As a computer consultant, people are always asking me how to cut down on the number of spam email messages they get. I have seen cases where clients were receiving hundreds of unsolicited messages every day. That makes it very hard sometimes to get anything productive done. As I get a chance, I will post tips for cutting down on spam. Some of them are targeted at reducing the global level of spam, and some will help you directly.
Number one, stop forwarding garbage emails. Some are funny, some are cute, some are warnings about “”new”" ways criminals are targeting you. There are the ones that tell of blessings you can receive, and those that warm your heart. STOP IT! Most of these emails have been floating around for years. The names change, the places are different, but the basic stories just get recycled. Check http://www.snopes.com before sending anything on.
The advent of YouTube and other similar sites have made this problem worse. It is very easy to send a link to everyone in your address book. The problem is, you are sending every email address to every person in the message.
Here’s what happens:
1. You send an email to ten very close friends and family members who would never in a million years give out your email address to any spammer. You know you can trust these people to keep your information safe.
2. They like whatever you sent enough that they want to share it with other friends, so they hit the “”Forward”" button and send it only to their trusted friends. Remember commercial where they talk about “”I told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends…?”"
3. This process goes on several more times, each time the message gets forwarded to only “”trusted”" contacts. But it is being forwarded now by dozens, if not hundreds of people. And every one of those potentially thousands of messages has your email address in it.
Look at the garbage email you receive. Scan through the entire message and count the number of email addresses in it. Do you think any of those people wanted you to have their address? Do you want them to have yours? How long do you think it will take for that message to make its way into the hands of someone not so trustworthy who is just waiting for a new, fresh list of people to sell to the spammers?
So, break the chain. Think twice before forwarding any email at all. Then think again.
More later.
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