Reporting Spam to ZSD

ZSD has a service for reporting spam. Users can send spam that they have received to a special spam reporting address as described below. We use these messages in our efforts to improve our anti-spam filters.

Spam Reporting Address

ZSD provide an e-mail address to which users can send reports of spam. This address is "spam@zsd.co.za". Please note the following with regards to spam reports:

* We need the Full Internet Headers of the offending messages. Without these headers your reports will just be deleted. Instructions on how to report spam with full internet headers are below.

* Please do not send spam reports to any other address at ZSD. If they don't get bounced by our anti-spam filters, they just clog up our ticketing sytems. Invariably the full headers get lost and we end up deleting them anyway.

* If you want to bring a spam problem to our attention, please submit samples of the spam, as described below, then send an e-mail support@zsd.co.za describing the problem and mentioning that sample spam has been sent to our reporting system.

* Please do not send mail, other than spam reports, to our spam report address.

How to Report Spam with Full Internet Headers

In order for ZSD to use your spam for updating our filters we need to be able to see the "Internet Headers" of the reported messages. These are usually lost when forwarding a message. Different mail clients have different means of forwarding messages, with all of the headers. The following one works with most modern desktop mail clients:

1. Set the size of your e-mail program so that it is not "maximized'. Ie it only occupies a portion of your desktop, not the whole desktop. It should also not be "mimimized" - ie not just an icon in your task bar.
2. Open your "inbox" where the offending spam message is listed.

3. Create a new blank message. Address it to "spam@zsd.co.za". You should also put something descriptive in the subject line. The size of the new message window should also occupy just part of your desktop.

4. Drag the spam message from your inbox over the new message that you have created. The message should be added as an attachment to the new message. This attachment will be sent with all the internet headers.
5. Repeat the above for additional spam messages as required.
6. Send the final message to ZSD.

Spam reports filtered by ZSD's spam filters

The spam reporting address is white listed from ZSD's spam filters. However it is not white listed from our anti-virus filters. Thus the mail should be accepted by ZSD, even though it contains obvious spam. However sometimes our anti-virus filters pick up messages that are actually "spam" not "viruses". This is an unavoidable side effect. However if you pick up this problem on regular, recurring basis, please forward the bounce message to ZSD so that we can investigate.

as expamples of

samples of these messages

Messages sent to this address will be used internally by ZSD's anti-spam filters to "learn" about new spam. They will also be reported to a number of services run by 3rd parties on the internet who use these messages to provide spam blocking services to ISP's and independent users on the Internet, world wide.

In to report a spam message, with all of its headers, please follow the correct instructions for your e-mail program below. Once you have created the message please forward it to spam@zsd.co.za.