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Safe And Reliable E-Mailing Advice

Due to increasing level of spam on e-mail systems worldwide, many e- mail delivery systems now employ filtering rules in order to control the volume of unwanted mail, so called spam. In such a hostile world, it is advisable to follow some basic rules in order to make sure that your e-mail gets to its destination safely while at the same time making sure that you are not swamped by many unwanted and unsolicited e-mails, so called spam, sent to your e-mail box. We will attempt here to give you some basic guidelines on safe e- mailing to reduce the chance that your e-mail will get blocked or thrown away. You should seriously consider the following:
  1. Avoid inserting a picture inside your e-mail such as by copying and pasting. If you really must send a picture then attach the picture to the e-mail.
  2. Make sure your mail servers are not listed in blacklists.
  3. Avoid developing your e-mail as an HTML message. In many e-mail programs including Outlook Express and Pegasus Mail, you can choose to send your e-mail in either TEXT or HTML format. It is safer to set this to TEXT. If you need to send a formatted document then use a clean attachment.
    To learn how to set-up your e-mail program to be sending e-mail in TEXT format, click on the e-mail program that you use: See your support team for more details or if you are not sure.
  4. Avoid putting your SUBJECT in all capital letters. Many viruses, worms and such like devices including unscrupulous spammers use subjects in all caps, to attract attention.
  5. Avoid starting your e-mail with "Dear Somebody"
  6. Avoid sending to a long cc or carbon copy list. It is likely that at least one address in such a list will be offensive to a mail gateway. Use a discussion list or distribution list instead. You can create your own distribution list in your e-mail program like in Outlook Express, Pegasus Mail etc.
  7. If you construct your e-mails from other programs, such as a company program that sends out bills to your clients or sends out statements from a bank, then make sure that your program sends out clean text messages with valid attachments and headers. Programms that try to immitate others usually send out e-mail that risk being tagged as spam e.g. for posing as Outlook. You risk your domain or server being blacklisted if you send out bulk suspicious e-mails.
We will continue to develop this list so that you are aware of the risks. Many of us now find e-mail to be the most convenient way to send information and messages. However this attraction is what spammers also find attractive. It is in your interest that you develop reliable and safe e-mailing techniques so that your messages do not look like you are a spammer. Remember, unwanted e-mail or spam volume on the Internet now accounts for much more than valid e-mails. It is in your interest that you remain safe in this hostile environment.

Malawi SDNP employs the latest spam technology to protect your mail box. We try harder to make sure your e-mails get through but cut out as much of the unwanted ones as we can from getting to your mail box. However, this is like chasing a fast moving target as spammers also try to keep always one step or so ahead.

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