Email is rapidly becoming the standard means of communication among businesses, associates, and even friends. While many people have now been using the internet and email for years, there are thousands of new users on the internet each day. With inexpensive web hosting, free email services, and the blog burst upon us, getting your own slice of the internet pie has never been easier.
Whether you're a seasoned professional looking for a refresher course, or you're new to the internet and email and want to start off right, here are some easy steps to follow to reduce the amount of spam you receive.
Don't choose an obvious email address. Spammers will generate lists of email addresses based on common names. A common list would be something like: nick@yahoo.com, nick1@yahoo.com, nick2@yahoo.com, etc. If you create an email account with less obvious combinations of your name plus some numbers, chances are better that you won't find your way onto one of these lists.
Treat your personal email address with care. Only give out your personal email address to close friends and family who you trust. Give your direct business email only to clients and other contacts you trust to only use your address for legitimate business purposes.
Use different accounts for different functions. Create different aliases with your business's domain name or create a few free accounts from free email servers like Hotmail, Yahoo!, Excite, etc. Use one account that you don't care about for posting to forums or discussion groups. Use another to subscribe to newsletters and newsgroups. When any of these addresses starts to get spammed too heavily, simply delete the account and switch to a different one.
Remove your email address from your website. Between blogs and cheap web space, it seems everyone has their own piece of cyberspace. Before you put a link to your email address on your site, remember that spammers have bots that harvest these addresses. They will even find addresses printed in plain text. Consider using a web-based form for communication from you website, or place your address as a gif or jpeg.
Do NOT open, respond to, or purchase from spam. Interacting with spam in any of these ways indicates to the spammer that not only is your address valid, it's also active. Do not respond with "unsubscribe" in the subject line, or click on any links to remove your name out of the database, as both of these are common ploys to confirm your email address. Remember, because sending email is so inexpensive, spamming can be profitable even if only a small percentage of people purchase what they're selling. Don't support what you're trying to stop.
Finally, Filter your incoming email using filtering software. Even if you guard your email address religiously, you'll likely still receive spam. Filtering software is usually inexpensive and effective, but there are some important features to consider with any filtering package:
? Make sure you can control what comes to your inbox and what gets deleted. The best programs create a spam folder for you to review before permanently deleting emails.
? The software should block images from incoming emails. Many jpegs in spam actually hide code that notifies the spammer when the email is viewed. Blocking images will not only keep offensive content off your screen but will also help prevent more spam in the future.
? Choose software that provides you with updates - as new spamming techniques are created and proliferated, filtering software should keep up.
While eliminating spam from coming to your email address is nigh unto impossible, following these simple steps will mean you'll have to spend less time deleting spam from your inbox, giving you more time for the important things of life ?- like reading this article.
Nick Smith is a client account specialist with 10x marketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. Find more information about how to 10x marketing at 10x marketing.
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareAre you getting too much spam? We all are, but... Read More
English, German, Italian - It's All SPAM To MeHas anyone... Read More
Although there still seem to be some differences among the... Read More
It's a nightmare isn't it? You fire up your email... Read More
Most of us have opened our email program and found,... Read More
Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway... Read More
In today's spam-filled email world, it's sometimes VERY difficult to... Read More
As the flood of spam increases end users are looking... Read More
Spam is everywhere. It's the "in-box lunch meat" nobody likes,... Read More
The temptation among internet marketers to SPAM is greater than... Read More
Even being as careful as possible with my email address,... Read More
Why is someone from India, Africa, or elsewhere writing you... Read More
In a word Bayesian spam filters are "intelligent". Bayesian spam... Read More
Below is a letter I wrote to the following organizations:S.H.U.... Read More
Over the past few years you've all become familiar with... Read More
The Vandals are coming! And this time they're after your... Read More
Effectively stopping spam over the long-term requires much more than... Read More
I'm sure I'm not the only person on the planet... Read More
Phishing is rapidly becoming on the largest threats to your... Read More
No doubt about it."Spam" (unsolicited commercial email) threatens to paralyze... Read More
Spam. Those annoying, time-consuming emails that clog your Inbox and... Read More
2004 was really a year when the whole subject of... Read More
If you've been around the interenet any length of time... Read More
If you're anything like me, you're pretty sick of it,... Read More
The lifeblood of the spammer is email. They need to... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..In today's spam-filled email world, it's sometimes VERY difficult to... Read More
Very often SPAMMERS take advantage of catch-all email setup on... Read More
You all tear your hair out in frustration every time... Read More
Death by spam is now possible with a new device... Read More
Below is a letter I wrote to the following organizations:S.H.U.... Read More
Let me ask a couple of questions:If (potential) customers sends... Read More
Spam can be a lot more damaging than you might... Read More
I'm sure you find spam just as frustrating and annoying... Read More
A Privacy Policy can be defined as the policy under... Read More
My friends in the web hosting business have recently informed... Read More
Anyone who uses email knows what Spam is!It's annoying and... Read More
What's the big deal? All you read on the internet... Read More
You may have already received a do not spam list... Read More
Are you tired of spam stealing your time, your money,... Read More
Email is rapidly becoming the standard means of communication among... Read More
It seems like the volume of email spam has doubled... Read More
As most small, medium and large businesses in this country... Read More
We've all become familiar with the term spam. It's become... Read More
In a word Bayesian spam filters are "intelligent". Bayesian spam... Read More
With the number of spam filtering solutions increasing each week... Read More
What comes to your mind when you think about your... Read More
When you go to your mailbox and find pieces of... Read More
... and you'd better sit up and take notice! Customers... Read More
The temptation among internet marketers to SPAM is greater than... Read More
Spam filters are responsible for deleting a high percentage of... Read More
Spam Blocking |