Malicious messages such as scams and phishing attempts are some of the most dangerous items that you can receive in your email inbox. These messages often attempt to create a sense of urgency with the hope that you will click a link and give up a password or other sensitive information. Other messages contain attachments designed to infect your computer with viruses. Learning how to identify dangerous email can help you prevent it from causing damage to your computer, your finances and your privacy.
Step 1
If you’ve ever opened your email application to see that you have hundreds of new messages in just a day or two, you know what it is like to be hit by email spam. Spam isn’t just a big waste of space in your email account. It is annoying to wade through all those emails. Even more importantly, the sheer volume of viagra, porn, I’m the King of Siam’s uncle and need you to move money for me, etc. emails makes missing an important email from an actual customer or the boss a lot more likely. If you happen to work for someone who isn’t technologically savvy, you could even get in trouble for getting spam mail. Your boss may be under the impression that you had to visit 50 porn sites and sign up for their email lists to get all of this junk mail in your inbox. Stop the bombardment of spam mail before the little “you’ve got mail” tune going off every three seconds drives you to resort to pen and paper for your business correspondance or ruins your boss’s opinion of your work ethic. Get some anti spam software.
If YOU have ever felt angry about these annoying pests and wanted to do something about it but didn’t know how, read on! The following is a list of what NOT to do when you receive spam.
- Do NOT try to follow remove instructions! In most cases, one of two things will happen. (1) You will have affirmed that your e-mail address is valid, and therefore will receive even MORE spam, or (2) You will receive a follow-up e-mail from the appropriate Postmaster that the e-mail address you replied to is invalid.
If you regularly or even occasionally use the internet, chances are you’ve come across an annoying and malicious set of programs affectionately referred to by computer users as ‘spyware’. Like ‘adware’, spyware programs track your internet usage, collect personal information, spawn ‘pop-up’ advertisements, and can even alter your internet browser settings. Spyware generally refers the kinds of adware that are covertly installed onto your computer without your consent.
Spam is here to stay. And whether you like it or not, you have to face spam squarely and do your share in mitigating its negative effects. Although spam can be a source of information, spam is taken negatively because it is unsolicited. Who would ever want to receive bulk of emails containing product advertisements and easy get-rich-schemes information? Spam can slow down your server’s bandwidth and can be a form of spy ware designed to steal confidential information from your computer.