Prussia.Net » Email

Mailman software to be discontinued

Stilgherrian — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:50:51 +0000

Prussia.Net will cease operating the Mailman mailing list software on 30 September 2011 at 5.00pm Sydney time. If you’re currently using Mailman, we’ll email you early next week to explain the migration plan.

Mailman is getting rather long in the tooth. It’s hard to use, and because it was designed for email-based discussion forums it has never worked very well for email marketing.

Besides, I’d rather not have bulk email sent from our servers, even if it’s not spam. Once Mailman is decommissioned we’ll tighten our terms and conditions regarding bulk email.

I strongly recommend that people use a modern email marketing system. We use Campaign Monitor and recommend it highly.

Spam now 95% of all email

Stilgherrian — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:04:22 +0000

At its peak in the 3rd quarter of 2007, spam reach a new peak of 95% of all email. Our servers continue to identify 70% to 80% of inbound email as spam, so what does get through is only the tip of the iceberg.

The same report says that 8% of all email contains a “blended threat”: links to malicious websites which try to take over your computer, for example.

Spam and be fined — ignorance “no excuse”

Stilgherrian — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:22:51 +0000

Pitch Entertainment Group, which trades as Splash Mobile, has been fined $11,000 for sending commercial text messages without a working unsubscribe facility. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) also fined IMP Mobile $4400 for the same breach.

Pitch included opt-out instructions as soon as they realised they were breaking the law. However, “ignorance of the law is not an acceptable defence”, said ACMA chairman Chris Chapman. “All businesses sending commercial electronic messages must make sure that they and their staff fully understand the requirements of the Spam Act.”

Email subjects: 56 characters

Stilgherrian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:19:22 +0000

If your email’s going to catch someone’s attention, it needs a meaningful subject. Assume the recipient can only see the first 56 characters. That’s one of the tips in Effective Email Subject Lines, a new article at Web Marketing Today.

It’s also worth subscribing to WMT’s free weekly newsletter—or even the paid-for premium edition. We’ll tell you more about that soon.

Warning on “John Howard heart attack” email

Stilgherrian — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:42:18 +0000

An email that’s currently circulating purports to link to news of John Howard surviving a heart attack, but it’s actually malicious software designed to infect your computer. Do not click on the link in the email

Email 72% spam

Stilgherrian — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 21:54:42 +0000

Since we installed new spam filters last week, 72% of received email was identified as spam. 1.6% contained a virus or other malicious software.

The statistics are actually much worse, because that figure represents only 1 attempted email delivery in 35. We reject the other 34 before they’ve even started trying to send email.

So if you think you see a lot of spam, imagine 35 times as much! And imagine how much Internet traffic is “wasted”.

Most of the malicious email was phishing — that is, attempts to fool you into revealing your passwords or credit card details.

If you’re a Prussia.Net Internet hosting client and need assistance filtering spam before you see it, please visit out Support Centre and open a new Ticket under “Hosting Support”.