Best Practices to Prevent It.
Spam is junk e-mail that's usually sent to many people at once. It is unsolicited, generally comes from a source you're unfamiliar with, is often sent for commercial purposes, and may contain words or images you find offensive.
In addition to wasting people's time with unwanted e-mail, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth.
The best way to prevent spam is to be careful with your e-mail address. Spammers often create mailing lists by using scanning programs to search postings to Internet Web sites, bulletin boards and newsgroups.
NEVER RESPOND TO SPAM
Oh sure, they say they'll take your name off the list, but they're lying. What they really want to do is confirm that they've got a live address. Also, if you respond, they'll sell your address to every other spammer on the planet meaning you'll soon be flooded with even more spam.
DON'T GIVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITHOUT KNOWING HOW IT WILL BE USED
If a website is asking for your email address, they want to use it for something. Be sure you know what. Read the terms of use and privacy statements of any site before telling them your address. Ask yourself some simple questions. Are they going to share or sell my address? Do I want emails from this website? Do I trust them? Is it worth the risk? If you can't answer these questions satisfactorily, if you can't find their privacy statement, don't tell them your address.
NEVER BUY ANYTHING ADVERTISED IN SPAM
The reason that people spam is because they can make money. They make money, like all advertisers, by convincing people to buy a product. If no one buys the things advertised in spam, companies will quit paying spammers to advertise their products.
Another common form of spam consists of hoax messages and warnings about non-existent "viruses." Unlike other types of spam, a hoax usually is forwarded by someone you know who thinks the message is legitimate. Generally, you have to scroll down through lists of earlier recipients before you get to the heart of the message, which originated with someone you don't know. Common themes in these hoax notices are:
" Warnings about dire e-mail viruses.
" Pleas from sick children seeking a record-setting number of get well cards.
" Advisories about $250 department store cookie recipes.
" Tips on getting money, goods or services from well-known companies simply by forwarding e-mail messages.
Before you forward that e-mail to all your friends, check to see if it's legitimate. Check here for common urban legends.
