10 Tips on How to Avoid Junk Emails
These are a few of my tips on avoiding junk emails.
The first thing you have to know is that you are responsible for your own information.
That means that you must safeguard your contact information:
- Keep it under lock and key. Do not make your email address public knowledge by posting it on a blog, social sites like Facebook or anywhere that it can be viewed by anyone with access to the internet.
- More is better than one. The many free web based email services allow us to have multiple email addresses. This is a must for people constantly using their emails. I will explain how to effectively use it below.
- Different tools for different purposes. The idea of having two or more personal emails allows an individual to have separate channels of communication which can be used for different purposes. I have three emails; one which I use for emailing friends and family, the other for online subscriptions and one is just a standby.
- Never mix work and play. There are many times that we use work email to pass around chain letters and junk. This will only lead to more chain letters and junk mail clogging your inbox.
- Assume guilty until proven innocent. If you receive an email out of the blue trying to contact you, do not reply. It is most likely spam unless the sender is clearly identified as someone you know.
- Send it to the recycle bin immediately. If you receive an email that you suspect is illegitimate then delete it immediately, there is no need to keep. However, if you are unsure at work then forward it to your IT department/section for verification.
- Tag ‘em and bag ‘em. Always tag the addresses you receive spam. This way it gets sent right to the junk mail box or deleted immediately.
- Monkey see, monkey do. If you don’t want your friends to send you chain emails then don’t forward any to them. If you do so, it becomes a confirmation that you are OK with it.
- Read the fine print. Whenever you try subscribing to a free online service, make sure you read the agreement and understand it before checking that box. Many companies are not obliged to keep your information confidential, leaving a window of possibility that they might sell it.
- Mung it. You can also mask your email address (also called munging) by either using adding a phrase to it for example bernardo@bagofbeans.com will become bernardo@nospam.bagofbean.com. This technique eliminates the possibility of your address being harvested by bots. However, it requires editing. For an automated response you can use website generated masks from sites like NetGetWise.
Bernard is a writer, martial art enthusiast and geek.
Latest posts by Bernard Sinai (see all)
- How to Get Stock Photography Pictures That Sell - April 10, 2024
- How to Use Etcher AppImage on Ubuntu - September 13, 2023
- How to Install LogicalDOC CE on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - June 22, 2023
Really informative and helpful!
Thanks a lot for these awesome tips 🙂
Great work!