The question that we have all asked at one point or another in our time of being on the internet and a question that we all want to know; Why do I get some much spam mail? Firstly, we will see exactly where spam comes from, how its generated, and then how it ultimately ends up in your email.
Let’s start by discussing where spam comes from; spammers.
Every day, millions of people receive dozens of unsolicited commercial e-mails, also known to us as “spam.” So where does it come from?
You might be shocked to know that it comes from..well..you! When you post your email address on websites and/or on blogs or forums, that is when you will start to see spam flooding your email account. Spammers often use software (usually robots or spiders) to help them gather up and collect email addresses. A great example would be if you were to have your own website, and you place your email address at the bottom of your site. The harvesting software that spammers use can easily pick up addresses and before you know it, you’ll have more junk in your inbox than you could ever want (and you thought the soliciting mail in your mailbox every day was annoying!)
Now that you know one of the many ways that you get spam, let’s now discuss ways of preventing it!
While there is no foolproof way to prevent spam all together, there are certain steps and precautions that you can take to help reduce the amount that you get so it’s not that big of an annoyance.
* When filling out online forms requesting your e-mail address, make sure you pay attention to any options discussing how your email address will be used.
* Using multiple e-mail addresses, even disposable e-mail addresses for the purpose of just junk mail, will work wonders for keeping spammers at bay. You can always keep your “real” email address for close friends and family, and use a secondary “fake” email address to use for when you are filling out forms and joining free websites on the internet. This is a great way to filter out the spam email and have it flood a non-important account, leaving your personal account to be less full of spam email.
Though you should always be cautious of entering your email address online, there are certain websites that you can feel comfortable giving it out to, such as domain registrars. The best defense against spam is to read every form (including website registration forms) and see exactly why they need your email address and what can/will they do with it. You can find all the important details usually in a “Privacy Policy” section of any website.
Simply, if you do your homework before posting your email address all over the internet, then you will have an email account that doesn’t attract annoying spammers everyday.
From a website design perspective you will want to consider placing your contact email on a .gif or .jpg image which will make it much more difficult for spammers robot/spiders to harvest your data. Also consider using scripts that will mask your mailto: link.