Dear Friend, are you sick and tired of SPAM in your mailbox? Want rock-solid insider secrets to save $$$? This IS too good to be true, right? Stop email with ANNOYING capitalizations and word m/sspe11ings that are blatant attempts to evade spam filters. No more wading through fifty JUNK messages to find the single important one. This may seem too good to be true, but Friend, it will work for you! Get rid of spam with these techniques.
Never respond to spam
Never purchase anything from a spammer. Don’t reply with “take me off your list”. Don’t click on any “remove me” link. Delete spam immediately. The effort it takes to properly remove yourself from spam listings has no lasting impact on the amount of spam you receive. In fact, some spammers want replies, as they’re notified of the live person checking email at your PC. Some spam is designed to notify the spammer the second an email is opened. If you can identify spam by the author and subject line, it’s best to delete it without even viewing the message.
Check for provider filtering
AOL and web-based email like Hotmail and Gmail are difficult to spam-protect with separate software. However, these providers generally have good spam protection available. If not, it may be time to move your account somewhere else. In AOL, use the keyword “Spam Controls” for more information. In Hotmail, click “Options”, then “Junk Email Protection”. In Gmail, most of the work is done for you, but if spam ever does slip through, use the “Report Spam” button.
Install filtering software
If your email software is a non-AOL program like Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora, you can probably use a third-party spam filter. This program stands in front of your email software and act as a large intimidating bodyguard. All email goes through the bodyguard first. Any spam can be flagged or immediately deleted. It’s impossible to block all spam, but these tools come close.
Spambayes
It’s a free product that “learns” by studying the email you flag as spam. The more you use this program, the better it will perform.
iHateSpam
It’s $20 for the first year, then $10 per year. It performs very well with no tweaking, but extensive tweaking is possible for those who want it.
McAfee Internet Security Suite
$60 for the first year, then $30 per year. This solution gives great protection in a number of areas like antivirus, firewall and yes, spam blocking. Use this if you currently have no antivirus software on your PC.
The wonderful freedom of the Internet also opens it to abuse. Luckily, there are many tools to fix our problems. Use them and reduce spam. To all those interested in impossibly low mortgage rates and mail-order prescription drugs, I apologize.