FAQs
- How do I set up my email account on my computer?
- What are the rules for sending mass email?
- How do I stop spam from being delivered to me?
- How do I train my SPAM and HAM filters?
- Why do I type https rather than http for webmail and DeSpaminator?
- What is a "Domain"?
- What is "Hosting"?
- What is an "ISP"?
- What is a "URL"?
- What is a realtime blackhole list (RBL)?
- What is the body of an email?
- What is a header?
- Why use HTML Sanitizer?
- Where does spam come from?
- How did they get my address?
- Should I click the "remove me" line in a SPAM email?
Call us at 310 395-7546 - we have a solution that will eliminate spam from reaching you. We scan for spam and viurs in email and you never have to see the junk we remove!
How to train SPAM and HAM filters:
Scores are given in all tests in both positive (HAM) and negative (SPAM) integers. This is because the tests look for a wide range of information. The tests are looking for indications of offensive language, scam messages (like get rich quick or grow enormous body parts).
The tests are also looking for information that would indicate the email is NOT SPAM (HAM).
HOWEVER - The system needs to LEARN from user input.
The more frequently users login to webmail and "teach" the filters the better the system will work. To improve performance we recommend at least once a week each user take some time to train the filters.
To do this login to your mail account in the morning before checking mail in Outlook: https://mail.yourdomain.com (NOTE: this will only work with accounts hosted by CompanyV)
LEARN SPAM: check the box to the right of very message in your inbox that is SPAM and then click the "LEARN SPAM" button.
LEARN HAM: Check the box to the right of EVERY GOOD message and then click the "Learn Ham" Button.
NOTE: Never login to webmail while Outlook is running - that will create a "POP lock" and you will need to close both applications for 10 to 15 minutes to unlock.
Teaching the filters in BOTH directions increases performance greatly. When you "learn" either "ham" or "spam" it does not mean that those messages will automatically be given a score that is in accordance. That would create huge false positives and actually make the problem worse. Instead the system looks at all of the information contained in the email in great detail from the information in the headers (loads of background information), as well as the particulars of the content and formatting.
The system is designed to fight new and constantly mutating Spamming techniques by combining innovative SPAM fingerprinting, Bayesian SPAM classifiers, connection level controls and policy management to properly classify SPAM emails while delivering the lowest number of false positives.
The spam that is making it to your actual "Inbox" is only a small portion of the spam being sent to you. The filters are automatically placing email it feels very sure is spam into a folder that only exists on the mail server.
To view this folder you can select the "SPAM" folder by using the dropdown box in the upper left corner of webmail. In addition to that mail there is an even larger amount being sent to you that the server is not even bothering to deliver to your spam folder. In addition, there are entire sender services and service providers globally that we will not even accept a connection from due to blacklist policies that are honored by compliant ISPs.
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Why do I type https rather than http for webmail and DeSpaminator?
We run a secure server for your web-based mail services so that your mail is secure. Once you enter, NONE of your communications with the server are viewable by anyone but you because they are encrypted. To support this your browser must be capable of 128-bit encryption. If you get the message "Forbidden" when trying to log onto your webmail server, you must upgrade your browser.
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What is a Domain?
Practically speaking, your Domain is the core of your Internet identity, your online brand. Your customers will remember this name and use it to find out about your products and services. And since no two parties can ever hold the same domain simultaneously, your Internet identity is totally unique.
Technically, a domain is an addressing construct used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet. While computers use Internet Protocol (IP) numbers to locate each other on the Internet, people find them hard to remember. Therefore, domains were developed to permit the use of easily remembered words and phrases to identify Internet addresses.
For example, the domain companyv.com represents the company CompanyV.com Corporation. When you type companyv.com in a web browser or send e-mail to someone at companyv.com, the Domain Name System (DNS) translates companyv.com, into the IP numbers used by the Internet and connects you to the website.
You can search for a domain here:
http://www.networksolutions.com/
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What is Hosting?
