How To Block Unwanted IMs and Spam
Using email and instant messaging help you stay up to date with friends and family, and you may use your email address or name when shopping online and communicating with other people in online communities. But sharing your personal contact information can lead to increased mail and messages from people you don't know, and don't want to know. It's called spam and spim.
About spam
Recent research estimates that 80 percent or more of all e-mail sent these days is spam. An astonishing figure, yet you may see only a tiny portion of that deluge. Many Internet Service Providers (ISP) or e-mail programs provide junk e-mail filters that can serve as the first line of defense against spam.
How To Fight Spam By Creating Smart Screen Names & E-mail Addresses
Spam filters help reduce the amount of unwanted email, but you can improve their effectiveness just by being careful about sharing your e-mail or instant message addresses. Follow these five tips and you'll find your e-mail box has more of what you want and less of what you don't - spam.
- Only share your primary e-mail address with people you know. Avoid listing your e-mail address in large Internet directories and job-posting Web sites. Don't even post it on your own Web site (unless you disguise it as described below).
- Set up an e-mail address dedicated solely to Web transactions. Consider using a free e-mail service to help keep your primary e-mail address private. When you get too much spam there, simply drop it for a new one.
- Create an e-mail name that's tough to crack. Try a combination of letters, numbers, and other characters-Don2Funk9@example.com or J0e_Y0ng@example.com (substituting zero for the letter "O"). Research shows that people with such names get less junk e-mail.
- Disguise your e-mail address when you post it to a newsgroup, chat room, bulletin board, or other public Web page-for example, SairajUdin AT example DOT com. This way, a person can interpret your address, but the automated programs that spammers use often cannot.
- Watch out for pre-checked boxes. When you buy things online, companies sometimes pre-select check boxes to indicate that it's fine to sell or give your e-mail address to responsible parties. Clear the check box if you don't want to be contacted.
NOTE: When you sign up for Web-based services such as banking, shopping, or a newsletter, carefully read the privacy policy before revealing your e-mail address so you don't unwittingly agree to share confidential information. The privacy policy should outline the terms and circumstances regarding if or how the site will share your information. If a Web site does not post a privacy statement, consider taking your business elsewhere.
About spim
Instant messaging, commonly referred to as IM, is a method of online communication, like e-mail. There are a few notable differences between IM and e-mail. Using IM, you and your friends can type what you want to say in a box and see each others messages almost instantaneously.
Unfortunately, just as you may receive unwanted e-mail, spam, you and your family may also receive unwanted instant messages, called "spim." They can be from complete strangers or from people you know but don't want to communicate with and they may even contain harmful viruses.
Controlling your contact lists
Most IM programs allow you to build a contact list or, "buddy list," of your friends and contacts. You can choose to allow anyone to add you to their contact list or you can restrict your contact list to only people you want to hear from. You can also choose to block all incoming messages from everyone except the people on your contact list.
Tips for safer instant messaging
- Never give out personal or sensitive information, such as a credit card number, social security number or passwords.
- Only communicate with people on your "Buddy List".
- Never agree to meet a stranger in person whom you've met on IM.
- Never accept files or downloads from people you don't know.
- Never accept files that you weren't expecting from people you do know.
- Choose a screen name that doesn't give away your personal information.
- Monitor and limit your children's use of IM.
- Don't post your screen name online - people might use it to send unsolicited IM messages.
- Don't send personal or private instant messages at work - your boss my have a right to view them.
- Be careful how you reveal when you're online or not.
