According to some estimates, spam increased over 150% in 2007 and represents nearly 70% of all email traffic. If this is the case, you may wonder why it seems like you’re receiving less spam. Well, there are actually several reasons.
First of all, spam blocking mechanisms have become more and more effective in recent years. Also, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been increasingly successful at removing spam at the server level, before it ever gets to your Inbox. Not to mention, a significant percentage of email users have their own spam filters in place. Lastly, people are becoming more aware of the inner-workings of spam and are less likely to try to unsubscribe or reply to a spam email.
A downside to all of this is that, as email is increasingly filtered, the email you actually want to receive may be filtered as well. According to Time magazine, over 40% of all incoming mail is filtered before it reaches your Inbox. Email that you want to receive is often lost in the shuffle and filtered along with the spam. This may even include email sent from friends and family.
So what can we do reduce the amount of spam we receive, while ensuring that the emails we want to receive still make it to our Inbox?
Do Nothing
Do not respond directly to the spam sender. Clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link or replying to the email just lets the spammer know that your address is valid and increases the spam you receive. In short, responding to spam only encourages more spam. Besides, most of the offers sent through spam are bogus. If everyone ignored spam, it would disappear.
Don’t Click Anything!
If you click a link in a spam email, including the link to ’unsubscribe’ from the list, you are not only encouraging spammers, but you are exposing yourself to risk. Spammers have become increasingly adept at hiding viruses, spyware or other malware in their emails. Practice safe computing; don’t click links in email from people you don’t know.
Get a Second Address
Have separate email addresses for public posting and private email. Don’t post your personal email address to a public forum, guestbook or mailing list. Get a second email address, or even multiple email addresses. When you are forced to enter an email address to use a service or download a product, use one of your extra email addresses.
Use a Spam Filter
There are many great filters to choose from and most email programs have built-in spam filters. To avoid losing mail that you want to receive, set up your filter to send questionable emails to a separate “bulk” folder. That way, you can check the ‘bulk’ folder periodically to make sure any emails you wanted to receive weren’t accidentally filtered out.
Get to Know Your Spam Filter
Make sure that your spam filter is set to allow emails from sites that you subscribe to. Filters really have no way of knowing if you want to receive a distribution list mailing or not. Also, make sure that you update your filter settings regularly or you may miss out on new content you want to receive.
Remove Your Address from Directories
Your email address may be listed in the ‘people directory’ of popular search engines, such as Yahoo! Search. Ask these services to remove your name. Remember, this will only work with legitimate companies.
Protect Your Web Site
Create a unique email address for your Web site. In addition to looking more professional, it can also protect your personal email account from being overrun with spam. If you are receiving a lot of spam from your Web site, consider displaying your email address as a graphic file rather than as a text link.
While these tips won’t completely spam-proof your Inbox, they can dramatically reduce the amount of spam you have to sift through. Let’s work together to put spammers out of business. Be smart, and stay safe online. Good luck!
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