Spam and Autoresponders - How They Do It

By Kurt Naulaerts

In today's virtual world the spam or unwished-for messages is a real issue. It appears the spammers are using autoresponders to do their dirty work. This is bad for everyone who uses an autoresponder with good motives. Their messages are commonly understood as spam making the owner wonder what's wrong at times. Sometimes a user may also ask why their messages are blocked or reported as spam.

The autoresponders do their job and respond to valid emails indiscriminately. Spam messages are usually forged and they seem to be from a third party. If an autoresponder receives a forged message they are going to send misdirected e-mails. That is how an autoresponder can become a spam source itself and its messages are blocked or reported. Many times users don't know how to notice if this begins to happen or to handle it.

The common autoresponder is a simple program designed for standard email users to tell their contacts if the user is available to answer a certain query or just to send the preset message. These messages are sometimes sent to incorrect folk and that is how spam is born. How are you able to fix that? It's reasonably simple. Just stop using this kind of autoresponder and answer the mail yourself for the transitory period. If you're too busy to answer the emails yourself you'll have to hire someone for the moment.

A big problem in the spam world is the "misdirected bounces." If a mail server takes a message and can't deliver it, it will send a bounce mail to the original sender but often this message will be misdirected. How can you fix that? Upgrade or configure the mail server in a way to avoid this problem. You can do this by setting your software to reject the message or accept it permanently. Don't let it make the choice of delivery for you after the software received the message.

Usually the autoresponders are sending messages to their mailing list, but without authorization. The people who receive these messages consider them unsolicited and therefore spam. If you've got a mail sever you must consider these changes because today's spam is a problem. Lots of mail servers have been blacklisted due to spam issues. Fortunately there are methods to prevent your autoresponder from changing into a spam tool. By doing some research online you'll discover new methods that are developed daily. If you actually don't wish to become a spammer the last choice is to stop using an autoresponder, because these programs do an excellent job.

Spam is a huge issue when it comes to Internet advertising. If at any moment you're leery of what you're doing, you can always talk to a professional who can advise you in the right path. Autoresponders were created to ease the life of busy pros but unfortunately used for the incorrect purpose can taint their good use. Do some research and always be a defensive consumer. Know what you are purchasing before you do buy it. - 31837

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