Canadians Don’t “Get” Spam
Canadians Don’t “Get” Spam
Anti-spam efforts becoming more effective with up to 2.4 billion unsolicited messages blocked from Hotmail e-mail accounts daily – but frustrated consumers unsure how to better manage the influx of junk, according to MSN.CA poll
| Français
TORONTO, ON, May 7, 2003 — Although significant measures are being taken to prevent junk e-mail – for example, MSN™ announced today that its Hotmail® e-mail service blocks up to 2.4 billion spam messages – consumers are confused about how to manage the spam they do receive and keep it from being a daily nuisance, according to poll results released today by MSN.CA. The online poll of 1,600 Canadians aged 18 and older was conducted between March 19 and 25, 2003 among visitors to MSN.CA by OpenVenue e-Research Solutions.
The poll results indicate that the majority of consumers understand where spam comes from: for example, 85% of respondents identified that spam originates from companies paid to send out mass e-mails. However, the measures Canadians are currently taking to eliminate spam indicate there is still a lack of knowledge about how to manage junk mail and prevent it from piling up in e-mail inboxes.
Nearly a quarter of Canadians polled (23%) reply to spam e-mails with a request to be taken off the mailing list. Replying to spam only reaffirms that the e-mail account is an active address and ensures the user will be a target for future spam mailings. In addition, 42% of Canadians polled do not know who to contact to report spam and 78% have never reported spam to their Internet service providers. Most Internet service providers and free web-based e-mail providers encourage users to report spam abuse and concerns. The MSN® Hotmail service, for example, has an e-mail address, abuse@hotmail.com, where users can send information about spam e-mail they have received.
Quite simply, many of the Canadians polled (22%) feel that spam is something they have to live with.
“While it may be difficult to completely eliminate spam, there are ways to be smart about managing it,” says Jill Schoolenberg, Director of Marketing, MSN.CA. “There are a number of resources available to consumers that can help them reduce the amount of spam they receive.”
In addition to reporting spam activity to the appropriate technology providers, there are other ways Canadians can be proactive about reducing the amount of spam they receive. A number of junk mail filters are available that allow varying degrees of spam protection. Some web-based e-mail providers, such as MSN Hotmail, offer Enhanced or Exclusive settings that block unwanted senders or enable users to identify the specific e-mail addresses from which they will accept messages.
Recently the industry has taken aggressive steps to stamp out spam. In late April, America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced a commitment to work together and with other industry stakeholders to help fight spam. Companies are also developing technologies that will be more effective at intercepting spam before it reaches a user’s inbox. For example, spam-blocking technology developed by Microsoft Research has a “smart” junk mail filter that can be trained to recognize the types of messages the user considers to be spam, thus customizing the spam filter to individual preferences. The more the software is used, the more intelligent the filter becomes, blocking more and more unwanted messages from the inbox. The Microsoft Research filter is available through the MSN 8 service, MSN’s Internet subscription service.
“The key to managing spam is a combination of using the right technology and being proactive about stopping spam,” says MSN.CA’s Schoolenberg. “By following a few simple steps, Canadians can save themselves the hassle of unwanted messages.”
Steps consumers can take to avoid spam include:
•
Do NOT open or respond to junk e-mail by replying or even following an "unsubscribe" link in unsolicited e-mail. Responding to unsolicited mail only confirms that you have a live address and could open you up to further solicitation and scams that can clog your e-mail Inbox.
•
For Hotmail e-mail users, "block" abusive senders and report spam e-mail to abuse@hotmail.com
•
Do not use your e-mail address when participating in chat room conversations.
•
Invest in intelligent online software, such as MSN 8, that can block unwanted messages.
•
Carefully review all user agreements when signing up for online newsletters, shopping online, banking online, etc. to ensure that your e-mail address will not be shared with other organizations.
About MSN.CA
MSN.CA is a leading Canadian Web portal with 9.7 million*** unique monthly visitors. Its suite of online services delivers news, information, entertainment, and a variety of communication tools including MSN® network of Internet services, Hotmail® web-based e-mail service and MSN® Search. MSN.CA also provides such high-quality interactive services as MSN® Messenger, MSN® Extra Storage, MSN® 8, MSN® Shopping, MSN® Web Communities and many more for the Microsoft® Windows® operating system. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.MSN.CA.
About Microsoft Canada Co.
Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Co. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq "MSFT") the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both French and English. Microsoft Canada is headquartered in Mississauga, with MSN.CA offices located in Toronto and eight regional offices across the country dedicated to empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Visit Microsoft Canada's web site at www.microsoft.ca.
(c) 2003 Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, Hotmail, MSN, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
October 21, 2004 at 07:32 AM in Spam | Permalink
| TrackBack (33)
| Top of page
| Blog Home
