Cut Spam: A Worthwhile Resolution
Introduction

The bad news: You can expect an over 60% Spam increase this year.

The good news: Using these Worthwhile tips, you can take a bite out of Spam in 2007 and increase internet productivity on both the personal and corporate levels.

The Stats

Last year the Spam epidemic once again plagued e-mail users worldwide.
  • An estimated 85 billion Spam e-mails were sent daily.
  • The average user received 2,200 Spam e-mails.
  • Spam accounted for 90% of all e-mail and over 80% of all corporate e-mail.
The Side Effects

Spam is more than just annoying, electronic junk mail that floods your inbox—it eats up network bandwidth, spreads viruses, and ultimately results in lost time and productivity. Besides its irrelevant and often inappropriate nature, Spam is expensive!
  • In 2004, the California legislature found that spam cost United States organizations alone more than $10 billion.
  • Last year, Spam cost all Internet users $255 million.
The Source

It’s a simple but devious process: Spammers get your email address anywhere it’s posted on the Internet.
The Solution

You can take a bite out of Spam by following these Worthwhile tips that will help protect you from this epidemic and make your Internet time more profitable.

(1.) Protect your computer. If you have an Internet connection such as cable or DSL, have a properly functioning firewall, as well as up-to-date virus and spyware protection software.

(2.) Protect your e-mail address.
  • Don't post your e-mail address in plain text on a web page. Instead, use a form to get people to contact you.
  • Don't give your e-mail address to organizations you don't want spreading your address.
  • Create an e-mail address for newsletter signups, etc., and only use your primary address for important contacts.
  • Set up a temporary address for purchasing things online. A forward works nicely for this. For example, buystuff @ yourdomain.com could forward to you @ yourdomain.com. When you start getting spam at “buystuff,” delete it and create a new one.
  • When you send out a mass e-mail, include your recipients as bcc: not as cc:
  • Don't forward spam to others.
  • Set your e-mail client (Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc.) to NOT automatically download images.