Computer and Web Articles

Using great anti-spam software isn’t the only way to fight spam. You can actually prevent a great deal of spam from getting sent to you in the first place if you can remember to never, ever, ever use your main e-mail address to sign up for anything on the web.

Whether you’re signing up for a user account at a great new online store or you’re signing up to receive a business eNewsletter from a reputable organization, using an alternative e-mail address will help keep wicked spammers from finding and exploiting your main e-mail address. Many sites make a good deal of money by selling e-mail addresses they collect to spammers. Other sites have weak security and therefore they - and your e-mail address - may be prone to hackers. Other sites (such as forums) often post e-mail addresses right onto their pages, practically handing your e-mail address over to e-mail harvesters.

If you have your own domain, create a “throwaway” address, such as signup@yoursitename.com, that you use for nothing other than signing up for services and logging in to online accounts. If you don’t have your own domain, simply set up a free e-mail account at Hotmail or Gmail instead.

This simple step packs a mighty punch and keeps new spammers from finding your main email address. Unfortunately, however, if you’re already on all the spammers’ e-mail lists, you might not notice a big change.