Every domain must reside on
a host computer, or Domain Name Host. Domain Name Hosts
are connected to the Internet and use special software
to translate domains into the numerical addresses
(Internet Protocol numbers) used by the Internet. When
Internet users your domain into their browser
bar, the Domain Name Host directs them to your Web site.
Without it, your domain is invisible on the
Internet.
The hosting service acts as a parking lot for your website.
 
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| Hosting Server | Internet |
Our Hosting computers... or web servers are maintained by our in-house staff of engineers and technicians. Our web servers are connected to the internet 24 hours a day 7 days a week on a fractional T-1 (commercial high speed connection).
By offering hosting services to our website customers, we feel we can service their accounts most efficiently.
If you choose to host with us, you will still need an ISP of your own.
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An ISP is an "Internet Services Provider"
The most common way to access the Internet from home is with a modem, whether it be DSL, Cable, or Modem. Your computer connects via modem to the ISP, which in turn is connected to the Internet with a high-speed connection.
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| Computer | Modem | ISP | Internet |
Most ISPs provide a full range of fast, reliable products, ranging from basic dial-up access to high-bandwidth connections that offer uninterrupted internet connection.
With DSL, you get high-speed internet access over your existing phone line. This means you can talk on the phone and surf the web simultaneously.
With a cable modem, you receive internet access via your cable company's existing lines. You can watch your favorite channels on television while still connected to the internet.
For areas where dial-up is the only option, most have several access numbers, or points-of-presence (POPs) as they are often called.
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ISP Pricing
Internet Service Providers typically offer several
pricing plans for connection services. Check with your local phone company and cable company for rates and connectivity options.
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ISP Features
Most ISP accounts provide more than a simple
connection from your computer to the Internet. They
typically also include such services as:
- an e-mail account for you to send and receive electronic mail
- access to Internet newsgroups
- a personal Web page
These additional services are provided on the ISP's
computers, since they need to be available even when your
computer isn't connected to the Internet (Imagine only
being able to send someone e-mail while they were
dialed-in!).
Dial-up accounts may also include specific features
such as a Unix shell account.
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Email
Incoming e-mail is received by your ISP and stored
in a mailbox for you on a computer known as a POP
server. When you next connect to your ISP and run your
e-mail program, the message is downloaded to a mailbox
on your computer. At this point, the message is
automatically removed from the ISP's POP server since it
is now stored on your computer's hard drive (until you
delete it in your e-mail program).
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| Computer | Modem | POP Server | Internet |
Your ISP will provide you with the
address of their POP server, which you will need to
into your e-mail program. (In this case, POP stands for
Post Office Protocol, not to be confused with a
Point-of-Presence which is a local access number for a ISP dial-up.)
Outgoing e-mail is essentially
the same process in reverse. When you send a message
from your e-mail program it is uploaded right away to
the ISP. It is temporarily stored in an outgoing mailbox
on a computer known as an SMTP server. Usually the
message can be delivered right away, but if there is a
problem delivering the message, it will be stored on the
SMTP server until it can be delivered later. You don't
need to stay connected to the internet to assure delivery.
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| Computer | Modem | SMTP Server | Internet |
Your ISP will also provide you with the address of their SMTP server. In some cases, it may be the same address used for the POP server. (SMTP
stands for simple mail transfer protocol.)
We do not recommend forwarding from another service provider to your account running DeSpaminator.
The reason is the headers, a forwarded email will alter the headers and your other account will look like the sender. Forwarding to this account defeats many of the features.
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What is a URL?
A URL is a Uniform Resource Locator. Think of it as a networked extension of the standard filename concept: not only can you point to a file in a directory, but that file and that directory can exist on any machine on the network, can be served via any of several different methods, and might not even be something as simple as a file: URLs can also point to queries, documents stored deep within databases, the results of a finger or archie command, among other things.
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HTTP URLs
HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol. HTTP servers are commonly used for serving hypertext documents, as HTTP is an extremely low-overhead protocol that capitalizes on the fact that navigation information can be embedded in such documents directly and thus the protocol itself doesn't have to support full navigation features like the FTP and Gopher protocols do.
