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How to Minimize Spam |
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| First - let's define spam:
Unsolicited "junk" e-mail sent to
large numbers of people to promote products or services. Sexually
explicit unsolicited e-mail is called "porn spam."
Included in the definition are inappropriate promotional or
commercial postings to discussion groups or bulletin boards.
The term spam is also used to refer to the hoax, 'please
forward to everyone', chain letters, etc, some people send to a
bunch of people, including friends/family, who have not solicited
the emails.
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1. |
Guard
your in-box. |
Don't give out your e-mail address to anyone but the
people you actually expect to correspond with. For everyone else, see tips
2 and 3. |
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2. |
Use free Web mail accounts. |
For merchants and others you
don't correspond with regularly, use Web mail, such as Hotmail or
Yahoo. You can abandon it if it gets spammed. Many have spam filtering
built in. |
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3. |
Use fake addresses. |
Most Web-based sign-up forms require an
e-mail address, but ask yourself, do they really need it? If you don't
want to hear from the site (and don't need a confirmation e-mail or tech
support), don't give a real address. |
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4. |
Don't post your address. |
Resist the impulse to post your
address on Web sites, guest books, contact lists, newsgroups, chat rooms,
and so on; spammers harvest from these places. If you absolutely must
reveal yourself, use a Web-mail account. You can also put something extra
in your e-mail that humans will know how to read but harvesting robots
won't: Gomer@hello.com could become Gomer AT hello DOT com or GomerDELETE@MEhello.com. |
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5. |
Don't answer spam. Ever. |
You won't stop spam by writing to
the spammers, even if you ask nicely. At best, you'll flame a robot, which
won't mind. At worst, you'll confirm that your e-mail address belongs to a
naive human being—a valuable commodity for spammers. Ignore the
"remove me" e-mail addresses, too. Many of these lead to dead or
inactive e-mail addresses. |
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6. |
Opt out. |
When you do sign up for or buy something online and
you have to give out an e-mail address, remember to opt out of everything
you're not absolutely sure you want to receive. Opt-out = do not sign up
for it. Uncheck the box. |
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7. |
Read the privacy policy. |
Make sure you understand what a Web
site promises to do (and not to do) with your e-mail address. If there's
no privacy policy, see tips 2 & 3. |
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8. |
Submit the spam to your ISP. |
Many Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) now have the option which allows you to report spam to
them directly. eg: SpamReport@hello.com
or SpamAbuse@hello.com.
They will typically request that you 'forward as attachment' the
offending email. |
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