JUNK EMAIL a.k.a. SPAM

One of largest annoyances today on the Internet is getting junk mail or Spam. The occasional junk mail isn't bad, but sometimes you may get a mailbox full of loan offers, information on how to work at home, stock tips, drug offers and assorted pornography. Basically people looking for your Internet dollars. For the Spammer it costs nothing to send out a million emails, and if 10 people reply and spend some money, it's made it all worth it for them.

There are a few strategies for reducing Spam. You may still get junk mail (spammers will sometimes send massive emails to every possible email address they can think of: georgea@hotmail.com, georgeb@hotmail.com, georgec@hotmail.com, etc.), but at least you can bring it back to manageable levels.

1. The easiest is to not get it in the first place. Most Spam is generated from mailing lists that are compiled from addresses found on web sites, or in directories, or earlier mailing lists where you've given your email address. Not publishing your email address anywhere is the best way to not get Spam. Try to avoid giving your email address to sign up for newsgroups, or to download evaluation software. Don't use your email address as a log in. Discourage others from sending out your email address in large mailing lists. Strongly discourage others from sending you online greeting cards! Part of the reason those services are free is because they get to sell both the email address of the sender and of the recipient.

If your email address doesn't make it on to the Spammer's mailing list, you won't get the bulk of their Spam.

2. If you're already getting junk email, take a look at what they're sending you. If it's junk mail from a legitimate source like Amazon.com or Microsoft or your phone company, they will usually have a method for removing your email address from their lists. If the email appears to come from a non-legitimate source, usually with a strange return address, and a misleading subject line, DO NOT click on any link in the page, or ask to be removed. With non-legitimate sources of Spam, using the links in the email only verifies that the address is valid and may result in getting more Spam.

3. Filters or rules are an excellent way to move Spam from your inbox to your trash, without ever having to look at it. Have your mail rules look for key words in the email body and subject line, and then delete anything that matches those key words. The down side to this method is if someone happens to send you a legitimate email containing one of the key words, that will end up in the deleted folder as well. Checking the deleted folder before deleting its contents is a good idea.

Key words to screen for in the message body are: remove, unsubscribe, subscribe, subscribed, subscriber, click here, opt out, requirements for commercial, porn, viagra, etc.

In addition to those above, key words to screen for in the subject line are: "_____" (5 spaces), ADV, and adv.

You can also add specific domains or email address that send you frequent Spam, and add any other words or phases which you see in the email.

4. Change your email address. Highly inconvenient, but if you only have a few people to notify that you've changed your address, this may be the best solution for you. Your ISP should be able to change the email address you use for no charge, especially if you let them know you're getting a great deal of Spam.

5. For corporate clients, a service such as SpamStopsHere.com can be over 95% effective in stopping spam from ever getting to you.