Some loser at a non-profit organization (three-letters followed by dot org) decided to add one of my professional email addresses to their email list. This is called “spam.” They had an opt-out method included in the message. So I followed that process. And got an error message back from their mail server. so I fired off a complaint to the technical contact listed on their web site. Same email address. It still doesn’t work. So I complained to their other technical contact.I’d love to blacklist them form my work mail servers, but I can’t. But I can blacklist them from my personal mail server. Idiots.
PromoAudit.com
A new spamhaus: Promoaudit.com. They’ve hit my web site seven times in the last week. Also mentioned in the spam is a company called “FreeSlide.com.” FreeSlide’s web site redirects to a URL at sbase30.com. Other spam I’ve received referencing FreeSlide (going back to March 11, 2004) included references to e-ticket-marketing.com, dealbrick.com, b2c-mail.com, listmx.com, Emsemail1.com, ggoody.com, jumbolia.com, wwww0.com, Majesticfun.com, and mxhs01.net.
Sbase30.com has a link to a “BBB Reliability Program Seal.” That link opens in a new window, where you can’t see the URL. So maybe it isn’t a real BBB Seal? Looking through the page’s source code shows it actually is a real seal, for a company called FreeSlide, also known as subscriberbase.com. They have a privacy policy, but it really doesn’t say anything useful.
How I Seeded my SpamTrap
What is a “SpamTrap?” A spamtrap is simply an email address that is not in active use by a person, and is instead used to collect spam. The usual way to do this is once someone leaves a company, to use their old email address. I do that at work (after I unsubscribe the address from the mailing lists it is on.) but now I also am using the spammer’s tricks against them. They have been spamming addresses that do not (and have never) existed at planetmike. So I simply convert them from my catchall account into my spamtrap account. Makes for a lot less strain on my mail server, as I don’t have to run any spam tests on messages coming into that account. I simply get all of those messages as spam automatically. Today I went through my catchall mailbox and added over 100 addresses to my spamtrap.
Ways to Speed up Download Time
This page gives a fairly obvious list of things to do to speed up your web page.
Branding the Web
An interesting article on Brand Value and the User Experience. And another artilce Brand Experience and the Web.
Address in a graphic is legal?
I wonder if a spammer putting their physical address in a graphic is legal, according to CAN-SPAM. The losers at TimeSavers are putting their mailing address as a graphic image, instead of as text.
More LifeSavers, or LifeSavers direct
More garbage from the losers at LifeSavers direct, now called TimeSavers Direct. I love how they don’t believe that the CAN-SPAM law applies to them. Oh yeah, they are spammers, and spammers don’t have any decency in the first place, that’s why they steal. Why should we (or Congress) expect them to follow the rules?
64.70.20.66 ci5.tmsevrdrt.com
64.70.20.67 smtp3.trdir.com
64.70.20.68 ai7.tmvrt.com
64.70.20.69 zj1.tmdrctt.com
64.70.20.70 yj2.tmsvrdet.com
64.70.20.71xj3.tesvrdct.com
64.70.20.72 wj4.tedrct.com
64.70.20.73 vj5.tesevrdt.com
64.70.20.74 uj6.tevrdir.com
64.70.20.75 tj7.tervrdt.com
64.70.20.76 sk1.tisvrdet.com
64.70.20.77 rk2.tiservrdt.com
64.70.20.78 qk3.tvsredrt.com
64.70.17.66 fg5.tsplntwk.com
64.70.17.67 fg6.tsdntdcet.com
64.70.17.68 fk3.tsdnt.com
64.70.17.69 fo1.trgtspl.com
64.70.17.70 fr7.tntwerksp.com
64.70.17.71 fv5.tegtspecnd.com
64.70.17.72 fz3.tdssnt.com
64.70.17.73 gc6.tdisnets.com
64.70.17.74 gc7.targtspls.com
64.70.17.75 gg4.tagsplntdr.com
64.70.17.76 smtp3.tsndirect.com
64.70.17.77 gk2.targetedspecialsnetwrkdirect.com
64.70.17.78 smtp3.tsndirect.com
Windows ME? OMG!
You may be wondering why I have a Windows Millenium Edition computer at home. Because that’s what came on the computer (Pentium III-733) when I bought it in December 1999. My newer machine I got a few years ago is running Linux (was RedHat, now is Debian). And my next home computer will be a Mac, so that the windows ME computer can also become a Linux machine.
Goodbye Internet Explorer!
I have finally removed Internet Explorer from my ancient Windows ME machine at home. Mozilla Firefox is enjoying its new home.
And why have I taken this bold step? Because the US government told me too. Kinda. See CERT Vulnerability Note VU#713878.
University of Phoenix is desparate
I just got some junk mail from the University of Phoenix. It was sent to me at work, with one the web sites I manage as the company name on the address label. Wow, I am so excited! I can now get my Bachelor’s degree. Wow! I guess my Masters Degree doesn’t count for anything. What a lame company, to manualy scrape web sites looking for recruits, and totally ignoring the facts that were right in front of them. Idiots. Everyone raise your hands if you got your degree through a school you learned about through junk mail.