What Can I Do About the Spam I Receive?
There are basically three options for dealing with unwanted "junk"
email, also referred to as "spam":
- Delete it. Sometimes referred to as JHD, for Just Hit Delete.
- Filter it. FutureQuest® offers Advanced
Email Filtering options for server side filtering. Some people prefer
to use their email client or other utilities for filtering out spam email.
Some subscribe to third party filtering services. See the resource links below
for references on such products and services.
- Report it. Some people report spam,
in an effort to combat the growing problem.
It is NOT recommended to reply to spam, or to request to be removed from the
sender's list, unless you believe the mailing has been sent by a reputable list
manager. It is believed that in many cases, requesting to be "removed"
from a spam mailing only confirms a valid email address to the spammers and
may result in your receiving even more unwanted email.
Likewise, it is not recommended to bounce spam back to the sender. Sending
bounce notices has been observed to be ineffective in having spammers remove
your email address from their list. Most spammers do not use a real email address
for the sender of the email, and oftentimes forge the email address of an arbitrary
third party. Since the bounce messages would most likely not be sent back to
the spammer, and may be sent to an innocent third party, it is better not to
send any bounce notice.
Please do not consider retaliating against the spammer by mail-bombing him,
or otherwise trying to disrupt his Internet services. This is most likely a
violation of the AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) of the Internet Service Provider(s)
that you are using for your network access and could get you into serious trouble.
In an attempt to head off spam before it lands in your Inbox, you may want
to implement some measures for protecting
your email address, which focus primarily on methods for keeping your email
address private.
Resource Links for more information related to this
topic:
Abuse.net's Tips and Help for Regular Users
SpamCop.net Reporting, Blocking and Filtering Services
Spam Category at the Open Directory Project
NANAE spam fighting and Prevention FAQ
MS Outlook Spam Filtering Tutorial
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