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Ah, spam!  Highly prized source of nutrition; immortalized by Monty Python, and, a major source of irritation to computer users around the world.  Of course, I’m talking about those blasted emails that shout at you to buy Viagra, send money to bail out Nigerian princes, collect the prize that you’ve won in the British Sweepstakes, and help former Iraqi generals get back on their feet. I am frequently asked, “Where does this stuff come from?  Who thinks up these things, and, how does it end up in my email box?”

Statistics show that about 75% of all email traffic is spam.  Much of it is nothing more than legitimate, if unwanted, advertising.  Real people have real things to sell, and don’t mind clogging your email box with unwanted junk mail.  However, they’re not crooks; they’re just annoying.  On the other hand, lots of email is sent by bona fide criminals trying to trick you into making them rich, and they are succeeding.  “There’s a sucker born every minute,” an observant sage once noted.  Criminal spammers go by the saying, “Never give a sucker an even break.”

How spam ends up in your email box is a more complicated topic.  Spammers use automated programs called “bots” (as in, RO-bots) to crawl around the Internet, relentlessly visiting websites, newsgroups and the like, gathering email addresses for spam purposes.  Some unscrupulous companies even sell their email databases to spammers, and database theft is big business.  Last year, an AOL worker was convicted for stealing and selling 92 million email addresses.  AOL customers are still getting spammed as a result.

To avoid being swamped with spam, you must protect your email address.  The following tactics can give good results:

1. Never reply to spam email.  Don’t even open suspicious email.

2. Never give your address to anyone who doesn’t really need it.  If a website requires that you fill out a form or provide an email address, use a fake name and email address.  Yes, it’s deceptive.  However, in the current Internet climate, I think that using an alter ego is more legitimate than allowing yourself to be manipulated.

3. Never post your real email address to a website.  If you really want people to be able to send you an email, change your address to a form that the spam-bots won’t recognize.  For example, if your address is “samuel@bob.com,” post your address as “samuelATbobDOTcom,” and tell people to substitute the appropriate symbols, where needed.  For website owners, there are other tactics that can be used.  Do some research.

4.  Be careful with free, so-called “spam-blockers” offered by SBC and the like; they are notorious for letting the bad email in, and keeping the good email out.

There’s a lot more to do in the war against spam.  Do a Google search for “how to stop spam,” and you’ll see what I mean!