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Avoiding Junk E-mail
By Newsdesk | September 26, 2007
Anyone with an email address these days has no choice but to be concerned about how to stop junk email, no matter what you do they just still keeps coming, and the latest trend is to send pdf files which are actually viruses. For the astute people amongst us we tend to be in the know about the latest virus threat so we tend to be on the lookout, but what about all those of you who just want to read their e-mail and are just not aware of the risks.
Just this evening alone I have won two lotteries, been offered a job (not that I have applied for any), have two people from two different countries want me to help them shift unclaimed millions from war zones and dare I say it,have had a number of e-mails from lonely women who want to speak to me - click here to view my photos…..Yeah right!! But how many thousands of people get caught each day purely out of sheer curiosity.
One of the best ways to stop junk email is to not to share your e-mail address with anybody but your closest friends.This is fine if your contact is quite casual but for those that are busy online each day this is a very hard thing to do for example, If you have an email address through your website, there may be nothing you can do about that as the little pests (yes I could use a stronger word) now use specially developed software to scour the net for open e-mail addresses.
However, you can open a yahoo, hotmail or gmail account for yourself as this will help filter some of the rubbish that seems to be on the increase. Another way to try and avoid spam is to have a number of different accounts that you use for different reasons.An example of this method would be to have one address for online signups, a different address suspect downloads, you know- the ones that ask for your e-mail to receive a free e-book or the like. And a final address for your personal contacts.
You can also stop junk email by remembering as mentioned previously, that there are bots (internet spiders) that scan the Internet looking for exposed email addresses. This means that if you post on a message board that you need help or want someone to contact you, and you list your email address, chances are good your address will be picked up and sold to spam mailers. If you want to stop junk email, you simply must avoid doing this at all costs or use your “suspect” e-mail address if you have no choice.
Software companies ae fighting the battle on our behalf as well by developing anti-spam software that we can buy. Now I know that the cynics like me out there will probably casting the conspiracy theory vote about spam just as they did about anti-virus software but if you test against it you must be able to make it right?
In any case it goes without saying if you are at all unsure about the source of an e-mail, just delete it after all it’s better to be safe than sorry.
If you think you have picked up a virus from junk e-mail or if your computer starts to work erratically then a computer repair call out is advisable. Or alternatively contact Berkshire Computer Repair to find a local computer repair specialist in your area.
Topics: Internet |
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