Preventing Spam
Combatting spam might be an uphill battle, but it's not hopeless. Here are a few simple tricks any users can use to prevent spam:
Use a "disposable" e-mail address in online communities. When you use Internet bulletin boards, newsgroups, or chat rooms, you're displaying your e-mail address where spammers can easily snag it. Consider a non-business account for your public online activities, perhaps from a free service such as Hotmail or Yahoo. When spam starts piling up, you can close the account and get a new one.
Use a public e-mail address that's not your name. Spammers can randomly generate lists of e-mail addresses using likely name combinations. If you throw in a random letter, a few numbers, or even an extra word, you may slow down the process. For example, creating an address such as JaneDoe@hotmail.com will attract spam from the start. But using something like Jane99Doe or JDoeChat72 may block some junk e-mail.
Skip the @ sign. Some anti-spam advocates now list their addresses online like this: "To contact me, type 'janedoe,' followed by the @ sign, followed by 'hotmail.com.' " That prevents spammers from automatically harvesting the e-mail address -- but it also prevents everyone else from e-mailing you by clicking on a link.
Not All Bulk E-mail Qualifies as Spam
"The key word is 'unwanted," says Robert Mahowald, senior analyst with IDC, a Framingham, Mass.-based research firm. "Spam" refers to junk e-mail recipients didn't request and usually don't want.
On the other hand, Mahowald says, "alerts and notifications are also bulk e-mail. But they're something people want, something you opt in for."
That bulk e-mail category includes offers from companies you've given permission to contact you as well as the e-mail newsletters that many companies (including Inc.) send to subscribers upon request. Unlike spam, most alerts and notifications contain clear instructions for "opting out" of future communications.
Several leading online advertisers have banded together in an effort to publicly distinguish themselves from spammers. Working with the FTC, the Network Advertising Initiative has developed a set of principles intended to educate both businesses and consumers about the difference between spamming and legitimate e-mail marketing.
Here are online resources for learning more about preventing and filtering unwanted commercial e-mail.
About.com E-mail site
email.about.com/cs/spamfiltering/
This comprehensive e-mail information site features reviews of and links to spam-filtering tools.
CNET
www.cnet.com
Search by "spam" for articles, product reviews, advice.
Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE)
www.cauce.org/
This anti-spam activist group offers information and legislative/regulatory updates.
Electronic Privacy Information Center
www.epic.org
Offers articles, updates, and other information on spam and other e-privacy issues.
EmailAbuse.org
www.emailabuse.org/
This site, updated less frequently than others mentioned here, contains useful glossary and spam-prevention tips.
Federal Trade Commission
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/index.html
This federal agency's spam information site contains consumer info and news on enforcement actions.
Hormel Foods Corp.
www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm
If you're wondering why junk e-mail is called "spam" and how the Hormel folks view the matter, visit the Official SPAM Site.
Inbox Defense Task Force
Brand-new group; mission is to "shut down spammers while protecting consumers and business e-mailers." No website at press time. Phone: 212/741-8800.
Internet Privacy for Dummies
www.internetprivacyfordummies.com
Companion site to the yellow hard-copy guide contains legislative updates, tutorials on tracking spam, and links to other resources.
Junkbusters
www.junkbusters.com
MIT Spam Conference, 2003
www.spamconference.org
Network Advertising Initiative
www.networkadvertising.org/
This cooperative group of marketers has developed a set of privacy principles in conjunction with the FTC.
Paul Graham
www.paulgraham.com/antispam.html
Computer scientist-writer's site contains information, resources, recommendations, and technical advice in "A Plan for Spam."
SpamCon Foundation
www.spamcon.org
This group supports efforts "to reduce the amount of unsolicited email that crosses private networks, while ensuring that valid e-mail reaches its destination."
Spam Laws
www.spamlaws.com
Site maintained by David E. Sorkin, associate professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
