.: The Threat of Spam and Basic Preventative Measures
By:Justin Brown
Category:Home / Internet / Spam
Everyone who uses the internet has more than likely been targets of spam at one time or another. At first they are easy to dismiss for internet experienced persons, however for the inexperienced user of the internet, the messages contained can sometimes be intimidating and in some instances lead to trouble (I will come onto a personal example later).
Spam can take several forms; email and search engine spam are just two, but the one we will concentrate on in this article, and also the one you will, and have most likely encountered, is via email.
Spam is defined as unsolicited bulk mail, much of which is caught in your “bulk” or “trash” folder found in your email service provider control panel. You have probably often seen a mass of these types of emails in you bulk folders when checking for email that you actually have consented to receive, as many emails are caught by spam filters even though they should not. The majority of spam you may receive will be of a sexual or gambling nature, however over the past few months I have noticed an ever-increasing number of scam emails asking for sensitive information, claiming to be someone they are not.
Paypal and eBay scams are a prime example of these types of emails known as “phishing scam emails”. The email will be along the lines of:
“We have noticed an irregularity in your account details and require you to update them immediately. Failure to do so will result in the permanent closure of your account”
You can see how these emails can be pretty alarming to an inexperienced internet user who may only occasionally use the internet to sell or buy items on eBay for example. Some of the emails will look very convincing, and will use the images and symbols of the respective company, however be very cautious and take heed to the following important point:
If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the email, do not follow any link contained within the email to an external website. Instead, type the website address that you know is correct into your browser directly, so that you are safe in the knowledge that you are not using a fraudulent website.
Failure to do this may result in your account being hijacked by the scammer; it’s as easy as this. You follow the link in the email to a website claiming to be, and also looking very much like one where you have an account. The website will ask you to input your username and password to access your account and voila, you will have now sent this information to the scammer, allowing them access to your account containing sensitive information about you.
Another type of email scam that has been very popular is where you are notified to be the very lucky winner of a lottery, even though you have never entered the lottery in the location claiming your success! This is where the example of a personal experience comes in. Many people reading this will be thinking “I’ll never fall for one of these scams”, however the unfortunate reality is that many people will do so. An elderly relative of mine received one of these lottery scams from Spain, and then insisted on following up with the email scam, even though they had never even entered the lottery draw. The only stumbling block was that the bank account details required, needed to be sent by fax, which she couldn’t do, and despite the frustration that this caused I of course refused to help send it.
There are measures that you can take to help avoid being targeted by spammers; a few have been mentioned here. However, in addition never reply to a scam email as it will notify them that the email address is live and also that you have read the email, leading to further spam.
Of course there are many other threats from spam that are not discussed here, such as viruses and trojans being sent via email attachments. More details on spam can be found here: www.spam-blocker-online.com.
Article keywords: spam blocker, spam, spam filter, anti spam, block spam, anti spam software, stop spam, spam blockers, spam filtering
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Justin Brown owns and runs www.spam-blocker-online.com where visitors can find spam blocker information and purchase anti spam software and books. He also runs an automotive site where you can sell or buy any used cars online.
View their website at: www.spam-blocker-online.com
.: New Spam Articles
1). Phishing For Your Identity
Phishing (pronounced as fishing) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.
2). How To Recognize And Prevent Pfishing Scams
The warning notice you get from your bank over the internet may be a fraud. It is a scam intended to make you give up secure financial information. This article will show you how to recognize and deal with these frauds.
3). Investment Spam is Dangerous
Learn how to identify investment spam that has costed investors millions
4). Spam is a Beast
Spam has waged war on my sanity and I am helpless to do anything about it
5). Spam, Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam
Spam is best defined as unsolicited and unwanted commercial electronic messages or e-mails that are sent to large numbers of people. The term is also used to similar abuses in other media, like messengers and newsgroups.
6). Awareness To Phishing Is Your Best Weapon
Many people are focused on building value online by making sites that serve real purposes and help us make the most of our time and our lives, while some are trying to exploit surfers and mine away value away from those who work hard building it into there sites. This article is about the ways we have to protect our selves from this very popular scamming technique.
7). The Pornographic Nature Of Spam
There is a trend in malicious SPAM which is wreaking havoc on many computers worldwide. Find out what you can do about it.
.: Top Spam Articles
1). Seven tips for securing your organization´s network from spam and email viruses
Seven tips for securing your organization´s network from spam and email viruses
Providing security against email related threats has become a burden for most IT professionals in 2006. According to a recent study by Postini, spam and email viruses now make up to 80% of all emails sent out as compared to 50% in 2000. As a result, IT professionals now face a tougher challenge in providing network security for this amount of spam.
2). Antispam Organization Out There That's Fighting For You
There's an antispam organization out there that's fighting for you and could use your help.
CAUCE, the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail, is an all-volunteer global entity that began as SPAM-LAW, a group brought together for discussion only. They put all their efforts into getting legislation passed that would help stop and penalize spam.
3). Free Spam Blockers
Remember when spam was just another horrible thing you would never eat? And then you grew up a little and spam became the lyrics to a great Monty Python song. And now spam is something to avoid at all costs. Or, in the case of free spam blockers, at no cost at all. Everything is better when it’s free, right? Such is the case with blocking out annoying spam from your email account, too.
4). How to Reduce Spam in Your Inbox and Enhance Your Email Security
Spam is the internet’s equivalent of junk mail. Spam is defined as an e-mail message sent to people without their consent or permission. Addresses of recipients are often harvested from Usenet postings or web pages, obtained from databases, or simply guessed by using common names and domains.
Spam is sent to promote practically any product or service ranging from “Adult” products to logo design for websites.
5). Spam, What is it Good for, Absolutely Nothing!
Over time, unless the growth of spam isn't stopped, it will destroy the usefulness and effectiveness of email as a communication tool.
6). How To Tighten Up Your Email Security
These days email is a necessary part of communication. However, this also means that email is one of the most popular ways for a virus to infect your computer. You need to protect yourself from the threat of fraud and infection.
Viruses
Email attachments often contain viruses so you need to be careful whenever you open any type of attachment even if you know the sender.
7). How to Benefit from Comment Spam
Comment spam is annoying. Here's a quick piece on how to turn the tables on the comment spammers and use their comments to your advantage instead of theirs.