Spam Policy
It is a Violation of PowerNet Global's Usage Agreement to send Spam.
If the spammer is a customer of PowerNet Global, we will take action.

How to Set up Filters in Outlook Express (To Delete Spam)

This is a recipe for exploitation, and you are the target. All an advertiser has to do is obtain your e-mail address – after that, he can spam you again and again.

Definition of Spam
A "spam" e-mail is generally defined as an unsolicited mailing or posting (News Groups), usually to many people. A message written for, and mailed to, one individual that is known to the sender is not spam, and a reply to an e-mail is not spam, unless the "reply" repeats endlessly.

Spam e-mailers have become a separate part of the Internet, with their own host computers, methods, and politics. Many Internet sites have begun to forbid spamming, for several reasons – one is a sense that it is unethical, another is that, over time, other Internet sites will stop all e-mail from that site and thus prevent legitimate e-mail from getting through. As a result, spammers have begun to set up their own Internet sites -- sites that cater to, or encourage, spamming.

Rules of the Spam game

Your goal as an Internet user is to figure out a way to separate legitimate e-mail from spam. There are several ways to do this. One way, is to set up your mail service so that known spammers are not allowed to deposit mail in your account. This method relies on knowing (1) the return e-mail address of the spammer, or (2) the name of the spammer's host computer.

The spammer's goal is to get around your filtering methods. He can do this by (1) using a different e-mail address for each mailing, or (2) he can forward his e-mail by way of an intermediary, to conceal the actual origin. The second of these methods is often used without the knowledge or permission of the intermediary, and it usually results from an error in configuration

Because it is very easy to simply create a new return address for each of millions of e-mails, filtering by way of return address is only effective when dealing with small-scale, amateur spammers. As a result, many sites simply block all e-mail from a particular spammer-friendly site. What this means is, if you have an account with a site that also welcomes spammers, your e-mail will sometimes not get through. This is why Internet sites are gradually splitting into two classes -- those that welcome spammers and have no normal users, and those that aggressively stop spamming from their sites to protect their legitimate users.

Spam Do's and Dont's
Never respond to a spam e-mail. For a spammer, one "hit" among thousands of mailings is enough to justify the practice. Instead, if you want a product that is advertised in a spam e-mail, go to a Web site that also carries the product, inquire there, and tell them you do not approve of spam methods and will not patronize a company that uses spammers.

Never respond to the spam e-mail's instructions to reply with the word "remove." This is just a trick to get you to react to the e-mail -- it alerts the sender that a human is at your address, which greatly increases its value. If you reply, your address is placed on more lists and you receive more spam.

Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists. These sites are of two kinds: (1) sincere, and (2) spam address collectors. The first kind of site is ignored (or exploited) by the spammers, the second is owned by them -- in both cases your address is recorded and valued more highly because you have just identified it as read by a human.

Never mail-bomb spam sites or engage in hacking to stop spammers. This only increases the amount of wasted Internet traffic, creates sympathy for spammers, and makes the Internet even less reliable than it already is.

How to alert a site that they are hosting a spammer

If you are writing to a legitimate site, they will usually have a special address (abuse@sitename.com) set up to deal with the problem. They may thank you for writing and ask for more information (such as the e-mail header, which shows the actual path the e-mail took through the Internet). If you are writing to a spam-friendly site, chances are they will not write back, or they will reply with a justification of their practices, or (in some cases) they will simply place your address in their master list of victims (this happened to me).

Be aware that, if the spammer is using forwarding, you may end up writing a complaint to an innocent Internet site that was exploited by the spammer. If this happens, you may want to alert that site that their e-mail server is configured incorrectly and should be reconfigured.

How to identify a Spammer

There are many different ways to find the spammer's actual identity. Simply look at the e-mail header, find the source
host name (this may take practice because spammers try to hide the actual host name) or address and type it into a "Whois" utility or the Whois webpage or here. Or, if you are comfortable using a UNIX shell and have this kind of access, you can issue the Whois command from there.

Do not rely on the e-mail's return address. This is much too easy to fake. The other information in the e-mail header is more useful and more likely to lead to the actual sender.

If you are reporting a violation of a non- PowerNet Global user, please send the report to the internet service provider that provides service to the user. Only the perpetrator's Internet Service Provider can take action against the sender.

It is a Violation of PowerNet Global's Usage Agreement to send Spam.
If the spammer is a customer of PowerNet Global, we will take action.

For corrections and updates email support@pngusa.net