First, understand that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) probably has a filtering system to reduce the amount of spam delivered to your mailbox. Before the ISP’s mail server accepts your email, it consults a "blacklist" and blocks any mail sent from servers that are known sources of spam. This includes servers that are mis-configured in such a way that they allow spammers to hijack them.

That is a very effective way to combat spam, and is used by many ISPs. However, there is no way to filter out all spam, just like there is no way to eliminate junk mail that is sent to you through the Post Office. Just as the Post Office delivers all mail that is addressed to you, your ISP will normally deliver email, including spam, that is addressed specifically to you.

This brings up one important misconception regarding spam. People ask why they get spam that is not addressed to them. While it may appear that the spam is not addressed to you, it always is. Spammers often hide your address by putting a forged name in the "To:" field and putting your real address in the "BCC:" field, which is quite simple to do.

Unfortunately, spam will be a problem that all ISPs must deal with for the foreseeable future. A spammer can send hundreds of thousands of spam messages practically for free. You can imagine the amount of junk mail you would receive at your home if postage were free. In addition, with many people out of work, the dream of quick wealth has encouraged more people to send spam and more people to respond to spam (which in turn encourages more spam).

Still, there are some things you can do to help reduce the amount of spam that you receive in the future. Following are some important tips so that you do not make the problem worse.

1) Never buy anything from a spam offer. That would only encourage them, as well as make you an easy mark for much more spam in the future. If no one ever bought anything from a spam offer, the problem would go away on its own. More importantly, reputable companies rarely send out unsolicited mail, so the vast majority of the spam you get is from unscrupulous individuals that aim to take advantage of you.

2) Never reply in any way. Don't reply to be taken off their list, and don't go to any links that they provide for you to supposedly unsubscribe. If you do, you are actually telling them that your email address is an active one. They will send you even more spam and probably sell your address to other spammers at a premium price. Some spam is sent strictly for that purpose -- so that you will confirm your address is good by unsubscribing. Don't do it. You will get more spam than ever. The only exception is if you know and trust the organization, and are confident that they are a reputable company that will honor your request to be removed from their list.

3) If you enter a lot of contests, or register for coupons or gifts, you may be registering for more spam. You should check the reputation of any company that you give personal information to, even if it is just your email address. Also, read their privacy policies carefully. Look for those hidden check boxes that say you agree to receive email from their partners. They are usually pre-checked, and they are hard to find for a reason. In general, the more things you sign up for on-line, the more spam you will get over time.

4) If you list your email address in places such as Web based discussion groups, message boards, or Usenet Newsgroups, you will get more spam. Similarly, if your email address is listed as a point of contact on a Web page or elsewhere on the Internet, that will increase your spam. Spammers have programs that "harvest" email addresses from Web Pages, Newsgroups, and other public areas on the Internet.

5) Consider keeping your main email address as private and "unlisted" as possible, and get a second mailbox for your public email presence. Give your private address to friends only. You would use your public address for registering with Web sites, or for posting on Newsgroups and message boards. You can check your public account a few times a month to make sure there is nothing in there that you really need. You will be surprised at the amount of spam that starts to pile up in there, and will be thankful that it is not filling up your main mailbox. If the amount of spam to your public address gets to be too much, you can change the login name to something else.

6) Consider using disposable email addresses. Several companies offer email addresses that you can use specifically for fighting spam. One benefit of a disposable address over a second public email address is that the disposable address is configured to forward to your normal email account. So, you only have to check email in one place. This is particularly helpful when subscribing to a newsletter or email list. You can even use a different disposable address every time you register for something that requires your email address, or for every message board or Newsgroup on which you post. If you start getting spam delivered to one of your disposable addresses, you can easily turn off that specific address (along with any spam sent to that address). Not only that, you will be able to see from what source the spammer got your address.

Two organizations that provide up to 500 disposable addresses for a small fee are SpamCon (http://www.spamcon.org/services/dea/) and SpamEx (http://www.spamex.com).  SpamCon also provides up to three disposable addresses for free.

We at Space Coast 3-2-1, LLC wish you well in your battle against spam!