SPAM FAQ'S
Download MailWasher here. Read configuration instructions HERE.
Lost a Message? Login to your E-mail through our web site and view your Inbox.Spam folder for E-mail that filtered by Spamassassin.
SPAM is any E-mail that you do not want.
Unsolicited Commercial E-mail. This may be E-mail sent to you because you subscribed to something, but you did not specifically request to be added to a mailing list. Like "junk mail", Internet advertisers also buy your E-mail address from other places you give it on the Internet.
281.COM researches SPAM and UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) that it receives in "SPAM catcher" mailboxes our Administrators have setup for that purpose as well as those messages sent with complete Internet headers to abuse@281.com.
281.COM uses all means at our disposal to both insure delivery of wanted E-mail and filtering of unwanted SPAM/UCE. 281.COM employs software that uses the originating domain, message content, and originating server to determine the probability a message is SPAM/UCE.
281.COM can an @light-speed.org E-mail address that is not filtered, so that almost no E-mail is blocked. NOTE: 281.COM does block some E-mail from some IP's that have sent large amounts of SPAM/UCE to our servers. Almost all of these have been from other countries. These messages are blocked regardless of "Whitelist" status.
Yes and No. 281.COM blocks E-mail based on content, compared to the content of previous wanted E-mail ("ham") and spam. 281 Communications employs a Bayes Filter algorithm to determine the likelihood a message is SPAM/UCE. There are several words and phrases in SPAM/UCE that do not typically show up in legitimate E-mail, even newsletters some customers subscribe to with content other customers would find objectionable. We make every effort to distinguish between these.
Yes! There are many products on the market that offer the ability for you to weed out objectionable content and block even more everyday SPAM which 281.COM doesn't catch. We recommend MailWasher which is FREE! This program requires some configuration on your part, but it is easy! Soon you have a set of rules that identifies what you want, and everything else is spam. Download Mail Washer here. 281.COM can install Mail Washer on your computer for you and configure it with basic filters for $45.00 in our offices. Most customers have installed MailWasher themselves with some assistance by 281.COM Support over the phone! To make MailWasher effective, you must add filters that insure the mail you want gets through.
Here is the recommended initial configuration for the average 281.COM customer:
The first time you open MailWasher, it will automatically start by adding an Account. You can add your 2nd E-mail address and others by clicking Tools/Accounts/Add button:
Choose POP3 as shown above. Click OK.
Type in the name of this account, "Support" shown above for the Support @ 281.com E-mail address. Click the "Incoming mail" tab:
Enter "tim.281.com" for your POP3 server address, enter your "Account name" (Shown: support in the account name for support @ 281.com), and type your E-mail password.
281 Communications recommends you TURN OFF the bouncing feature included in MailWasher and other Spam fighting software. This only wastes your time sending E-mails out to the "From" address which is almost always a lie.
Click the "Bouncing & outgoing mail" tab shown above. Uncheck the "Enable bouncing of messages from this account" as shown above. Click OK.
Now you should enable MailWasher to check each message against Blacklist servers such as SpamCop.
Click the Tools menu, then Options.
Then choose "None" under Heuristic Strength. Some customers may prefer not to check the "Launch email app...." below. When checked, your default E-mail program (Outlook Express for most) will be automatically opened after processing the mail.
Click OK.
Now set Mailwasher to hide E-mail received from your Friends. You don't want to see "wanted" E-mail in Mailwasher since you don't want to delete it. Goto the "Blacklist and Friends list" tab:
Click the "Options" button near the bottom right under your "Friends list". NOTE: You can manually add friends and family E-mail addresses to your "Friends list" by clicking "Add" here. Uncheck the "Dispay emails received from friends" as shown below:
Click "OK" until you are back to MailWasher.
Now you should create some Filters to help identify "Good Mail" and hide it so you don't accidentally delete it. Click Tools/Filters to open:
Here is an example filter. I am identifying all things soccer because I am a member of GCYSA!
Once you have identified all your Friends (you can right click their names as you receive E-mail to get a menu on which you choose "Add to Friends list") and added Filters to catch E-mail about the things you are interested in, everything else left is SPAM! Just click the first message, and Shift-Click the last message to highlight the entire list. Then click any of the empty "Delete" boxes to check them all. Click "Process Mail" to delete all the spam from your mailbox on the server. When you open your mail program (Outlook Express for most), you will only receive the messages from your friends that you didn't see in Mailwasher.
SPAMMERS can get E-mail addresses in many ways. 281.COM does not sell it's customers addresses! 281.COM recommends each customer have a "junk" address to use when posting to newsgroups, ordering stuff, or giving your E-mail address to anyone that is not a friend or business acquaintance. SPAMMERS can buy your address, search for it posted on web sites you registered with, and find your address just by sending random E-mail addresses messages looking for valid addresses. Unfortunately, the ease with which we all send E-mail across the Internet, and subsequently across the world, makes it easy for SPAMMERS to do the same.
Viruses also send Spammers the E-mail addresses they find on computers they infect. So that good joke you sent last year to a friend who sent it on to a friend, who sent it on to another friend (You don't even know), may still be sitting in their inbox. A Virus can get your address out of that old message!
281.COM will discuss the issue with such customers, and will discontinue Internet Service if these customers can not comply with our Acceptable Use Policy.