Top Tips on Avoiding Spam

1. Be wary of the 'unsubscribe' button Unsubscribing can alert spammers to the fact that you exist and your email address becomes more valuable to them. Apply the principle that you only need to unsubscribe to a service that you have subscribed to. 2. Never reply to or forward spam Some spam emails encourage you to forward a security warning to your friends and contacts, and some of these warnings are themselves infected emails, thus spreading spam even more. 3. Use an unusual name If you use an email address with numbers in it for instance, you are less likely to receive spam. Spammers often use dictionaries of common names to guess email addresses, e.g. john.smith@company.com. 4. Avoid clicking on any links in spams The addresses of links are frequently disguised and often serve only to confirm your existence to spammers. 5. Avoid downloading pictures in spam email These can identify you as a recipient even if you just view the message in the preview pane. You can view your email as text to prevent this, or you can set your email security to block external images. 6. Make sure you have the software you need Spam emails are very often connected with viruses, so installing anti-virus and firewall software is vital if you are receiving a lot of spam. A good spam filter should also be effective. 7. Be careful with your email address Try to avoid displaying your primary personal email address on websites, message boards or newsgroups as these are collected, sold and used by spammers. Use several different ones if necessary. 8. Never act on an unsolicited email Whether it's bogus requests for personal bank or credit card details, claims that you've won the lottery, or offers of bargain price drugs like Viagra don't be fooled. 9. Differentiate between types of emails Learn to spot the difference between illegal unsolicited spam and legitimate marketing. Legitimate companies will usually comply with requests to unsubscribe you from their mailing lists. Look carefully at the wording of opt-in/opt-out statements. 10. Use the blind copy (bcc) field When sending emails to a large number of recipients, use this function to conceal their email addresses which can be vulnerable to spammers.