Pulling Weeds

The Most Effective Ways to Deal with Junk E-Mail and Spam

One of the most effective ways to deal with junk email is to stop it before it starts. For starters, don’t display your email address on the Web any more than necessary. Many spammers use Internet “bots” to “harvest” email addresses from any Web page they encounter. Bots especially like click-to-email links that link directly to an email address, so it’s better to simply list your email address and let users cut and paste it into an email program themselves.

Your email address itself could affect the amount of junk email you get. Common addresses such as jjones or tsmith seem to get more spam than other, more unique addresses.

Also, don’t fall for the instructions given in some spam emails for having your name removed for their list. Often, your participation merely confirms to the spammer that yours is a valid address and you’ll find even more junk in your inbox. Likewise for Web sites that claim to remove you from one or more lists if you just provide your address. More often than not, these sites are simply ruses to gather valid addresses for sending more spam.

Many email applications (including online providers such as Yahoo and Google) feature built-in junk email blockers that you can “train” to spot junk email. Learn to use them properly and they’ll go a long way toward helping you manage the amount of spam that gets to your inbox.

If yours is a company-wide problem, consider installing an anti-spam filter or server. There are a wide variety of options available. If you’re interested in such a solution, contact Cubla. We can evaluate your email infrastructure and configuration to help you solve your junk email problem once and for all.