What is a spam email?
The most common form of spamming, known as spam email is sent by spammers to many users mainly for the purpose of advertising. While these unwanted, often annoying email spam can be deleted, there are harmful spam that can purposefully send spyware and other malware like virus can prove to be disastrous if you have not taken precautions while dealing them.
Whether harmful or less malicious, all spam emails are annoying and intruding our privacy so most users across the world are in search for preventive methods and spam filters or anti-spam software. These software block the email spam once their features are enabled on your web browser.
How to protect your email accounts from spammers?
- Spammers get your email addresses using various methods. Social networking sites, chain emails etc often help the spammers to get the email addresses. It is better to think twice before you provide email details when you sign up for a P2P site or any sites that sound dubious.
- Make sure that you don’t put your email address for display where everyone can access, see like chat windows in instant messenger services.
- Sometimes when you get forwarded messages, you don’t simply do the same as your email address can be known to more people.
- When you give email addresses to others, make sure they are responsible individuals, firms, websites etc.
- When you sign up for a service in a specific site, make sure that the website does not display it for public view.
- When you get spam emails, it is always better not to open it. Replying to it increases further risk, invites more spam. If you don’t reply, most often, spammers may stop sending spam messages after certain time.
- Malicious email spams might have virus, spyware etc. Once you know it is from dubious source, it is better to delete it or use some antivirus to remove the virus when you decide to open it.
- Are you doing online shopping quite often? It is always better to use a separate email address for that purpose. As spammers target online shoppers, this email account can be better managed instead of using other personal email addresses.
- Most email services come spam filters or feature that let you to mark messages as spam. If you happen to spot any spam messages, do not hesitate to do so as the email service provider can offer you better service.
Some of the broadband providers in the UK also provide spam filters and internet security software. You may check these features when you sign up with your provider.