Spam email and Virus, think it again! continued

Posted by arlene

How to Trim Your Spam

According to emailabuse.com, there are several things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of e-mail abuse. So far, there are no foolproof measures, but following these suggestions can greatly reduce your risk.

If you have any doubts as to the authenticity of the sender and/or the content, do not respond to it. They may sell your address to every spammer out there. Instead, contact the service provider directly in hope of getting the offender’s service terminated.

Report Internet fraud to the Federal Trade Commission or the National Consumer Complaint Center.

Get a free e-mail account somewhere online specifically for newsgroups and when registering on Web sites. Most spammers use programs to gather addresses from these sources. The spammers will get this address and all the junk email will flood this mailbox instead of your working one.

Don’t post your actual e-mail address on your Web site. Again, spammers have programs that can scan your pages for your address.

Use mail filters. They are not always completely accurate, but they can cut back on the number of junk e-mails you receive.

Beware of Viruses

Another danger of opening unsolicited mail is the possibility being attacked by a virus. These can quickly destroy valuable data and leave devastating damage in their wake. What’s more annoying than getting a virus from someone you know because they opened something they shouldn’t have, which then infiltrated their address book and passed it on to you? There are software programs that you can install on your computer that protect you from most viruses. The most popular, Norton AntiVirus, works pretty well to keep out most viruses. But remember: Your anti-virus software is only as good as the frequency of your updates. Experts update their software every day. You can do this by programming your software to update your system frequently; for maximum protection this should be done daily.

How to Ward off Viruses

Most viruses are spread through ignorance. According to email abuse.org, the following can help prevent infection.

Do not open attached files, especially .exe files, if you are not positive where they came from. Virus developers use something called “social engineering” that can make a harmful attachment look like it came from your friend Jane, when, in fact, Jane unknowingly has the virus, and it sent itself to everyone in Jane’s mailbox. Another “red flag” are attatchments that have two periods, like myfile.doc.scr; be suspicious if you see them. It’s smart to verify with the sender what they sent before you open the attachment.

CD Run virus scanning software or virus releases. As stated above; Norton AntiVirus or other anti-virus product.

Keep up with current news on virus releases. If you know what’s out there, you can take measures to avoid infection.

Taking steps to stop spamming or reporting e-mail abuse helps every Internet user. The more people who start reporting abuse or quit opening or buying products from spam advertising, the better chance honest users have of putting the bad guys out of business.

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