More about spam
Have you seen more spam in email lately? Here are a few additional rules to add to your email client filters.
1. Filter messages that include your email address in the Subject heading. For example, if your email address is bjones@whatever.net, it's a pretty safe bet that any subject heading that includes "bjones" is spam.
2. Filter messages that originate from your email address. Spammers occasionally create messages with a "from" address that matches your "to" address -- from bjones@whatever.net to bjones@whatever.net. Unless you have a habit of talking to yourself, this stuff is also spam.
3. Filter messages that include addresses that are similar to yours in the To and CC fields -- bbones@whatever.net and bpones@whatever.net when your address is bjones@whatever.net. Spammers commonly send messages to groups of similar addresses. When you filter out those similar addresses, there's a good chance you'll cut down on a lot of spam.
4. Update your list of common spam words. Suppose you’ve been getting a ton of spam with the word "v1codin" in it lately. Have your filter search both the subject heading and message body for words such as viagra, v1codin, x@n@x, antivirus, remove me, spyware, load image, is that you, mortgage rates, phree Visa, phree quote, phree cash, discreet overnight pharmacy, and any words you think appropriate for those "increase the size of your _______" messages. Note that spammers try to slip these messages by filters by substituting characters in these forbidden words -- vi(odin and vlagra, for instance.
5. Filter common spam addresses and domains. Put the kibosh on any email originating from fundetective.com or domains that end with .at, for example. Give serious thought to killing messages from anyone named Amber, Tiffany, and Trixie.
Also, configure your email client so that HTML display is turned off (or, if your client allows, turn off the option for messages that contain HTML to access the Internet). Spammers occasionally embed something called a web bug in spam that transmits identifying information to the spammer (an ID code or your email address, for example). With HTML display turned off, this information won't be transmitted.
And finally, please find out who's responding to this stuff and ask them to stop. Spam will only go away when there's no profit in it (and, okay, when a few high-profile spammers are dropped into the middle of enormous lakes of tapioca pudding and forced to eat their way out).
