Spam is unwanted and unsolicited email, junk mail in other words, an attempt to force a message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it.
Universally despised, Spam is often of a commercial nature, advertising dubious products, and get-rich-quick schemes etc.
These nuisance mails which blight users internet experiences are the result of Spammers typically sending an e-mail to a distribution list in the millions, and expecting a tiny number of readers to respond to their offer. However, for the majority of recipients these mails offer nothing more than a time consuming and costly intrusion.
Unfortunately not only is spam annoying but one of the biggest issues associated with it is that it costs the Spammer very little to send, but the recipient is forced to stay on-line and pay for longer connection charges while they download mails that they will immediately delete.
So what can you do to avoid Spam in your inbox?
There are no quick fixes but you can take deliberate steps to reduce your exposure to spam.
How to avoid being Spammed:
The eircom net Email Protector product is a simple and cost effective way of significantly reducing the amount spam that you receive. Email Protector is a system that is managed and maintained by eircom net that scans a customers in-coming mail for spam. If the system detects any spam it places it in a quarantine area, accessible over the internet, and the customer is alerted. One of the main benefits of the Email Protector is that because it is based on the eircom net mail servers, customers do not have to wait on-line and download their mail before the spam is detected, this helps reduce the amount of unnecessary time a customer has to spend on-line.
Be imaginative when signing up for an e-mail address. One of the Spammers' favourite tactics is called the "dictionary attack," where they make guesses about thousands of possible e-mail addresses: johnsmith, jonsmith, johnsmythe. It's too easy for Spammers to guess e-mail accounts if just a name is used as the address.
Treat your e-mail address as you would your credit card number. You would never consider leaving your credit cards details out in a publicly accessible place so why would you run the risk with your email address ? Spammers often run programmes that sift through the Web for live e-mail addresses. If you post your address in a public forum, such as a discussion group, chat room or on a Web site, you run the risk that spammers will harvest it and add it to their mailing lists.
When purchasing off the internet or signing up to a web site where you are required to give your e-mail address, make sure you carefully read any options discussing how the address will be used and pay attention to check boxes that request the right to send you e-mails or share your e-mail address with partner companies.
Use a separate email address when you post to newsgroups and mailing lists. Never use this email address for personal email.
If you do receive Spam take the following steps:
Contact the sender's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Nearly every ISP in the world forbids their members to send spam. If you are unsure as to where the spam mail has originated, please click here and copy in the spam email so we can investigate the issue.
Report fraudulent or illegal content to appropriate authorities. Spam can often contain offers for illegal or fraudulent products.
Frequently Asked Questions about Spam:
How do Spammers get my email address?
It's very easy to unintentionally reveal your e-mail address. Any time you post your address to a newsgroup or a Web site, it's like advertising your phone number for anyone to start dialling. That's because Spammers use programmes that patrol the Web in search of addresses. Spam experts advise consumers to conceal their e-mail address just like they would any other piece of personal information or data. If you want to post on newsgroups, add an extra character in your address that is obvious to human readers, but that a computer would miss, such as user(at)something(dot)com. This will help reduce the amount of spam you receive as a result of making your e-mail address public, but unfortunately it is unlikely to stop it entirely. A favourite Spammer tactic is the dictionary attack, where a programme sends millions of emails to random addresses, whether they work or not, using combinations of letters and numbers: johnsmith, jonsmith, johnsmythe.
What are Internet Service Providers doing to fight Spam?
Spam is a significant issue for Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) as they have to deploy countless resources and employees to monitor spamming activity in an effort to stop it from ever reaching your inbox. ISP's are aggressive about blocking e-mail messages that come from domains known for sending Spam and react swiftly to reports of new spam being sent, sometimes resulting in the disabling of an offenders internet access.
