A superior strategy to fight spam

Here are some rules that are only less effective but sum up all my experiences that I did in the last few years. And all these rules apply to all Internet users, from casual users to advanced users.

Rule 1

Never print your own address online. Never again. Post your address on MySpace, Facebook or your own website and you’ll be inundated with spam in a matter of minutes.

Whenever possible, try to hide or obfuscate your address with java script and generate an image from your address. Encrypting it as nameddomaincom is not enough.

rule 2

Forget all the filters and tools. Don’t trust your ISP’s spam filters.

From complicated regular expression filters and blacklisting of known bad mail servers, to semi-intelligent Bayes filtering, none of them deliver on their promises. They are always behind the current trend in spam.

The problems with filtering are not spam that goes undetected, but good email that is accidentally retained or, worse yet, deleted.

rule 3

Use disposable addresses that can be deleted if they start to attract spam messages. Try to find services that allow you to create those addresses with the tip of a finger. Each of these fake addresses is redirected to your main address and you can even reply to them, while your real address is always obfuscated.

This is by far the best way to communicate with machines, newsletters, shopping sites, etc.

And when do they spam you? No problem, just delete the target address and that’s it.

Rule 4

Never reply to spam UNDER ANY CONDITIONS, just delete it. Never confirm that you read and even reply to such mails.

Rule 5

Don’t even open spam. They could infect you with a computer virus or confirm your address automatically in the background. Try deleting the suspicious message directly on the mail server.

Rule 6

Never click on links in spam email messages, including unsubscribe links. This will only lead to more spam. It is also better not to open emails from unknown senders in HTML mode.

rule 7

Never buy anything from a company that sends out spam. Don’t reward those guys for abusing you. Do not visit their sites or ask for more information.

Rule 8

Use multiple email addresses for different purposes. This helps you identify different sources and senders, and allows you to separate them more effectively.

rule 9

Use products where unknown human senders have to identify themselves before their email goes from quarantine to your inbox.

rule 10

Use automatically created disposable addresses for typing on machines (eg web 2.0, shops, newsletters)

rule 11

Check if your email address is open to spammers by typing it into a search engine.

rule 12

Try to use a more complicated address, one that is less likely to receive spam than one that can easily be dictionary hit. Choose an address created completely at random.

rule 13

Stop using betrayed addresses. You will never be removed from the spammers list.

rule 14

Never give your login details to anyone. Not your wife, not your best friend, and of course not your co-worker.

rule 15

Always defend yourself in the best possible way. New Windows patches, up-to-date virus protection, and a working firewall are an absolute must.

rule 16

Do not use MS Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. They are buggy and are constantly an attacker’s first potential prey.

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