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Spam is any e-mail sent to multiple recipients who have not specifically requested to receive it. Some of these e-mails may be useful, but most of them are simply “junk mail” containing hoaxes, scams, and advertising. Spam can crowd inboxes with useless messages, cause problems for e-mail service providers, and even carry viruses.

Four Tips for Reducing Spam in Your Inbox

1. Protect Your E-Mail Address

Many spammers use spambots or computer programs to harvest e-mail addresses from the Internet. If you have a personal Web site, be sure to use some method of encryption on any e-mail addresses you display on it. When posting at a public Web site or a newsgroup, mask your e-mail address by changing the domain (i.e. myname@*REMOVEME*example.com) or by spelling it out (i.e. myname AT example DOT com).

Some spammers guess at e-mail addresses by sending spam to every possible combination of letters at a domain or to common names and words. Because of this, you may want to choose a unique e-mail address that would be more difficult to guess.

Certain companies may violate your privacy by sending e-mails you didn’t request or by selling your e-mail address to spammers once you provide it. Before giving out personal information, it is important to find out how those requesting your e-mail address will use it. If you aren’t required to provide your address, don’t.

2. Use Multiple E-Mail Addresses

Set up an alternate address for sign-ups, posting on unfamiliar Web sites, or any other time you need to provide contact information to a party you don’t completely trust. Consider using a service that creates disposable e-mail addresses, which forward to your permanent account but can be shut down if they begin receiving spam.

3. Use E-Mail Filtering

Many e-mail clients (including several free Web-based e-mail providers) are able to filter the e-mail you receive, dramatically reducing the amount of spam that shows up in your inbox.

• In Outlook Express, go to the Tools menu, select Message Rules, and choose Mail (see the article Controlling Junk Mail in Outlook Express on Microsoft’s Web site).
• In Mozilla, open the Tools menu and select Junk Mail Controls (see the article Using Junk Mail Controls on Mozilla’s Web site).

4. Avoid Responding to Spam

• Do not reply to spam. Ignore any instructions to reply with the word “unsubscribe” or “remove” in the subject line, and don’t click on “unsubscribe” links or other web addresses in spam e-mails unless you trust the source. Unless the message is lawful commercial e-mail, responding to it will often do nothing but alert the sender that your e-mail address is active, making it more valuable to spammers and more likely to receive additional spam.
• Do not call. Generally, any phone numbers provided will not help you to remove your e-mail address from the spammer’s list.
• Do not abuse the spammer in any way. Spamming in return, or any other form of retaliation will not resolve the problem, and may harm an innocent third party.