Spam...

Spam has been in the headlines lately, so I thought I would write something on the topic:

Spammers are the scum of the internet. There is nothing worse than a person who hides behind their computers sending out millions of unsolicited e-mails.

How e-mail addresses are acquired

Most e-mail addresses are acquired through less than legitimate means such as trawling a web site. This is literally writing a program to scan websites for addresses. Some companies hit financial road bumps and look for ways to bring in some quick cash. In most cases ethics are the first things to go, paving the way for shady operations, like selling customer lists.

The Future?

One of my clients gets hundreds of e-mails daily. One of my e-mail accounts hits the 5 Meg mark within 12 hours of being cleaned it out. What’s the solution? I wish I had an answer, Bill Gates has a couple good ideas but whether they will work is another thing.

Prevention is the Best Medicine

The best solution right now is prevention. Treat your e-mail address as confidential personal information.

Some steps to take in limiting spam:

• Have multiple addresses (i.e. personal, business, online shopping address, etc.)
• Don’t publicly display your address on the internet (websites, online forums, chat rooms…)
• Link (forward) multiple addresses to one master account. This way if one of the other accounts gets hit by spam it can easily be deleted or unlinked.
• Be leery of people asking for e-mail addresses when there is no reason they would need it