In part one of this series, we were discussing setting up a primary e-mail address. Once you have chosen a name for your primary e-mail address, the next thing I want you to do involves NOT doing something that seems, on the face of it, a good idea.

Many spam messages will carry an unsubscribe option somewhere within the e-mail. Don’t do it! You are trusting people that have already violated your space with unwanted trash. Many of these unsubscribe options are actually an indication to the sender that you exist. They will send out many e-mails to made up addresses and then receive bouncebacks. The bouncebacks are eliminated from the list. Once you click on the unsubscribe option, you are telling the spammer that they got a “live one.” When this has been confirmed by you, those spam messages will never, ever disappear from that address. You may block it at your ISP, you may block it within your e-mail client, but you are still going to have to remove it from the spam list at the ISP or remove it from the junk mail folder in your e-mail client. Yes, it has been identified as spam, no you have not saved yourself any work. It takes the same amount of energy to remove a message from your junk mail folder as it does to remove it from your inbox. We all check the junk mail to make sure nothing important was redirected there, so the spammer still forces you to look at that piece of junk.

The next step you can take is to get a disposable e-mail address. This is usually one from Yahoo! or Hotmail, or many other options. I personally use Hotmail and Gmail for my disposable accounts. There are also paid services online that manage disposable e-mail addresses. An example of these services is spamex, but you may find other services that you prefer. Usually they cost about $10 per year.

If you use newsgroups, use one of these addresses. I have noticed that each and every time I post in a newsgroup my spam goes up a tremendous amount. Spammers will use “spiders” or “bots” on Web sites and newsgroups looking for the “@” anywhere on the page. This is a signal that it may be an e-mail address and is captured for the spammer. Before using a disposable e-mail address I began to avoid responding in newsgroups, which defeats the purpose of the group. If my spam increases on the disposable account, I simply eliminate it… spam, begone! Once your e-mail address is posted anywhere on the Web, you are toast! Done! Cooked!

I know that you are probably thinking that this is just one more thing that you have to waste your time on. Remember, take the time up front and you will save yourself not only time, but a whole lot of aggravation in the long run.

In the next installment, I will discuss spam beacons and the differences in e-mail clients. Some will protect you more than others. Of course we all know that as I write this everything is changing, but at least we will all be only a short distance behind the spammers instead of easy pickin’s.

[tags]isp,spam control,junk mail,disposable email address,bounce,block[/tags]