In this electronic age where often our private information is not so private, we often find ourselves the target of unsolicited e-mail, or as we've all come to call it, SPAM.

While we all know what SPAM is, many often are left wondering what can be done to eliminate or minimize the amount of SPAM we receive. Here are a few tips that will help reduce the amount of time you spend deleting mail and hopefully increase the time you spend reading or writing.

1) Never "publish" your email address:

Anywhere that your email address appears as plain text on a website, that isn't protected by a login screen, makes it susceptible to bots, crawlers or spiders whose sole purpose is to harvest email addresses from the internet and pass them off to mail list networks.

If you have to publicly disclose your e-mail address you can use these methods to help protect yourself:

username-AT-domain-DOT-com
NOusernameSPAM@NOdomainSPAM.com

Any human can easily pull the "no spam" words out and convert the words to the proper characters. Variations of these will serve the purpose but to be 100% it's best to embed your address in a graphic image.

2) Read the fine print:

When you join many websites, blogs and forums there is usually a bunch of fine print that you have to agree to in order to register. Most of the time people don't even bother to read this and in doing so you may be agreeing to allow that website to sell your email address.

3) If it seems fishy, bring tartar sauce:

If you have to sign up for a website that you know is going to sell your address or is known for doing so, create a dummy email account with Gmail or hotmail that's only purpose is for internet registrations and the like. This way, all that SPAM goes to a mailbox that you don't really use.

4) Opting out may Opt you in:

While the CAN-SPAM act requires certain mailings to include an opt-out link, sometimes these links only serve the purpose of verifying that your email address is real/active and ends up putting you on more lists. If you haven't opted in for the e-mail you've received then it's best to just delete it. If you see another down the line it may indicate that it's a "legit SPAM" mailing and opting out at that point is safer.

While it's nearly impossible to avoid all spam, following these guidelines can greatly help to reduce the amount of SPAM you receive.
Brian Ellwood
IT Specialist
Mercury Web Solutions