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spam and spoofing

Ecological Software Solutions LLC owns several domain names, but does not at any time send out unsolicited e-mail, also known as e-mail SPAM, from any of its domains. Ecological Software Solutions LLC sells analytical, GIS and database software and support services for biologists, ecologists and conservation area management and has no other business activities at this time.

Unfortunately, it is very easy for others, who do send out SPAM, to use any of the domains owned by Ecological Software Solutions LLC as the supposed "source" or "reply-to" address for the SPAM. This practice is known as "spoofing" (more...).

Spoofing is criminal behavior, plain and simple. It is both theft of Ecological Software Solutions LLC property (domain names) and represents fraud perpetrated against Ecological Software Solutions LLC. Spoofing is also a method used by some viruses and worms to spread themselves around the Internet. However, surprisingly, SPAM and spoofing are not explicitly illegal in many parts of the world making it difficult or impossible to prosecute. Countries with the weakest laws and regulations are often the most common source of SPAM. A ranking of SPAM producing countries may be found here.

Spoofing e-mail addresses hurts legitimate business. It incorrectly directs anger and frustration at the spoofed business which, while innocent of any wrong doing, may have to spend business time and expenses to address the damage caused by spoofing. In a worse case business that are heavily spoofed can be placed on blacklists, which can effectively injure or destroy a business's online presence.

If you received any e-mail claiming to be from any Ecological Software Solutions LLC domain name please do the following to help reduce the impact to Ecological Software Solutions LLC so it may continue to serve its clients:

1. Forwarding the e-mail you received to your Internet service provider, and state in your e-mail that the domain that sent the e-mail to you has been the victim of spoofing.
   
   
2. Fill out the e-mail form and paste into the Comments field the body and header information of the SPAM you received. The header information tells where the SPAM may have originated. In the unlikely scenario that the SPAM originated from a country with anti-SPAM legislation, the message can be forwarded to legal authorities.
   
   
3. Reduce world wide SPAM by never purchasing from SPAM, whether that SPAM is spoofed or not. SPAM exists because a small number of people actually reply to SPAM, making this practice profitable while annoying the rest of the online planet.
   
   
4. Learn how to protect yourself against SPAM and SPAMMERS. Never open attachments to e-mail from someone you do not know. Be careful not to visit web pages referenced in SPAM messages, especially if they are hosted in certain countires that are SPAM sinks. A good overview of best practices to reduce your SPAM can be found here. To reduce or eliminate spoofed SPAM from any domain name :
   
   
   1. Set your e-mail software to either delete from your mail server mail from addresses that are being spoofed, before you download e-mail if possible, or if not then send such e-mail directly to your trash folder.
      
      
   2. Use a program like "mail washer" or similar to "bounce" SPAM back to the source server.
      
      
   3. For clients of Ecological Software Solutions LLC, do not prevent e-mail from the "ecostats.com" domain so you can still receive normal e-mails.