We have all gotten SPAM email which is unsolicited and often
inappropriate, but it almost always is unwelcome. Ever wonder
how your address got onto a particular email SPAM list? While
some SPAM is attributable to things we sign up for over the
Internet, a increasing amount is due to address harvesting.
Computer programs crawl around the Internet seeking names
to add to SPAM lists. These malicious email harvesters, often
called "robots" or "spiders," search the code of HTML pages
for strings of characters that resemble email addresses. They
then populate databases which are then used to send SPAM email,
or resold to companies who wish to send SPAM.
THE PROBLEM
Let's assume your email address is noone@odu.edu. When we
create a traditional email link on a Web page, the code looks
like this:
<a href="mailto:noone@odu.edu">Linked text</a>
See the email address in that code? The Web
is constantly patrolled by machines that are programmed to look
for the HTML keyword "mailto" and to record the address after
it. Then, your address is added to SPAM databases, and before
you know it you're overrun with the stuff.
THE SOLUTION
We've designed a simple, yet intuitive JavaScript function
that combats the problem of email harvesting. Instead of coding
an email address into a page, using this function builds the
email address on the fly, when the link is clicked. Since
robots can't click on a link and aren't logical thinkers,
it thwarts them. This anti-SPAM function is already integrated
into all of the ODU WWW templates,
but it can be used by any page that is hosted on the www.odu.edu
server.
To integrate the "emailUs" function into your non-template
based Web page, see the information below.
1) This function
sends email to any email address, but the page the "emailUs"
function is called from must be on the www.odu.edu server.
2) Copy-and-paste
the line that begins <script... below into the head of
the HTML document. This is very important.
where you would like to have the email link appear in the body
of the HTML document. Substitute 'oduEmailID' with the part
of the email before the at sign, and change the linked text
("Person's Name" in the example below) as desired. NOTE: the
purpose of this script is defeated if the linked text is set
to the person's email address. Do not delete the single
quote marks!Here's
what this method produces
3b) If you would
like to send email to a non-ODU email address, such as a professor
who wishes to use a personal email address rather than his/her
university-issued one, then the link would look like this:
where 'aol.com' may be substituted for the part of an email
address that appears after the @ sign. Do not delete
the single quote marks!Here's
what this method produces
