Handling unwanted emails.

[dajoga]

I get lots of unwanted emails which I try to "unsubscribe" from. But some don't have an "unsubscribe" link or if they do and you click on it, you get a "can't find this URL" message. According to the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001 (H.R.95) all of these have to provide an "unsubscribe" link.

So who to and how do you report this problem?

Some of these come from a yahoo and hotmail addresses. So to create a filter you have to make one from the entire address to prevent emails from friends who use these. But then, all the sender has to do is change or add one letter or number and they can evade the filter.

Also, can the senders find out if you've created a filter and avoid it?

(I'm using Netscape 7)

[Rhino]

[ QUOTE ]
dgauw said:
I get lots of unwanted emails which I try to "unsubscribe" from. But some don't have an "unsubscribe" link or if they do and you click on it, you get a "can't find this URL" message. According to the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001 (H.R.95) all of these have to provide an "unsubscribe" link.

[/ QUOTE ]
They do if they obey the law, but most don't. A word of warning; Many of the spam e-mails that have workable 'unsuscribe' links often do not unsubscribe you at all. They use it as a means for you to verify that they have hit a valid e-mail address, and thus to tareget you for more spam, and to sell your address to other spammers too. They don't all do this mind you, but the danger is very real that you may only be guaranteeing more and more spam when you respond to those 'unsubscribe' links. Kinda adds insult to injury.

[ QUOTE ]
So who to and how do you report this problem?

[/ QUOTE ]
There's no shortage of who to report these to, but there is a shortage of anyone who can actually do anything about it. There is a big national anti-spam group with a decent web site on all this, but I'll be damned if I can remember their name right now.

[ QUOTE ]
Some of these come from a yahoo and hotmail addresses. So to create a filter you have to make one from the entire address to prevent emails from friends who use these. But then, all the sender has to do is change or add one letter or number and they can evade the filter.

[/ QUOTE ]
You also have to realize that although those messages say they come from yahoo or hotmail, quite often they do not. Spammers are very god at spoofing header and reply addresses so they appear to come from a certain domain when they actually did not. You could filter hotmail and not block a single spam e-mail.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, can the senders find out if you've created a filter and avoid it?

[/ QUOTE ]
Not without your help, like clicking on an 'unsubscribe' link that lets them know they got by any filter that may have existed. Realistically, unless you take action to allow allow an executable file or script to run from their e-mail, there isn't any reliable way for them to detect your filters.

[ QUOTE ]
(I'm using Netscape 7)

[/ QUOTE ]
I got Mozilla.