Archive for the 'Email' Category
Spam vs. Ham
Akismet is probably one of the best WordPress plugins out there. Since my first installation of Akismet, 14,732 spam comments have been caught and eliminated. Today, Akismet 2.2 was launched and along with the usual bug fixes, came stats. The stats provide you with a graph showing how much spam was caugth per day and a yummy pie chart with spam vs. ham! Personally, I would have called it nifty pie chart, but whatever, this is so geeky; I love it!
Look Out for Domain Renewal Scam
I received a very official looking Domain Name Expiration Notice a little while ago. It looked like the real thing and I might have fallen for it if I hadn’t been (a) wary that the notice was so far in advance of the actual expiry date; and (b) already aware of phantom invoice scams.
Back when I worked in big companies, it was a fairly regular occurrence to get an official-looking invoice for overdue payment that upon closer inspection was fraudulent. Sometimes it was for copier toner, other times for a directory listing or other common supplies. Now the scam has gone high tech.
I believe in knowing what I’m paying for (I prefer not to be described as “cheap” thank you) so I always looked into what I was signing off on. That’s how I uncovered the scam and learned just how persistent and unscrupulous these companies can be.
- The invoices are often to the attention of a former employee
- They always look very official
- There was always a sense of urgency
- The invoices keep coming even if you call the source and confront them
If I was like the many small business owners who do not keep close tabs on their domain name registrations and are too busy to read the fine print, I’d have paid over 4 times what I should have to renew those domain names AND I would have transferred them to a disreputable registrar.
Like spam, the phantom invoice scam must work or it wouldn’t keep appearing. I caution you to keep an eye on your domain names and pay attention to the details.
Gmail for your Domain
Tired of using webmail? Wouldn’t you prefer to use a good search tool like Google to sort through all of your emails? Well now you can with Gmail.
Gmail’s popularity has been growing rapidly since it launched it’s free service. Based on the fact that you shouldn’t have to delete any emails, Gmail has come up with a great email tool and they’ve now extended their experiment to Gmail for your domain. That’s right you can you use Gmail to access your email@yourdomain.com. All you have to do is register with Google and once they give you an account, you can you start using Gmail for free. While this service is still in beta version, Google is only providing 2 gigs of storage per inbox and may not respond to your request right away, but their service is free and very easy to use. Sign up for your Gmail account and take part of their beta test.
Ensuring Email Deliverability
Email marketing is one of the most cost effective medium of promotion. Sending out a newsletter builds client rapport, creates credibility and allows you to sell additional products and services to your existing client base.
The growing concern for spam has resulted in stringent anti-spam filters and strict rules and regulations by email service providers for delivering emails to their users. Thus with these new measures how can you be sure that your newsletter doesn’t end up in the junk filter?
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Protect Yourself from Spam
Email has forever changed the way in which we communicate. Unfortunately, keeping up with the amount of Spam can be frustrating and time consuming. Although there is no easy solution, the following tips can help you fight the Spam arms race.
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Your Own Email Address Increases Credibility
When starting a business everyone knows that you need to spend money on a few things. Letterheads, logo, business cards and a website should all be part of your marketing strategy. Many businesses who don’t have a website choose to use the email provided by their ISP such a gmail, hotmail, shaw or telus.
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