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Opt Out Resources

Resources for Opting Out from Telemarketers, Spam 
E-mail and Junk Mail and Some Notes on Security

Эта статья переведена на русский Кариной Шелуденко с Everycloudtech. Український переклад зроблено OpenSourceInitiative (Сандi). See lehekülg on tõlgitud eesti keelde. Ta stran je prevedena v slovenščino. Оваа страница е преведена на македонски јазик.

Introduction

See this Web page as an excellent starting point. Feel free to save and print using printer paper for use later on. It is specific to the state of Minnesota but contains some excellent information applicable for everybody.

http://www.moea.state.mn.us/campaign/junkmail/index.html

Starting with the information above and using some other pages I found the information below.

TelemarketingSign with a line through an icon of a silhouette of a telemarketer.

The National Do Not Call List came into effect as of Friday, Oct. 10, 2003, at 8:00 AM. However this only affected those people who had registered before Sept. 1, 2003.  Those registered on that day or afterward will have to wait three months from the date of their registration before the partial ban on telemarketing calls to their number(s) goes into effect.  You can find the national site here and more detailed information listed at the second address. The third has a little about businesses and the fourth is like this article but in more detail with a long list of additional links. The fifth one contains links to all the state do not call lists:

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/index.html

https://www.contactspace.com/blog/do-not-call-register - also contains international information.

Consumers can also call

1-888-382-1222

toll-free to register for the list.   The Direct Marketers Association is a legitimate association for telemarketers, junk mailers and spam E-mailers.  They have an additional list which you can get on to opt out from all telemarketing done by companies in their association.  It cost $5 for registering online but is free if you mail in a form by US Post.  If you go to the address hit the “REGISTER BY MAIL (Takes Longer)” button, it will generate a form where you can enter your name and address with your computer keyboard.  You can then print out this form and mail it. 

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offtelephonelist.html

Credit Card Offers and Junk Mail Opt-Out

User being overwhelmed with spam coming out of the monitor. There is a phone number which you can call which will allow you to opt out of preapproved credit card offers.  Most credit card companies check with one of the four major Credit Reporting Agencies (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, and Innovis) before making a credit card solicitation.  When you have a decent credit rating you qualify for “preapproved” offers.  There are some credit card offers which are not pre-approved, and calling the number below will not get you out of these.  The four companies have got together and have the one phone number which you can dial to opt out of all the companies sharing your credit information. 

1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688)

You can find out more information below.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

Experian is also a major broker of addresses for physical junk mail.  Calling the phone number below will put you on Experian’s US Mailing Address List Opt-Out Registry.

1-800-228-4571 x4633 

The Polk Company is another large vendor of addresses for physical junk mail.  Calling this number will put you on The Polk Company’s US Mail Address List Opt-Out Registry. 

1-800-464-7655 x6660  

ADVO Inc. is the company which produces the little white advertising fliers with the missing children and their possible alleged abductors.  They are the Mailbox Values, ShopWi$e fliers.  You can call the number below before 4 PM East Coast time to opt out from them.  

1-888-241-6760

Val-Pak Direct Marketing Systems is a coupon mailer.  You can call: this number to opt out from them. They do not operate in all states.

1-800-661-0959 

The address below will instruct you how to get on the opt-out list Direct Marketing Association again.  Please note this is separate from the opt-out E-mail list below and the telemarketer list above.  Again if you want to register online with this opt-out list, it cost $5, but if you send in a physical letter, it is free.

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglistdave

Spam E-mail, Internet Pop-Up Ads and Cookies

Trash can full of spam letters. The Direct Marketing Association also has a Web page which will allow you to register for free on the E-mail opt-out list for companies that are members of their association which advertise by spam E-mail.  You can register up to three E-mail addresses on this list.  This registration is free online unlike their junk mail and telemarketer lists.

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/opt-outform_emps.shtml

This site lets you opt-out of the cookies and also pop-up ads from the infamous DoubleClick (and also out of another one which I haven’t heard of Avenue A, Inc).

http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/what-are-my-options/

Cartoon of leterally a wall on fire next to a computer monitor.Security, Free Firewalls  and Spyware

If you are on the Internet you should be using a Firewall in addition to the Antivirus program you use.  This will prevent hackers from coming in.  Hackers are always scanning all the IP addresses that exist on the Internet, looking for weaknesses.  When you log onto the Internet, whether it is through Dial-Up, DSL, or Cable, you are identified by a unique IP address.  Cable users share an IP address with others in their neighborhood.  When I started using a Firewall on my DSL line, I was surprised to find that users from all over the world were trying to get into my machine about once every 2 minutes (a different user each time).  This was true even though Verizon changes my IP each time I log on.  I use Zone Alarm Pro which has a free version.  It may be a little hard to understand how to use these programs at first but just accept the default conditions, to begin with, and you will be fine.  If the programs do get into your machine, the firewalls will prevent your PC  from being used as a staging ground to launch Denial of Service Attacks against Amazon, E-bay, government Web sites etc.  They can also prevent viruses or worms from using your E-mail program to send E-mails to all addresses in your address book.  Antivirus programs should do the last function also.  Firewalls are a good first line of defense with the antivirus programs being a second line of defense.  You can write me if you have any questions (I’m still learning too).

An introduction to PC security from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_security

You can start downloading Zone Alarm here free for personal use.  It is the easiest for the novice to use.  Note, answer the questions and hit the continue button at the bottom.  On the subsequent page, the free version is all the way to the right (the third one).

https://www.zonealarm.com/software/release-history/zafree.html

The firewall built into Windows is now quite capable and good enough for ordinary use. However, if you want to get the best, buy BitDefender's Internet Security which has also has an antivirus and antispyware built in for about $30.

https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/internet-security.html

On the subject of anti-spyware programs, there are a couple of free good ones.

https://www.superantispyware.com/free-edition.html

https://www.malwarebytes.com/pricing/

Keeping Windows Up to Date

Private eye cartoon dog holding a big magnifier up to his left eye. Finally, it is important to keep up with all the security patches that are issued for Windows.  These days Windows updating is done automatically, although you can manually change this to manually update. Microsoft holds its updates and then updates personal computers Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, so if you are going to pick a time to keep your computer on to keep it up to date, at least do it overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday morning. This is "patch Tuesday" is not every Tuesday, but on the second and sometimes fourth one of the month, so definitely keep your computers on then and attached to the internet. Here is more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Tuesday

Good luck!

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