Here are some tips about spam. I think they will be useful for everybody nowadays using PC. So, please, read and maybe you will find out something that will help you.
Electronic spam is more than just a nuisance. While it can be treacherous, invasive and unrelentingly annoying on a personal level, the bigger issue is that it can cost small businesses real money.
Spam wastes hours of productivity as employees separate important e-mails from harassing ones. And it can unleash potentially catastrophic viruses and worms upon a company network, leading to compromised data and/or additional downtime.
If you ever find yourself wondering why your company’s Internet connection seems slow, or why your e-mails get delayed, spam is almost always part of the problem.
Spam is unwanted, unsolicited bulk electronic messaging. It most commonly takes the form of e-mail, but it could just as easily be targeted at blogs, social networking sites, Twitter users, wikis, search engines, mobile phones or fax machines. It either seeks to sell you something (like junk mail does) or steal something from you (the way phishing e-mails attempt to get your personal information). On a global level, spam clogs the pipes that ferry information around the world while considerably slowing the transmission of electronic data.
So how do we hold back the e-mail deluge? One mouse click at a time. Here are some critical do’s and don’ts for ridding your business of spam.
DO:
Get a spam filter. Most e-mail software comes with one built in, but getting an additional layer of protection is advised. Products like ClearMyMail are effective and affordable (at about $25 a year). And there are free versions as well, such as BullGuard. Yes, these can sometimes filter out real e-mails, but would you rather look through your spam filter every once in a while or constantly weed out spam from your inbox?
Educate employees. You may think that spam and phishing e-mails are easy to spot, but there’s a reason so many are sent: They work. Make sure your employees know the telltale signs of spam, such as misspelled words, an unknown sender, no mention of your name, and promises that are too good to be true.
Report spam. If an e-mail is an attempt at phishing — a type of spam that entices you to divulge personal information — you should forward it to the National Fraud Information Center. You can also alert eBay, PayPal or Amazon of phishing e-mails by forwarding them to each site’s designated abuse address.
DON’T:
Reply to spam. This includes trying to unsubscribe to a spam e-mail. These scams work by guessing at e-mail addresses. When they get a response, they know two things: The e-mail address is live, and you’re a sucker. Tell your e-mail application that the e-mail is spam and report it to the authorities, but don’t ever send a signal back to the spammer that you’re a real person.
Give out your business e-mail address. Whether you’re entering a contest or ordering lawn furniture, never use your business address. If you must enter an e-mail address to complete a transaction, use your personal address. And try changing the name you use each time you enter this information on the Web. If you keep records of what name you use with each Web site, you can track your spam back to an original source and lodge a complaint.
Give up. The more ineffective spamming becomes, the less spammers will do it. Don’t ever quit reporting malicious or predatory e-mails.
Those are the basics. I would love to hear any additional techniques that you use at your company. And if you’re one of the companies responsible for these weapons of mass distraction, go ahead and plead your case here.