The Internet is flooded with soliciting eMail messages distributed to millions of eMail addresses. These messages are known as "SPAM" or "UCE" (unsolicited commercial eMail). Spammers fill your mailboxes with a huge amount of unwanted messages, not only overloading the Internet and your Server resources, but making mail retrieval very slow and difficult for you. To prevent unauthorized spam, LA Servers employs a Spam Tagging System, which once activated, utilizes many filtering methods to filter offending eMail. See our Unacceptable eMail Use Policy Guidance here.

If you're looking for a good spam blocking program that runs on your PC and works with Outlook and Outlook Express (free and paid versions are available), check out SPAMfighter.

A lot of spam can be prevented. Click here to find out ways to reduce the amount of spam you receive.

Click here to find out how to add a filter to your computer's email program to catch most spam messages that aren't caught by our Spam Tagging System.

Access your Email Account's Spam controls by logging into your control panel, clicking on "Email Administration", and clicking on "Webmail" next your Email account's name. Once in Webmail, click on "Configuration" and find the Spam Filtering control.

What our Spam Tagging System does
Once activated, our Spam Tagging System checks all eMails against it's many filtering methods and flags any eMails that it believes to be spam, changing the Subject line of suspect eMails to "[SPAM-TAG]" and includes the original subject. At least at first, we suggest that you receive the spam eMails, just to make sure our Spam Tagging System is not mistakenly flagging any non-spam eMails. You can easily set up an eMail program filter to transfer any eMails with the Subject containing [SPAM-TAG] to a separate SPAM eMail box for easy viewing/deletion. (See your eMail program's instructions on how to set a SPAM mailbox and a filter to transfer messages into this SPAM mailbox with the subject of [SPAM-TAG] )

Ater you have used spam filtering for a few weeks (suggested), you can login to your control panel and set up a Custom Filter to delete the [SPAM-TAG] eMails directly from the mail server and not receive them any longer. Please note that no spam catching software will catch 100 percent of spam eMails and once we start deleting your spam at the server level, there is the possibility that a valid eMail (false positive) will get flagged as spam and not be delivered to you.

Acceptable client eMail may be flagged as [SPAM-TAG] if the sending host has been blacklisted by multiple RBLs. These misdirected messages are called false positive eMails.

What are Blacklists and Whitelists?
Your eMail account's "Blacklist" is a specific list of spam senders that you DO NOT want to receive any eMail from. Your eMail account's "Whitelist" is a specific list of valid eMail senders whose eMails to you are currently being flagged as SPAM and you wish to receive eMail from them not flagged as SPAM.

How do I add a spammer to my email account's Blacklist?
If our Spam Tagging System has been activated on your eMail account and you receive spam eMail without [SPAM-TAG] in the eMail subject and you do not want to receive future eMail from this sender, login to your control panel and add this email address to your email account's blacklist.

How do I add a valid sender to my email account's Whitelist?
If our Spam Tagging System has been activated on your eMail account and you receive a valid eMail flagged as [SPAM-TAG] and you want to continue to receive eMail from this sender, login to your control panel and add this email address to your email account's whitelist.

How do I find the full eMail headers in an eMail?
Outlook Express
To get the header information that 'came' with the eMail, highlight the eMail in the box and 'right click' on it. Down at the bottom of that popup menu, left click on "Options". This displays the 'full header information' with the IP number and other information needed.

Eudora
In Eudora in order to display full headers you first double-click on the message in question so that it opens. When you do this, it presents the body of the message with an editable subject bar at the top. Left of the subject bar are four action buttons. Place your mouse arrow over the third button (from left to right), and it presents to you the phrase...."Show All Headers" or "Blah Blah" on older versions. Click on it and the regular header at the top of your message window below expands into the full header.

Other eMail programs will have similar methods of displaying the full headers. Consult your eMail program's HELP menu for instructions on how to display full eMail headers.

No Spam Policy: Acceptable Use Policy on UCE (Unsolicited Commerce eMail)
We at LA Servers hate spam as much as you do! Accordingly, we have added anti-spamming software to our eMail servers to eliminate it and can optionally activate that capability for our clients. We want to aid our clients in complying with the spam policy to protect themselves, our other clients, LA Servers, and Internet users at large. Our clients are expected to have an understanding of what constitutes spam. If they do not, they are expected to research the topic online. A good starting place is http://spam.abuse.net/. Please contact us if you have any questions before embarking on an eMail advertising campaign. Violators of this philosophy will have their web hosting accounts immediatly terminated.

Unacceptable eMail Use Policy Guidance
Spamming, the sending of mass unsolicited eMail from or through a LA Servers server or using an eMail address that is maintained on a LA Servers web server, is STRICTLY prohibited. Clients are also in violation of this provision if they engage in spamming using the service of another ISP or IHP, but reference in the spam a Web site hosted on the LA Servers network or LA Servers eMail address, or if they sell or distribute software on their web site that facilitates spamming. Violators will face immediate web hosting account suspension. LA Servers will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of this provision.

Should LA Servers receive a spam complaint, a notice is sent to the owner of the domain and the domain's mail and website will be immediately terminated. The site will remain offline until an acceptable response is received and the incident is cleared.

Important Note
Please understand that eMail is intended for 1:1 communication, not broadcast. Sending unsolicited mail messages, including the sending of "junk mail" or other advertising material, to individuals who did not specifically request such material, who were not previous customers of the Client or with whom the Client does not have an existing business relationship is spamming and is strictly prohibited.

Verifiable Opt-In List
Proof that an eMail address did in fact opt-in can be a log excerpt or a copy of the returned, eMailed confirmation. There must be proof of a two-way, secure confirmation. This must include IPs and datestamps for two stages - both a signup and a confirmation. Here are some links that will serve as a starting place if you want to send out the same eMail to a large number of addressees.
http://spam.abuse.net/faq/
http://spam.abuse.net/marketerhelp/
http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/167.html

How do I activate our Spam Tagging System on my LA Servers hosted eMail account(s)?
Simply login to Webmail and click the "Spam Tagging Disabled" icon and it will change to Enabled.

What should I do on my end once our Spam Tagging System has been activated on my LA Servers hosted eMail account(s)?

1. Create a new eMail box called (i.e.) "SPAM" in your eMail program.
2. Create an eMail filter to transfer any eMails with the Subject containing [SPAM-TAG] into this eMail box.

That's it! Now all eMails with [SPAM-TAG] in their Subject will automatically be transferred into your newly created SPAM eMail box for easy viewing/deletion. NOTE: See your eMail program's instructions on how to set a SPAM mailbox and a filter to transfer messages into this SPAM mailbox with the subject of [SPAM-TAG] .

How to add a filter to your computer's email program to catch most spam messages that aren't caught by our Spam Tagging System.

Spammers are continuosly looking for ways to outsmart Spam eliminating programs. No Spam program can catch 100% of all spams. We're sure that a few spam emails still slip through the cracks even though Spam Tagging catches most spams.

By nature, spammers send email through email servers mostly located out of the U.S. (Spam laws are lax or non-existant in many other countries) Plus, spammers usually make the spams LOOK like they came from a random generated user@some-domain.com, even though viewing the spam email's full header will show where the spam REALLY originated).

The Filters
Filters can be set up to trash (I.E.) "all emails with Rolex in the subject" and so forth.