Spam

Spam is unwanted e-mail-the “junk mail” of the internet. Spam is usually harmless, other than it can fill up your online mailbox. However, spam can be used to spread viruses to your computer. To reduce spam the Federal Trade Commission suggests the following steps:

• Do not display your e-mail address in public (includes newsgroups, chat rooms, Web sites and directories).
• If submitting your address to a Web site, check their privacy policy to ensure that they will not sell your address to others.
  
• Read and understand all the "fine print" when submitting online forms. Many sites have an option of not receiving e-mail from them or their "partners". This box may need to be checked/un-checked.
  
• Consider using separate e-mail accounts for your personal business, your business and newsgroups/chat rooms.
  
• Consider using a free e-mail service that creates a new e-mail address to use. You can forward the mail to your personal address. If the free e-mail account begins to receive spam, you can close it down.
  
• Disguise your e-mail address in forms and text by typing out "at" and "dot".
  
• Use a unique e-mail address instead of just your name or initials. The negative side to this is it can be harder to remember complicated addresses.
  
• Use spam-filtering software. Some Internet service providers have software that identifies spam and sends it to a junk e-mail folder. There are also software programs available to install on your computer to perform these functions.