SPAM as we all know is annoying, but did you know that it can be potentially dangerous to you and your business? Quite a number of SPAM emails these days are a part of a larger phishing scam.
SPAM emails are sent in bulk by both legitimate and criminal organisations. The purpose of SPAM emails could be any of the following:
- Make Money
Run Phishing Scams – in order to obtain passwords, credit card numbers, bank account details and other personal or sensitive data Spread malicious code onto recipients’ computers.
So think before you click on that next link in the unsolicited email in your inbox. If you don’t know who the sender is or what the content on the email is about it is safer to delete the email as opposed to clicking on any links or attachments that may be included. Even the unsubscribe links can be dangerous.
So how do we reduce the amount of spam email you receive?
Here are a few useful tips from the Kaspersky Lab team of Internet Security Experts.
Set up multiple email addresses
It’s a good idea to have at least two email addresses:
Private email address
This should only be used for personal correspondence. Because spammers build lists of possible email addresses by using combinations of obvious names, words and numbers you should try to make this address difficult for a spammer to guess. Your private address should not simply be your first and last name – and you should protect the address by doing the following:
- Never publish your private email address on publicly accessible online resources. If you must publish your private address electronically, try to mask it – in order to avoid having the address picked up by spammers. For example, ‘Joe.Smith@yahoo.com’ is an easy address for spammers to find. Try writing it as ‘Joe-dot-Smith-at-yahoo.com’ instead
- When you need to publish your private address on a website, it is safer to do this as a graphics file rather than as a link. If your private address is discovered by spammers you should change it. although this may be ‘inconvenient, changing your email address will help you to avoid spam.
Public email address
Use this address when you need to register on public forums and in chat rooms, or to subscribe to mailing lists and other Internet services. The following tips will also help you to reduce the volume of spam you receive via your public email address:
- Treat your public address as a temporary address. The chances are high that spammers will rapidly get hold of your public address especially if it is frequently being used on the Internet.
- Don’t be afraid to change your public email address often.
- Consider using a number of public addresses. That way you’ll have a better chance of tracing which services may be selling your address to spammers.
- Never respond to any spam.
- Most spammers verify receipt and log responses.
The more you respond, the more spam you’re likely to receive.
Think before you click ‘unsubscribe’.
Spammers send fake unsubscribe letters, in an attempt to collect active email
addresses.
If you click on ‘unsubscribe’ in one of those letters, it may simply increase the amount of spam you receive. Do not click on ‘unsubscribe’ links in emails that come from unknown sources.
Keep your browser updated
Make sure that you use the latest version of your web browser and that all of the
latest Internet security patches have been applied.
Use anti-spam filters
If you’re looking for the Industry’s best and most awarded solution, talk to us about the Kapersky Lab products.
