How The New Computer User Can Reduce Spam
Every computer user gets spam in their email almost daily. There is just no way to avoid junk email unless you want to delete it without reading it. Yes, you can compare it to those telemarketers who call you at dinnertime (or any other time). There is no way to avoid having an email address on the computer because if you have an account, you must have an email address to do business on the Internet. Someone will find a way to contact you either by phone, snail mail or email to try to “sell” you an idea, plan, or a product. There is just no escaping junk email if you have an account on the Internet, and this unwanted email can become annoying at times. Spam filters are used by most of the Internet Service Providers such as American Online. The computer user fills out a list of overused spam words in the email settings filter and saves it. After the settings go into effect, any any future email containing the spam word that you inserted into the filter will not make it into your email account. You may get spam in your spam folder, but some of it may be email you may want to read. If you want the email in your regular email , you can whitelist the email address in your address book so that the email is sent directly to your email account. Be cautious in revealing your personal email address, for privacy or for safety reasons as well as avoiding spam. Do not let fear of spammers limit your time on the Internet forums or groups, as you can use a free email address or a disposable email account such as those on Hotmail, Mail.com, and Yahoo. Addresses from these accounts are often used by people to guard their privacy on forums and groups on the Web. When you feel that you know someone trustworthy, you can give them your personal email address. But have at least one or two different free disposable email addresses to cut the spamming in the personal email account. Avoid responding to unsolicited spam as it will confirm your address to the spammer which could, in turn, send you even more spam than you will ever want to see. Also if you answer or complain about the offensive emails it may only come back to your email address as undeliverable or may be sent to some other annoyed computer user’s address. You can call or email your Internet Service Provider and ask what their procedure is in blocking spam. Several years ago, I remember sending manually a few hundred junk emails back to the Report Abuse team at my free email account. This worked very well as it has not happened again. Find out from your Internet Service Provider how they can help you end the onslaught of spam. Usually the spammer’s account will be terminated or shut down if there are enough complaints from consumers. Check with Spam Cop and Network Abuse Clearninghouse’s resources and information for people who receive spam. These informative resources can contact the Internet Service Providers so that the spammer is made aware of complaints, although at times they may not always be accurate. Remember that the spam will continue if people remain complacent or just too lazy to report it. Reducing the level of spam in your mailbox may take a little time and effort on your part. What you can also do is start blocking certain email addresses that come from repeated spammers. The junk emails are then blocked before they even reach your mailbox address. Again, set up the spam filter to block emails containing certain spam words so that you will not receive them. These two techniques alone will reduce the onslaught of unwanted junk emails in your personal email account. The computer user must be careful of not clicking on email attachments from unknown senders as they can contain various types of viruses and infectious worms that can harm your computer or files. If you did not request a email to be sent to you, do not open an attachment as it could be a worm. You do not want to pay for expensive computer repairs. These problems, in turn, can be avoided if you have a strong firewall and good antivirus software in place on your computer. Do not be indifferent and believe that it will not happen to you. Be cautious, and try to research on protecting your computer. your online and offline privacy, and your Internet account. John Chan is a writer and researcher who has a an interest in the Internet. His website is <a href="http://www.theantispamguide.com" title="http://www.theantispamguide.com" target="_blank">http://www.theantispamguide.com</a> and <a href="http://www.ezantispam.com" title="http://www.ezantispam.com" target="_blank">http://www.ezantispam.com</a>
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There be Spyware here, Captain!
The ships bell had just sounded the dogwatch as Captain Skag began to check his email. He had just began to read his favorite E-zine, “Pirates gone wild” when his first mate burst into the cabin. “Captain, a dark ship approaches!” He cried. The captain, after running up on deck, examined the ship with his spyglass. “Shiver me hard drives” he bellowed as he saw the lay of her jib. “Shes a wardriver! ” (Note of historical Interest, a Wardriver is a term used to describe a way of searching for unsecure wireless networks.) “They be after plundering information on the ships server! Quick me mateys, prepare to repel boarders.” The crew scrambled to turn their laptops off while the Captain rushed to turn the wireless router off. Up on deck, the crew watched as the dark ship faded into the night. The Captain had no sooner settled back at his computer when again the cabin door burst open, this time it was the cook. “Blimey Captain, all my recipes files are gone!” This was bad news because the cooks famous secret recipe for chile con carne was highly sought after since winning 1st place at the Pirates ball last year. Thank the Kraken we have our backups” the Captain growled. The cook, cursing, left. Well, back to my email the captain thought. He pushed the send/receive button on his email client. “Blow me down” he bellowed, (Pirate Captains bellow a lot) “Whats all this SPAM mail doing in my inbox?” This was getting as back as a case of scurvy. As he sat, his rage boiling, he became aware of a lot of yelling coming from the crews quarters. “Now what” he cursed as he made his way forward. Upon entering the crew area he was assailed by a thunderous din of curses. (Pirates curse a lot) The Spainiard was yelling he couldn’t get his new game, “Pirates Revenge ” to load. The Italian couldn’t get into his stock portfolio. (Yes pirates have retirement plans too). The others were drowned out by the first mate yelling about his Blog being Hacked. As he surveyed the carnage, the captain noticed one of the crewman sitting calmly, using his laptop with apparently no problems. Bellowing loudly for quiet, he asked the crewman who he now remembered came from the land of Unix, why he was not upset. He looked up, and said “Why Captain, I’ve got a AntiVirus program along with good AntiSpyware and a reliable Firewall. I’m protected from brute force attacks, Phishing emails and drive by downloads.” He went on to say that it looked like the ships server was accessed through the wireless router, which was not secured with WEP (wired/wireless equivalent privacy). “Arrrgg”, he bellowed, the IT dogs back at the Island hideaway had told him all was peachy with the network when they sailed to pilage and plunder. The crewman whose name was Billy said he could get things ship shape by giving the other crewman the CD’s of his AntiSpyware, AntiVirus and his 3rd party Firewall…. for a price! “Aye,” the Captain replied wit a feeling of dread, “Whats your price?” Soon all onboard were back online and secure. Billy had his pockets stuffed with pieces of eight and of course, was wearing the Captains hat, looking mighty pleased with his bargaining skills. The Captain headed back to his cabin, worried that mutiny may be afoot. He had heard Billy telling the crew about those cursed Macs! The lesson learned here was obvious; You need to secure your network. AntiVirus and AntiSpyware is a must, So is a reliable Firewall. Anything less, you might as well be walking the plank, Matey! Arrrrgggg! About the Author: Doug Woodall has a website at http://www.spywarebiz.com There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware, Viruses and other Online Nasties.
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