A file called "FAQ.html" on HTTP server "www.companyv.com" corresponds to this URL:
http://www.companyv.com./FAQ.html
This is the page that you are viewing.
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What is a Realtime Blackhole List (RBL)?
The Real-time Blackhole List, or RBL, is a blacklist of Internet TCP/IP addresses known to send spam, or considered friendly to spam.
This blacklist is maintained independently of DeSpaminator. For more information about the RBL, see http://mail-abuse.org/rbl/
The RBL is an effective way of drastically reducing the amount of spam that you receive. However, if you enable the RBL test, it is likely that you will also accidentally refuse valid email. The reason for this is the RBL bans all email coming from a given set of TCP/IP addresses. For example, if an ISP has been banned because they allow spam from their mail servers, then all mail from that ISP will be banned, not just the spam.
We do not recommend that this setting be enabled if it is important to you to not reject valid mail. On the other hand, if you fully understand the implications of the RBL for your system's mail, and you want to participate, then you should enable this feature, as the RBL has been effective in getting ISP's to secure their relay hosts in order be removed from the ban.
By default, this setting is disabled.
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What is the body of an email?
The body of the email is the same as the body of a letter. It is the portion of the email in which you read and/or write text.
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What is a header?
Headers are the block of information lines which appear at the top of a mail or news message. Headers identify the sender and recipient of a message, the route the message took from one site to another and so on. Headers are used to determine the source of a message.
Click here for more information about headers and how to find them!
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Why use HTML sanitizer?
When you receive an email message written in HTML, the possibility of it concealing a potentially destructive, self-initializing sequence of events is very high. For example, the message could contain Active X components, hidden executable's, images containing hidden executable's, and/or potentially intrusive or malicious virus content. These can launch simply by opening the email they're contained within.
By converting incoming mail from HTML to TEXT, DeSpaminator will disable all embedded images in the incoming email. Images pose a threat because of their ability to contain (and launch) viruses. Disabling the embedded images will remove this threat.
Additionally, many mailing list companies can keep track of what links you click within the email messages they send to you. In turn, they sell this "click-stream" information about you to their clients. By converting incoming mail from HTML to TEXT, DeSpaminator will turn these links (hidden or otherwise) into plain text which will show the entire contents of URL. With the entire URL displayed, you can edit, cut, and copy it into a browser yourself or choose to disregard the link altogether, thus restricting any "click-stream" information about you being sent to potential spammers.
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Where does SPAM come from?
The majority of spam comes from people who are trying to sell or promote something. They have programs to find your email address and send you their junk. It is difficult to track the source of spam because most spammers use a fake email address or domain.
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How did they get my email address?
There are many ways SPAMMERS can get your email address. One common way is through forwarded email. Let's say you forward a joke to friends & family. In turn, they forward it to their own list of people, and so on and so forth.
Every email address contained within the HEADERS of the forwarded message can be extracted and added to a SPAM list or address book. If you insist on sending email such as this, there are precautions you can take to protect yourself and your friends' email addresses. One way to remedy this (instead of forwarding the entire email), is to COPY ONLY THE TEXT in the BODY of the email you'd like to send out and PASTE it into a brand-new email. "Bcc" whomever you'd like to include in the mailing.
You may also receive spam if you put your e-mail address in the guest-book of someone's home page, an online membership list, write postings in online bulletin-boards, or otherwise display your e-mail address so that automated e-mail harvesting systems can find it. Mail-order catalogs, charities and non-profit organizations, sweepstakes & prize raffles, and "free" electronic cards are other ways your email address can be listed. Remember: nothing in life is free. If you use electronic birthday/holiday card or party invitation services, your email address could very well be on a list for sale.
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Should I click the REMOVE ME line in a SPAM email?
No! More often than not, clicking on the "remove me" link in an unsolicited email will result in even MORE SPAM. It will only verify that your e-mail address is owned and used by a real person, and this will make your address more valuable to sell to more spammers. If you find that a "remove me" link does not work or results in more spam, you should file a compliant at www.ftc.gov/spam/
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