Filtering out unwanted email is necessary in today’s online world. However, some Internet Service Providers seem to take matters a little too far. America Online (AOL) recently adjusted their filtering process (again) to restrict the types of emails its users can receive, but not send.
First off, AOL’s email is very easy to use and a great choice for the novice or infrequent user and can be very helpful for monitoring a child’s Internet safety. The problems arise if you are utilizing email to exchange files and web links, as most business users will have a need for. Other issues can arise from forwarding emails from other addresses and sending “bulk” addressed emails like a distribution list in an Outlook address book.
AOL’s filters allow for some tweaking, but event the most experienced user can be baffled by the filters sometimes-arbitrary selection system. I recently had an email rejected by AOL outright that I sent to a friend who has had the same AOL email account for as long as I can remember. The account I used to send the email has been my primary email account for the past two years. After a few test messages, I found that my business signature, which includes a graphic image and a URL link to my website, were the reason the email was rejected. Some email software, like AOL will strip images from a message and bring it in as an attachment. The attachment is then suspect as a possible virus and the email is rejected.
If your business relies on email to maintain productive communications with clients and partners as many do, utilize a profession email service with POP3 access. This allows you to take advantage of the productivity tools featured in many Email Clients like Microsoft Outlook and most services provide a web-based application as well.
Control over the types of emails one can send and receive is vital to any business. If you are using an AOL account for your business, you may not know what you are missing until it’s too late.
Bit-Wizards Custom Software Solutions provides this information for informational purposes only and does not endorse or recommend the use of any one type of email service or client software.
