Spammed By Tracking Beacons

Reading an email could be an unhealthy diet for your computer and YOU!
by: James A. Warholic

Email advertising is becoming more intrusive everyday. People are packing emails with everything from cookies, JavaSript, Flash advertisements, and even the new tracking beacons. Tracking beacons are a type of web beacon bug that actually are embedded in the e mail or website.

Tracking beacons embedded in an email carry serious privacy concerns. Information is transmitted back to the sender with identifiable information, plus every time the message is viewed, the information is re-broadcasted to the senders site.

Imagine if you receive a message forwarded to you from a friend and unbeknownst to anyone reading it, that information is being tracked back to the sender about you or your friend.

How To Fight Back

Vigilance is probably the most important thing in order to help protect yourself and your computer. Do not forward spam. Do not open unsolicited email without first checking it through an email notification type program. These types of programs allow you to filter out the spam before downloading it to your main program. If any suspicious messages are seen here, simply delete them before downloading to your computer.

Thoughts

This intrusive type of activity is on the rise. ISPs & businesses are starting to block a large percentage of emails received, even to the point of blocking significant emails from reputable companies. Email marketing costs can be significant, while the success of the advertising e-mail campaign is impacted by the lack of delivery.

There are other forms of online advertising that can be effective and not have the same intrusive nature as above.

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The War On Spam

How To Fight Spam From Your Website
by: Jim

While cruising the Internet I found this very useful website on how to take a preemptive approach to combating spam.

A lot of spam is generated by search robots that roam the web from site to site harvesting email addresses. These are then used to mail out tons of unsolicited emails. There are certain things that a person could do to mask the addresses from the robots. Take a look at this link for "Spam-proofing Your Website"

Note: Even if you are using a form on your website for contact information, the address still may be seen by the bots. Refer to the article above. JavaScript seems to be the answer right now. Most browsers can handle JavaScript.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

As more sophisticated robots are employed for scavenging, the other side will continue to implement stronger measures to fight this war. It is a constant battle between making your e-mail address available to a potential new customer or having it hidden from the scavengers. While using forms might be the way to go, it is not always the best way from a marketing perspective. There are some that will simply not fill out a form. It can be a turn off if too much information is required. Allowing a prospect to use their own email cliental to handle the request for information provides a means of freedom for an individual to customize their own message.

The War Will Never End

One thing can be certain on the Internet is this war will never end. Many organizations and ISPs have implemented spam blocking techniques to prevent the messages from getting through. While this may be helping block spam, it is also having a negative impact on solicited mail getting through.

Share Your Email Fighting Thoughts

What Works For You?

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