~ How To Prevent Spam!

By Scott Mielentz

 

Spam,” another name for unsolicited e-mail, is illegal to send and often used by companies offering questionable products, get-rich-quick schemes or illegal services. Keeping it out of your inbox is easier than you think!!

 

The first step in combating spam is to know it when you see it. If the subject line is offering a lower mortgage, a date with Trixie or free Money, you know its spam. Be careful however because spam is often disguised by intriguing or mysterious subject lines, such as “FWD: great punch line” or “Information you requested.” So, even if the subject looks harmless, your best bet is to delete the e-mail if you don’t recognize the sender’s address.

Many spammers fake the identity of the sender by using a common name such as “Bob.” Is this an e-mail from Uncle Bob? Or maybe from your co-worker? You can't know for sure and the spammer counts on your curiosity. But don’t open it. Some spammers even use the names of trusted institutions, such as a bank or well-known online retailer. It’s up to you to exercise appropriate caution.

 

Spam prevention tips

The best way to fight spam is to keep it from arriving in your inbox in the first place. Here are some tips for preventing unwanted e-mail.

~Don't post your e-mail address on unsecured websites. Spammers scan newsgroups, websites and web forums looking for e-mail addresses.

~ Don’t give out your e-mail address unless you know how it will be used. Check a site’s privacy policy if a company doesn’t have a privacy statement, you probably shouldn’t trust them with your e-mail address.

~Never buy anything advertised in spam. Chances are the services advertised are bogus.

~Update your address book. Make sure the people you want contact with are in your address book—your friends, family, business associates and companies you do business with. Many e-mail systems filter our messages from e-mail addresses not included in the recipient’s address book.

~Activate image blocking through the settings on your e-mail account to avoid potentially offensive pictures in your e-mail.

~Use the filters built into your e-mail programs. If your ISP doesn’t provide filtering, you may want to use a product such as SpamSubtract from InterMute, which allows you to filter and block e-mail.

 

Till next time happy computing!

Scott Mielentz

Mac/PC TechOnCall

www.techoncall.biz

 

Editors Note: Thanks to Scott Mielentz, owner of Mac/PC TechOnCall for making this column possible. The above comments were in response to a question or problem encountered by one of our Heights residents. We hope you found the information useful and informative. If you have computer related questions you can email techoncall@adelphia.net. We welcome your comments.