Spam Tips And Free Spam Blockers You Can Download By: Kevin McIntyre

On the other you have the risk of computer virus through communicating unsolicited messages. With the signing of the Can Spam bill by President Bush in December 2003, the first standard was set against bulk unsolicited email which are of commercial in nature. This important bill was subsequently approved by the Senate and voted 97 to 0 and it bans any sender from sending out misleading bulk emails which are commercial and unsolicited after duly hiding their true identities and using dictionaries to create the mailer. Over and above this, these emails can not start with a subject line which deceives the recipient and must have some opt out option. The law prevents the sender from accessing addresses from websites and any violation of the law can entail imprisonment up to one year.

A major point to ponder is that these days the there are various countries of origin for spam and they are larger in numbers. Such spam is harder to combat because of their alien origin. Since the internet is global in nature, laws become ineffective. Is there any thing you could do for protection? Here are the top tried and tested rules for protection against spam:

Number 1: Never put your email address on the internet. 'Spam spiders' are specialized products which hunt for email address on the net for using as a mailing list later. In case you want to know more, search 'spam spider' on the net and the results would leave you dumbstruck. 'Spambots' and 'spam spiders' and similar rogues on the net is confronted ably by a site called WebPoison.org which is an open source project which just goes on sending them rubbish web pages which carry nonsense email addresses.

Simply visit sites like www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net. It could be a possibility that you wish to go for a professional version simultaneously but even if you do this, install the software as it could save you many precious hours. The software thought not infallible is capable enough but you might have to do some set up manually to prevent some kinds of email.

Number 3: Take the approach of having many email addresses. Having plenty of email addresses could mean that you use them for specific communications and have another few as back ups. This is somewhat like your friends have your private cell number but all the rest of your contacts have your official number.

Number 4: It is common for spam to have enclosures which carry the viruses. While large corporations may use spam filters which do not allow the spam to reach you, personal emails are the places where spammers have a field day. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT.

Number 5: Did you know that email service providers are now offering 'bulk mail' baskets? If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vendor. If you know someone, they can send you emails, if you don't know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then 'choose' to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.

You can now get free spam blockers you can download at http://www.info-index.net/

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