A: Spam is unsolicited "junk" e-mail sent to large numbers of people to promote products or services.
Q: How do I get Spam?
A: E-mail addresses posted on Web sites or in newsgroups attract the most spam. Some spam is generated through attacks on mail servers, methods that don't rely on the collection of e-mail addresses at all. In "brute force" attacks and "dictionary" attacks, spam programs send spam to every possible combination of letters at a domain, or to common names and words. While these attacks can be blocked, some spam is likely to get through. It is often difficult or impossible to tell how a spammer acquired a user's e-mail address.
Q: What can I do to eliminate Spam?
A: Currently there is no foolproof way to prevent spam. Here are some tips to help avoid Spam:
1. Use a filter. While filters are not perfect, they can cut down tremendously the amount of spam a user receives. To find out how to sign up for a Spam filter, contact your Internet Service Provider.
2. Disguise e-mail addresses posted in a public electronic place. Spammers "harvest" these addresses with computer programs that collect and process addresses and add them to spam mailing lists. If a user must post his/her e-mail address in a public place, it is useful to disguise the address through simple means such as replacing "example@domain.com" with "example at domain dot com" or other variations such as the HTML numeric equivalent.
3. Read carefully when filling out online forms requesting your e-mail address, and exercise your choice. If you don't want to receive e-mail from a Web site operator, don't give them your e-mail address unless they offer the option of declining to receive e-mail and you exercise that option. If you are asked for your e-mail address in an online setting such as a form, make sure you pay attention to any options discussing how the address will be used. Pay attention to check boxes that request the right to send you e-mails or share your e-mail address with partners. Read the privacy policies of Web sites. If you suspect that a Web site has violated its privacy policy, you can report it to your state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission.
4. Use multiple e-mail addresses. When using an unfamiliar Web site or posting to a newsgroup, establish an e-mail address for that specific purpose. Alternatively, instead of just using one or two e-mail addresses, you can use "disposable e-mail addresses," which consolidate e-mail in a single location but allow you to immediately shut off any address that is attracting spam. By recording which disposable address was used at which web site, one can track what sites are causing spam. Many Web sites are now providing free e-mail accounts. A search in Google Directory for "disposable e-mail addresses" provides a list of e-mail providers designed for one-time use e-mails.
5. Short e-mail addresses are easy to guess, and may receive more spam. E-mail addresses composed of short names and initials like bob@ or tse@, or basic combinations like smithj@ or toms@ will probably receive more spam. E-mail addresses need not be incomprehensible, but a user with a common or short name may want to modify or add to it in some way in his or her e-mail address.
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