DCANet's working definition for "spam" is "unwanted and/or unsolicited e-mail messages, often sent in large quantities." Spam often, but not always, consists of some type of advertising or marketing scheme. Oftentimes, a spammer may attempt to hide his or her identity by using "stealth" software, relaying through innocent third parties, and employing various methods to disguise the source and, in some cases, the URL of the web site being advertised.

Our view on spam

Sending unsolicited mail, whether it is of an advertising nature or not, is explicitly prohibited by DCANet's Acceptable Use Policy. DCANet customers who send mail that DCANet considers to be spam may receive a warning, have their access revoked, and/or have their accounts cancelled at our discretion.

What DCANet does to block spam

A DCANet customer found sending spam will immediately lose the privilege of access to DCANet's mail (SMTP) servers until the customer speaks with our help desk.

Inbound mail is also filtered to prevent the inflow of spam. DCANet currently utilizes the services of SpamCop to determine what inbound mail should be blocked. DCANet reserves the right to change, modify, or supplement these filters without advance notice. These filters block some, but not all, inbound spam. If a customer receives unsolicited mail which is unwanted, additional filters can be put in place on an as-needed per-user basis. Such customers are encourage to contact our help desk to inquire about additional spam filters.

How to request filter removal

If a customer has trouble receiving legitimate e-mail because of DCANet's use of spam filters, the customer may contact our help desk to request that an exception be made. In general, the help desk will need to see a copy of the error message and the original mail message's mail headers in order to be able to make a filter exception.

Customers with a DCANet-registered domain name (e.g. you@yourcompany.com) may choose to have all filters removed by contacting our help desk. Customers who use an e-mail address of the form username@dca.net cannot have filters removed at this time.

Customer-operated SMTP servers

DCANet periodically scans its network and monitors for DCANet customers that operate SMTP mail servers. Customers found knowingly or unknowingly operating an SMTP server which allows arbitrary mail relaying ("open SMTP relay") may have their internet access and/or mail server interrupted. Such interruptions may include implementing an IP packet filter or other remedy to close the SMTP relay even if such access prevents the customer from receiving future SMTP mail. DCANet will make an effort to contact the customer via telephone or e-mail prior to taking such action; however, such contact is not guaranteed. It is the responsibility of the customer to contact DCANet to discuss a suitable long-term remedy. Customers are encouraged to visit mail-abuse.org to learn more about open SMTP relays.

Our Commitment to Privacy

DCANet will not and has never sold, lent, or otherwise provided DCANet customer e-mail addresses to outside advertisers or marketers. For full information on DCANet's privacy policy, see our online privacy statement.