecting your account from spamming, there is a downside of spam filtering. Many find that email that they want and need is filtered out in addition to their spam. The most common victims are email newsletters. Like spam, these are mass mailed and many servers automatically block them without providing the recipient the opportunity of viewing the email. Customers never even know that they have been sent. Even personal communication and one-on-one email can be lost through overzealous spam control. According to an article in Time Magazine, spam filters block 40% to 70% of all email. While it is not always possible, look for a web host that provides a spam blocker that sends potential spam to a special folder where you can delete them without opening them or mark important newsletters as 'not spam'.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Conquer that SPAM with the Right Web Host" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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