How does it happen?  Spammers fake the "headers" on their less-than-desirable emails, so they may be using your address as the sender of the message.  When spammers use your email address as the sender, you receive messages from the System Administrator account telling you that your message did not reach the intended recipient.  You did not send this message, but the recipient’s email server thinks you did.  And after receiving hundreds of thousands of email from you to random users on their network, they report your company as a spammer to a universal blacklist!

Because you are now on a universal blacklist, you will start receiving "undeliverable" notices for legitimate emails you send telling you that your message could not be delivered because your email server has been blacklisted.  This now affects everyone within your organization that tries sending email to this company (or any company that uses that particular universal blacklist to manage their spam).

What can you do to "clear your name" and be able to get your emails through to customers and vendors?  You need to remove your domain name from the blacklist that is blocking you.  We have been using a free tool at http://mxtoolbox.com/ where you simply enter your domain name (like ‘copelanddata.com’) right on the home page.  The records returned have a "Blacklists" button that will show who is blocking you.  Clicking the name of the blacklist will provide instructions on how to remove your domain name from that particular blacklist.  All but a few of these are free and are as easy as clicking a "Remove Me" button.  Results are not immediate, but your blacklist entry may be cleared in a few days.  If you are blacklisted, please give this procedure a try.  If the blacklist entry is more stubborn in its ability to release your domain, please get our involvement so we can help you out with the removal of these more difficult blacklist entries.

Just one of the uglier sides of the web is SPAM, or unwanted emails – sent to us to try to sell us something or damage our internal systems.

While server-based software was once able to effectively control incoming SPAM, over time it loses its effectiveness.  The rules change daily, as spammers work very, very hard and are using very sophisticated techniques to get SPAM through your filters and to your Inbox.  At the same time, hackers are working equally as hard, each and everyday, to get virus-laden emails through to your desktop.  The SPAM and virus game has proven to be very dynamic, and no single piece of software on your server can combat this ever-changing game.

How do we, as business owners, solve this problem once and for all so we can go back to being effective at our desktops once again?  The solution to this problem is to have all email that comes into your organization managed by a service that specializes in these problems.

A business called POSTINI is all about Integrated Message Management.  They serve over 35,000 businesses, 8.6 million end-users and 3.5 Billion email messages each and every week!

The way this works is as follows:

Since POSTINI is a service and not a product, there are no up-front costs nor long term contractual commitments.  You pay a fee for each mailbox, per month, usually at a cost below $2/user/month.

POSTINI has proven to be cost effective and technically sound.  If you would like to nail the problem of SPAM and VIRUS activity via Email once-and-for-all, please contact us so we can discuss how POSTINI can work in your organization.  Also, please check out POSTINI at www.postini.com.  CDS is now an affiliate partner for POSTINI, as we now sell and support their services.

Company Spotlight:

	A conference room integrated by Crest AV and configured for today’s world.

Crest A/V Electronics, Inc. is a distributor of audio, visual and electronic equipment located near downtown Buffalo, New York. Crest has been in operation since 1989 and has experienced rapid growth ever since.  Initially, they mainly serviced the television repair and CCTV industries, selling television picture tubes and antenna products.  As technology changed and their reputation grew, opportunities arose for them to venture out of the electronic components ring and into the world of A/V electronics.  Now, Crest caters to the consumer, professional, commercial, educational, and industrial markets here locally as well as worldwide.

From a small projector for portable PowerPoint presentations to full-blown videoconferencing board rooms, Crest A/V can do it all.  If you want to learn more about how Crest AV can help you with your next presentation, call them at 1-800-CRESTAV or visit their website at www.crestav.com.

Copeland Data Systems has been the IT provider for Crest AV since 1990, supporting their business systems, network infrastructure and website.

Copyright © 2006 Copeland Data Systems, Inc.