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Mailshell Extends Its Free Anti-Spam
Service to Protect Users From Any Source of Junk Email
Email 'Caller ID' Guarantees Unsubscribe Requests
SANTA CLARA, CA - July 9, 2001 - Mailshell,
the free service that prevents junk email, today launched
a major enhancement to its service that makes managing email
relationships and preventing junk email easier than ever
before.
Mailshell users can now choose a custom email domain name
to create unique, spam-free email addresses wherever they
go. For example, a user can enter amazon@(personal domain).com
for an account with Amazon, ebay@(personal domain).com when
using eBay, or give out family@(personal domain).com for
family-related email. Incoming email is forwarded to the
user's private email address or saved on Mailshell's Web-based
email system, whichever the user prefers.
Mailshell's patent-pending technology acts like a 'Caller
ID' system for email so people can 'unsubscribe' from any
list, person or company at any time. By creating a unique
email identity for each party with whom they do business,
Mailshell users can automatically recognize the sender of
commercial email. If users don't like what they receive,
they can simply unsubscribe by checking a box.
Among the best ways of preventing junk email is to treat
an email address like a credit card number, revealing it
rarely and judiciously. To help users subscribe wisely,
Mailshell offers a detailed directory of more than 100,000
of the Internet's best email newsletters, offers and services.
Mailshell highlights, organizes, reviews and provides samples
of each so users are properly informed before subscribing.
Mailshell does not share the user's private email address
with anyone. Instead, it serves as a middleman between users
and their various email relationships, signing users up
with an alias to protect their privacy.
Mailshell's new feature lets users enjoy this same level
of protection when sending or receiving email from any list,
newsletter or person even if it is not currently listed
in the Mailshell directory, essentially making Mailshell
protection portable.
"Most people either can't find the newsletters or
content they want, or can't easily unsubscribe from things
they no longer want,'' said Tonny Yu, founder and CEO of
Mailshell. "You can spend hours sending emails, visiting
Web sites and filling out forms anytime you want to be removed
from a list.
"Since anyone who already has your email address can
send you anything they want at any time for any reason,
even if you're eventually able to unsubscribe from one list,
spammers may already have sold your email address to other
spammers.''
The process is similar to the old trick in which magazine
subscribers enter a different middle initial on magazine
subscription forms to track the source of resulting junk
mail and telemarketing phone calls. Some email users employ
a similar tactic by creating new free email addresses when
their existing email box becomes overwhelmed with spam.
Mailshell makes this ad hoc process explicit, simple and
manageable. The service can also automatically unsubscribe
users from a list after a specified period of time. This
allows users to try a list or service for a few days.
"The best way to prevent junk email is to use a new
email address every time you're asked for your email address,''
added Yu. "Mailshell makes this simple, easy and free.''
The service is free to users and the company charges marketers
for long-term subscribers and sales leads. Companies pay
Mailshell for each user that opts-in for a product or service.
By providing samples and reviews of commercial email content,
Mailshell efficiently matches commercial email senders to
recipients, enabling a more targeted exchange of information.
Users have the freedom to receive only the content to which
they wish to subscribe, while senders have the confidence
of knowing they are gaining the attention of an interested,
qualified audience.
Mailshell was recently dubbed "priceless'' by Forbes
magazine and among "the best ways to organize your
email'' and "the best ways to stop spam'' by The Wall
Street Journal. In an effort to promote a sustainable infrastructure
for commercial email, Mailshell created and advocates 10
'mailrights' (http://mailrights.mailshell.com)
designed to balance the needs of email users and marketers.
Mailshell was founded in January 1999. The company is based
in Santa Clara, with an additional office in San Francisco.
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Contact:
Stefan Pollack, The Pollack PR Marketing Group, (310) 556-4443, spollack@ppmgcorp.com
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