27/08/2012
How can I prevent spam?
Question
How can I prevent spam?
Answer
General recommendations
Below is a listing of general recommendations on how to handle spam that should help in reducing spam.
Be careful where you post your e-mail address. Never post in chat rooms, news groups, or other public places. We recommend that when you need to post or send your e-mail that you send it to a specific person, setup a temporary e-mail account as explained in number two, or make the e-mail hard to read by typing something such as "support computerhope.com".
If you are concerned about a company sharing your e-mail address, register the site with a fake e-mail address.
Never buy products or use services that solicit to you in an e-mail.
Never send e-mail or reply to an e-mail requesting that you be removed or to unsubscribe unless you are familiar with the company. Some individuals and companies use this reply as a method of verifying the e-mail is valid and using this information to subscribe you to other mailing lists. If you do not know the individual or company delete the e-mail.
When filling out any form on the Internet, watch carefully for any check box that by default may be checked for you to receive a newsletter or share your e-mail with a third-party.
When signing up for any e-mail list, see if the company has any SPAM or e-mail sharing disclaimer. See Computer Hope's Legal page for our example.
Be careful who you send your e-mail to. Sites that require you to sign up or request an e-mail for free products, free services, or contests commonly share your e-mail as a method of generating revenue.
Don't send or recommend a friends or families e-mail address unless you are familiar with the service.
Consider using a complicated username, for example support@computerhope is a lot more easy to guess than [email protected]. Many spam programs spam a long list of common names to a domain. If your username is common you'll get hit with this form spam.
Never forward an e-mail that claims that it is capable of tracking the e-mail as it is sent or will help generate revenue for a certain cause to the more people it is forwarded to. These e-mails are commonly referred to as a chain mail and are commonly false and help individuals get additional e-mail address for SPAM.
Send an e-mail with the e-mail header to the ISP or web host of the user who is sending you the spam. Below is a short list of some of these e-mails.
[email protected] - File a complaint against an AOL users.
[email protected] - File complaints for MSN and Hotmail e-mail addresses.
[email protected] - File complaints against Geocities users.
[email protected] - File complaints against Sprint users.
[email protected] - File complaints against USA.NET users.
[email protected] - File complaints against Earthlink users.
Lycos abuse form - File complaints against Lycos, Tripod, or Angelfire users.
Yahoo abuse form or [email protected] - File complaints against Yahoo users.
As can be seen in the above examples, it is common for the e-mail to file complaints to be "abuse", "postmaster", or "spam" @ the domain name. It is also important to realize that a spammer may spoof an e-mail address making it look as if it is coming from a domain that it really is not coming from.
Send a full copy of SPAM or deceptive e-mail including the e-mail header to [email protected]. The FTC uses the unsolicited emails stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam email.
Check with your Internet Service Provider for their SPAM policy. Many Internet Service Providers may already have SPAM blocking mechanisms in place and may even allow you to forward to them the SPAM messages you receive, helping prevent the same e-mail reaching you in the future.
Finally, consider changing your e-mail address or getting another e-mail address and only letting friends, family, or the people you want e-mails from know about the new address.
E-mail rules
Many e-mail programs allow users to setup rules to help filter the e-mail as it comes into your computer. A great tip to help filter out important e-mails is to create a rule that moves all e-mail from individuals in your address book to a new folder or only keep e-mail from users who are listed in your address book. Below is an example of how Microsoft Outlook users can setup rules.
Note: Users using Microsoft Outlook 97 must download the Rules Wizard before it can be used. The Rules Wizard can be downloaded from our download updates page.
Open Microsoft Outlook
Click Tools and then Rules Wizard.
In the Rules Wizard window click the New button.
Select "Check messages when they arrive" and click Next.
Select "from people or distribution list"
Click the "people or distribution list" link.
Either add each individual person or a distribution list and click Ok.
Click Next
Then choose "move it to the specified folder"
Specify the folder.
Click Finish.
Rules and filters keyword search
Users using many e-mail programs today can setup rules or filters to help control incoming e-mail. These rules can help sort, delete, and manage e-mail more efficiently.
Note: Users using Microsoft Outlook 97 must download the Rules Wizard before it can be used. The Rules Wizard can be downloaded from our download updates page.
From Microsoft Outlook click Tools and then Rules Wizard.
In the Rules Wizard window click the New button.
Select "Check messages when they arrive" and click Next.
Check "With specified words in the subject or body" and click Next.
Specify words that you wish to look for when message arrives.
Select option to delete it or permanently delete it and click Finish.
Tip: See commonly used words that you may also want to add.
Note: When using any rules be careful how the rules are setup or what words are used as they may mistakenly delete e-mails you may need. This can also be alleviated by setting up additional rules for family and friends.
Commonly used words
Below is a listing of words used in SPAM and other mail that you may not want to receive. These words can be applied to rules in various e-mail programs and blocking tools to help prevent mail from being received.
Note: When using any rules be careful how the rules are setup or what words are used as they may mistakenly delete e-mails you may need. This can also be alleviated by setting up additional rules for family and friends.
Finally, we apologize as some of the below keywords may be offensive and vulgar. These words are only listed to help setup a spam filter for commonly used spam words.-approved-
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SYSTECH Computer Education Institute
Sameer Zaidi
