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Tips for Reducing Spam Original Article - December 2002 Spam: A meat product made by Hormel * A famous skit by the Monty Python troupe * Annoying unsolicited email messages that often clog up one's Inbox and waste one's valuable time deleting them. While you may enjoy the meat product and the famous Monty Python skit, most people now think of spam as one of the most annoying and time-wasting forms of advertising to come along in a long time. Unlike radio or TV ads, which you can mute or turn off, spam messages must be dealt with in some fashion to rid them from your Inbox. This article will discuss how spam originates and offer some tips for reducing the amount of it you receive. People who receive spam messages often wonder how the spammer got their address in the first place. One technique is known as dictionary spamming. Using this technique, spammers generate messages to common first letter/last name combinations at popular ISPs. So if your email is jdoe@msn.com you are much more likely to receive spam than if your address is jdoe1234@msn.com. Another technique is known as harvesting, by which spammers use software to scour the Internet for email addresses from newsgroups, chat rooms and so forth. Of course, many folks unknowingly sign up for spam when they register to use a web site. Most of these registration forms have a check box which automatically signs the user up for email announcements unless the check is removed. Reducing Spam in Your Inbox There are many ways to reduce the amount of spam that you receive. If your email address is a simple first initial/last name, consider changing it to something with special characters or numbers in it. That will help reduce “dictionary” spamming. For example, I use mbmmcse@bellsouth.net as my primary email. If you go to a web site that forces you to register to use the sight or to download a file, consider using a fake address. If the site requires a valid email address to use it, consider setting up an account with one of the free email services such as Yahoo!. These accounts are very nice to have, as they also allow you to check your primary email account from any computer with a web connection. There are also several software programs available to fight spam. Many are available for free or at a minimal cost from www.download.com. One program I have used and recommended to customers is called Mailwasher. It can be downloaded from www.mailwasher.net. It can be used for free with banner advertising support or registered for $20 to remove the banner ad. Mailwasher is a unique program because it checks your email while it is still on the server and displays the subject line and sender's address. It flags suspected spam and viruses and allows you to delete them or even bounce the message back to the sender so that it appears undeliverable. Using this technique, spam and viruses are deleted before they get a chance to infect your PC. If spam does get through to your inbox, there is a simple technique to prevent additional messages from that spammer. If you are using Microsoft Outlook Express, simply highlight the message and click on Message – Block Sender. This will direct any future mail from that sender directly to your Deleted Items folder. I hope that this article will help you to reduce the amount of spam you receive. For in-depth information on reducing spam and other annoying forms of unsolicited advertising, visit www.junkbusters.com.
Shortly after I wrote this article, PC Magazine came out with an entire issue (almost) on the subject. Their article covers a wide array of software and tips to help your business reduce spam. To read the PC Magazine article, please click the following link: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,849402,00.asp
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