Copyright © 1997-2008 Elizabeth Boston, The Computer Lady

Dear Computer Lady:

I have a new email and would like to know if there is any way to avoid getting myself in the situation of getting 20 plus spam emails a day as I did with my AOL account.  

Do you get your self in this situation by just surfing the web or could it be actually signing up for things or is it strictly an AOL problem?  

I have my own private email with outlook express and I have not received any spam yet.  Just wondering??

 

Thanks, Emily

Dear Emily,

 

Actually, the spam e-mails were caused by a combination of things.  First, is the fact that AOL e-mail addresses do get more spam than many other companies.

 

A few ways you can avoid getting spam with your new e-mail address are:

1. Don't post your e-mail address on websites, or chat sites. If you want to sign a guestbook, or participate in an online activity that requires an e-mail address, open a disposable e-mail account at one of the free sites like Yahoo or hotmail. Spammers have robot software that just scans the web for any e-mail address and collects them.

 

2. Don't sign up for free drawings online. All this does for you is get you lots of junk mail.

 

3. Use a software program to filter out junk mail and bounce spam. If the spammers get a bounce message they will thing that the e-mail address has been closed and take you off their list. http://www.mailwasher.net is one free program that will bounce messages for you.

 

Elizabeth