Top 7 Ways to STOP Junk Email

By Jim Edwards
Posted Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Nothing makes me angrier than opening my email in-box to find over 150 messages, wading through them all, and discovering that 135 of the messages rate as nothing more than junk.

The problem with junk email or "spam" (the popular slang for unsolicited commercial email) only seems to get worse with each passing day.

Luckily, we can fight back in ways that will actually cut down significantly on the amount of spam we receive on a daily basis.

Try these tips and see if they can't cut the spam you receive down by at least half.

** Don't Respond

Much of the spam you receive contains an "unsubscribe" link saying something like "To unsubscribe, click here." Do NOT click that link.

Clicking it lets spammers know they've got a live email address!

** Use Mailwahser

Get a program like "Mailwasher" from Mailwasher.net that allows you to view the email you receive before you download it.

The program makes it simple to delete dozens of emails, including viruses, before they reach your computer.

** Use Your Filters

Your email program most likely contains filters you can use to weed out emails containing the usual spam words like "opportunity, $$$, sex, viagra" and a host of others.

You can set the filters to delete messages containing these words before ever downloading them to your computer.

** Use An "Assassin"

Spam "killer" services offer users high-powered filtering, often requiring a sender to prove their identity before an email gets sent to the recipient.

One such service, SpamArrest.com, forces email senders to go to a website and type in a random word before their email gets delivered. This service has gained a lot of popularity lately and seems reasonably effective.

** Use a Temporary Email

Maintain a public and private email address and never give your private email to anyone other than family and friends.

Go sign up for a free email account with Hotmail.com or mail.yahoo.com to use whenever you subscribe to a newsletter or request a free report. That way, if the spam ever gets too bad, you can simply abandon the free account and open another.

Your private email address should remain safe because nobody will know it except the people you trust.

** Never Post Your Email

Never post your private email address in forums, guest books, news groups or on a website. Spammers use little robots that comb the Internet looking for email addresses they can collect and sell to others.

Always use a free account or set it up so you can shut off the exposed email address once the spam gets too bad.

** Abandon Ship

Shut down your current account and just start over! This may seem a drastic move, but it may represent the best course of action if your sanity or your email box can't handle another offer for sexual enhancements, a great business opportunity, or a free cruise.

Notify everyone you want to know your new email address and get on with life.

About the Author
Jim Edwards,
ebookcoach@7dayebook.com
(http://www.thenetreporter.com)
Author and co-author of several highly successful ebooks, including "How to Write and Publish your own eBook... in as littl as 7 Days" (http://www.7dayebook.com). Writes a syndicated offline Newspaper Column - (http://www.thenetreporter.com) - focusing on ebooks, tips, tricks, expert interviews, & more!