Anyone using e-mail for more than a day knows junk e-mail forms a part of everyday life on the Internet. Unsolicited advertisements (called SPAM because of a Monte Python skit) show up on millions of computer screens costing thousands of dollars in lost time, bandwidth and resources. The majority of e-mail users don’t realize that a highly effective solution to the problem of SPAM already exists within their current email programs.
Most e-mail programs have “filters” allowing users the flexibility to control the types of messages and senders reaching their inboxes.
Suppose you get e-mail from a certain person or company that always seems a complete waste of time. In Outlook Express, the email program that comes on all computers running Windows98 and later, you can click “Message” on the tool bar and then click “Block Sender”. Your e-mail program will now block all messages from that sender by directing them to the “deleted items” folder as they come in. This filter also gives you the option of blocking all senders from a certain domain name.
Assume you regularly receive e-mail messages from a certain source that you want to keep, but only look at periodically. This would include email messages such as specific industry information, jokes, newsletters, etc. Your e-mail program lets you create rules to direct this e-mail to specific folders for later review.
Let’s say you receive frequent e-mail from several different sources regarding a hobby or special interest such as woodworking. You can set up rules in Outlook Express by going to “Tools”, then “Message Rules”, and then “Mail” to direct those messages to a specific folder that holds all of your woodworking and related information. You can even apply those rules to e-mail message you’ve already received to help you get organized. To further aid you in organizing your information, set your filters to automatically direct new e-mail based on the words contained in the subject or message body. I personally use this feature to filter messages containing the following words: business opportunity, investment opportunity, sex, advertisement, adv (short for advertisement), MLM (multilevel-marketing), special offer, don’t wait, make money, money making opportunity. These words in the subject line or the first few paragraphs of a message usually indicate one thing – SPAM! By filtering them I don’t waste time sorting and deleting them.
If by chance you create a rule and later wish to change it the operation takes about 20 seconds. Just go to “Tools”, “Message Rules”, “Mail”, select the rule you want to change, and click “Modify”. You will make your changes in the “Edit Rule” dialog box.
Overall, mail filters represent the most potent SPAM killers available because they require no interaction or cooperation from the person sending the junk e-mail. You can dramatically reduce the amount of junk email that crosses your computer screen with a little thought and effective use of the tools in programs you most likely already have.
Like I said earlier, spam represents the #1 preferred vehicle for online scammers looking to cheat you out of your hard-earned money.
Let’s look at some of the more common games they play so you can spot a scam a mile away and avoid trouble…