|
| "Is there any programs or something I could do to completely block the 250 spam emails I get per day? I made the mistake of opening up something that looked like a credit card statement I was expecting and I think they captured my email address.
-----
"There's only one thing money won't buy, and that is poverty."
"Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan""
What program are you using for email? Generally email programs have gotten better with putting spam blockers in the program. Some work differently than others so it would help to know what you use.
As for blocking all spam totally, it's doubtful at this point that you will see a lot of success depending on how you have used your email address.
One way you get spam is by posting your email address somewhere on the internet.
If you have ever posted your email address on a web site "in the clear" such as [email protected], it will get captured by spammers. Many people try to defeat Spambots when posting their email address by using emailaddress - at - myemail -dot- com. The address in the clear is captured by using a Spambot which "crawls" over web sites searching for email addresses, then sending them back to whoever used the spambot. Spambots are readily available for download on the internet.
Another way your email address gets captured by spammers is when you post your email address at a valid site, and the site sells your contact information, or if the site has poor security and your email address gets captured. If you go to some site and post your email address in order to log in or gain access, sometimes the owners of that site will send you emails (kinda spam but not really since you "did business" with them), they sell your contact information, or if the site has poor security.
I have had a Yahoo email address for about 10 years, and always got very little spam because I never posted it anywhere, and where I did use it, the sites generally ensured only they would use it. A couple years ago I used the email address at a few "machinery finder" sites because I was looking for some parts. Now I get spam from several other "machinery sales" places that I know I never subscribed to.
If you receive unsolicited email, ONLY respond to unsubscribe from it if you know it is a company you have done business with and you don't want to receive their emails. Most of these emails will have a link or instructions at the bottom telling you how to unsubscribe. If it is a true unsolicited email (spam) from someone that you have never done business with, DO NOT respond to it since it only validates your email address to them as a working address. Sometimes spammers will not send you another spam email if they think your address is bad.
If you are lucky enough to have an email program that has a spam blocker, you will have to look at the program to figure out how to block your spam. Most do this by you marking a spam email as spam. Then, whenever you get another spam email from the same address, that spam is blocked from your inbox. Many programs will file spam in another folder called spam or something similar.
Be aware that some spam blockers will capture valid emails and put them in a spam folder. Some people just empty their spam folder without looking them over, and they miss valid emails. If a valid email is sent to spam, usually you can mark that valid email as NOT SPAM, and it will go to your inbox.
In the end, the best you can do is have an email address that you try keep shielded for family, friends or known business. If you need an email address for something else, you can create a "throw away" address at Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail. Then, if you have to use an email address at some site, you can use the throw away address and all the spam will go there. | |
|
Spam Block from FVF
