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SMTP is what you must know before anything else. How often do you get email messages sent to invalid addresses or bounced back because they did not match the correct recipient address? This problem is commonly known as mail loopback or spamtrap failure. What does this mean and why should I care?
SMTP Server
The sender of an email message has the option to specify which IP address will be used for delivery, usually to block it from being delivered by your provider’s SMTP server. If the message bounces back to the sender with a complaint about an incorrect address then he may choose to use another IP address. A common practice among spammers is to send emails containing viruses, spyware, etc. to non-existent, invalid, or wrong addresses so that these items are installed on the victim’s system without their knowledge. In other cases, a valid address can receive unwanted emails such as SPAM, E-Mails advertising fake products, etc. Some ISPs provide free services for sending bulk mail, but others charge fees for this service.
Messaging
When you forward a message to a friend, you can specify his/her proper address as the intended receiver. However, if the original message was sent to an invalid address, it could bounce back and end up in your friend’s mailbox instead. Your friend will see this message in his inbox and might assume that something is interesting in it. He may decide to read it and click on some link in the content, thus exposing himself to malware infections. To prevent this situation, make sure that all possible recipients have valid email addresses before forwarding the message.
SPAMTRAPS
Spamtraps are devices set up by spammers that try to fool people into believing that they received spam when they did not. For example, a spam trap may appear to be a web page designed to look like any reputable website. It however contains code that sends out emails whenever anyone clicks on an ad. These traps are very effective because most people will simply delete them without reading what they contain. Another form of trap is a list of bogus names that appears to be a mailing list but is just a collection of useless email addresses. Spammers can also place their domain name on an innocent person’s computer, making it think that an email came from someone who wants to communicate with him/her when it did not.
Many users consider emailing themselves to be rude behavior. But there is no way to tell whether an email is coming from yourself or not, especially if you’re using a generic address such as [email protected].
Emailing and other protocols
Email protocols allow you to reply directly to a message without having to go through various folders first. You don’t want to miss important information that comes along with an email that did not reach its destination because it was sent to the wrong address.
Sometimes, messages arrive at their destination even though the user does not wish to receive them. This happens when the recipient uses automatic filters to filter out unsolicited messages. It is better to use manual filtering than to rely on automatic ones. Email has become the primary method for communicating between businesses and consumers worldwide. Therefore, it is essential to protect your company’s reputation and brand image. Companies spend millions of dollars each year on spam prevention programs and often resort to lawsuits. Unfortunately, spammers are becoming more ingenious in their methods and technology. Many companies only succeed in protecting their reputations after suffering a significant loss due to damage caused by malicious software.
IP Addresses and ISP
There are several online tools available that help you block incoming emails based on different criteria, such as IP addresses. An ISP can perform similar functions, but it requires a fairly sophisticated setup. You should avoid giving away sensitive information over email. Even if the message ends up in the trash folder, it can easily be accessed by someone else if he chooses to retrieve it from there.
Conclusion
Sending a large number of email messages at once is considered bad etiquette. If you send 25+ messages to one recipient within five minutes, chances are good that someone will notice and complain. I hope you now know about SMTP and what SMTP is all about.