Since the earliest days of the internet, people have been using it for sending email. Email is a fast, efficient, and cheap way of communicating. But it is also plagued by the most annoying form of advertising, spam.
Spam is a problem that is becoming larger each month as millions more get online. Spam piles up in the inbox, and people have waste valuable time dealing with it, time which could be better spent doing something productive. Even worse, emails are used to distribute malicious viruses. The viruses are included in attachments which when opened causes the computer to get infected.
Spam, a definition
Spam is usually defined as unsolicited electronic messages sent to a large number of recipients. While spam sent via email is most common, spam is also sent via instant messages, usenet messages and mobile phone text messages. Another problem closely related to spam is "phishing", where the message contains false information in order to gain access to confidential information.
Whats the solution to the spam problem?
No matter what type of email account you use, there are methods to fight spam. Filters can greatly reduce the amount of spam in your inbox. There are many shareware and freeware spam filters avaliable. Some filters are so advanced that they block spam before it even enters your computer.
One of the most efficient ways to protect your inbox from spam is to protect your email address. Refrain from entering your email address to websites you visit, only giving it where you must or where you trust the owner. Even more importantly, dont publish it on your own website. In order to spam your email the spammers must first obtain it. Spammers use automated programs to crawl the internet for public addresses, putting your address on a web page is a sure fire way of receiving spam.
Conclusion
Subscribe to a service which filters spam or install your own spam filter. Don't open any emails or attachments from anything that looks like spam, or rather where youre not certain its not spam. Install an anti virus program on your computer and make sure it scans your emails when they arrive and your computer regularly.
Spam costs everyone on the internet money. It costs the ISP companies money, and it costs users money. |
