How To Reduce Spam To Enhance Email Security
Spam is just another name of junk mail. Spam is defined as an e-mail message sent to people without their consent or permission. Addresses of recipients are often harvested from Usenet postings or web pages, obtained from databases, or simply guessed by using common names and domains.
Spam is sent to promote practically any product or service ranging from “Adult” products to logo design for websites. Also way of hackers to spread viruses or links to dangerous websites used to gather your personal information like credit card details or passwords for sites like Ebay or PayPal.
To the average user these messages appear genuine. Even the link has a genuine looking domain name. This technique is known as “Phishing.”
Here are some smart strategies and tips you can employ now to start reducing Spam and boost your email security.
+ Always aware on those “unofficial” official looking message from your bank or Ebay or another site you are not sure is genuine.
Instead of clicking on the link embedded in the mail log on to the site normally via your browser. If there are any genuine serious problems you should get a message when you log on. Contact the site’s customer service via the phone if possible.
+ Posting your email to a blog or your website then submit it in a way that is only recognizable to a human.
For example if your email is steven@hotmail.com then post it as “steven at hotmail.com”.
+ Dicipline and train yourself to never open a message from an address you do not recognize, always delete it straight away. Especially if there is an attachment. Never ever reply to a message as this only confirms the email address is “live” to the spammers.+ Configure your anti virus software to automatically scan your incoming email for viruses. Email is still widely used to distribute malicious software.
Always make sure you keep your anti virus software definitions up to date.
+ If you are someone that frequently signs up for “freebies” or other stuff on the internet, best advice is to start using a separate e-mail account just for this purpose.
Accounts from providers like Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Google’s Gmail all come with generous storage as standard.
+If sites don’t accept free e-mail address from the services listed above then use a free disposable email service like Sneakemail.com:
- Hide your address from spammers, companies, others.
- Delete addresses when they become targets of spammers.
- Know how spammers found your address.
- $2 Monthly.
+ Consider using standalone spam filtering software. This software analyses your email for common characteristics of spam email including words like “click” or “teens.”
It also compares senders’ emails against a “Friends List.”
Example - mailwasher.net
Mailwasher
- Email filtering software for Windows
- Detect and delete spam from a user's email when it is on the mail server, before being downloaded to the user's computer.
- New Zealand based company, Firetrust, is the developer.
- Two versions of the program.
- Free version can access only a single mail account and does not contain the Bayesian learning filter.
- Pro version can access multiple accounts and has additional features.
We are constantly being bombarded with crap emails on a regular basis. Ninety-five percent of the time I just swipe and delete the emails without looking at them, unless there is something there to grab my attention, which is an another entire training in itself.
Thanks for sharing,
Brian
Reply
No surprise if one-day "spam" has the ability of self-launching attacks once manage to be anywhere inside our inbox. Might be I am just too far thinking in that respect.
Welcome Sir
