Protect yourself (and your friends) from spam
Spam is the next thing we need to consider. What is spam? The basic reply is unwanted or junk e-mail. Note that some countries already have laws in place to make spamming an offense but the problem comes when the e-mail is sent from a country other than your own. Get to know the laws concerning spam in your own country so you do not unintentionally break the law. A simple example is that it is very tempting when your wife has just had a baby to tell everyone on your e-mail address book of the facts, but that could constitute spam. Make sure you check your spam folder regularly. By regularly I mean at least once a day so you can delete anything that is spam and deal with any e-mails that have ended in the spam folder by mistake. It is no good deleting everything in the spam folder every month only to find that some one has been trying to contact you and has become very upset as their e-mails have been deleted without being read.
Avoid releasing your own e-mail address out on the net. If you have a web site or advertise online use a generic e-mail address like “sales@account.com” rather than one specifically aimed at you. The other option is to set the link so that it is checked before allowing spam in. Look at the options on the Internet and also those from your ISP.
Get spam blocking software. This can be integrated with your existing anti-virus, be part of your mail server or be a stand alone program that runs in the background on your computer.
Get multiple e-mail addresses. That way you can start to find out if someone is either selling off your e-mail address or is using a spider to locate potential e-mail addresses.
Do not open attachments from people you do not know. Seems a simple statement but when you are tired or have had a few days from your computer you may not always avoid this one. It does not matter what is promised the danger is not worth it, even if it is your favorite film or TV star.
Get an e-mail provider who can process bulk mail baskets. Another way to try and stop the spam is for your e-mail provider to help you by locating e-mails that are sent out to many addresses. They are not passed to you but held on the e-mail server for you to check. Again check the e-mails rejected by this regularly and only read those you know who the senders are.
