Have You Been Spammed?
Unwanted advertising sent via e-mail, or spam, has increased dramatically. Even if you are a careful consumer, you may still get more spam than you want or need. It can be annoying, embarrassing, and take up valuable time. Spam is difficult to block, ignore, or trace.
How do spammers find you anyway? Spammers use software to automatically scan web pages and "harvest" any e-mail addresses they may find. Some spammers send spam to likely e-mail addresses (jsmith65, jsmith66, etc). If you reply, they know your address is valid. E-mail addresses can also be picked up from chat rooms or from web sites with online registrations.
Here is what can you do to minimize spam arriving in your email inbox:
-- Choose an e-mail address that is not easy to guess. Consider a mix of letters and numbers.
-- Avoid posting your e-mail address on a public web site. If you must, consider using a graphic image file rather than text or try posting your address as johnsmith at isp.com.
-- Don't respond, read, or even open mail from spammers. Replying to (or worse yet) purchasing a product advertised by spam can cause exponential growth in spam e-mail. Some spammers can even tell if your address is valid if you simply open an e-mail before discarding it. If your e-mail software previews new messages, you may want to disable it.
-- Never click on an "unsubscribe" link listed in spam unless you trust the sender. This is a general ploy to find valid e-mail addresses.
-- Check the privacy policy on web pages that require your e-mail address. Some may have no policy or a policy whereby they may share your information with "unnamed partners." Do your online shopping only with businesses you trust. Also remember to uncheck the box at the bottom of online forms that allows the site or its partners permission to send you non-essential information.
-- Don’t forward chain letters or virus warnings. They could be an attempt by spammers to verify e-mail addresses. If you receive a virus warning, remember there are many virus hoaxes in cyberspace. An excellent source of information for virus hoaxes can be found at http://vil.nai.com/vil/hoaxes.asp. Remember, hoaxes generally predict catastrophic consequences (ex. your entire hard drive will crash), and ask you to send the message on to everyone you know.
-- Use an Internet provider who filters e-mail for spam.
-- Consider purchasing and installing spam blocking software on your computer.
-- Consider using one e-mail address for family and friends and a separate one for all other uses. When the second e-mail address attracts too much spam you could abandon it for a new one.
These tips can help you to be a wise consumer in navigating an increasingly commercial World Wide Web.
SOURCE: Jenny Nixon, extension educator, Sioux County, NU/IANR
