Spam is one of the hazards of doing business on the Internet.
But there are some things you can do to protect your email address and
stay out of the line of fire.
If you spend much time doing business on the Net -- or even just
using it for pleasure and entertainment -- chances are you're going to
end up on some spam lists. How can you minimize your exposure?
First, you need to understand how spammers build their email lists.
Most use automated "spamware" programs, sometimes called extractors. An
extractor program is able to parse a text document, identify an email
address within the document, copy the address and add it to a database.
A spam list builder merely has to point his extractor software at a
public document, such as a newsgroup posting, Web page or online
membership list. The program scours through the document, vacuuming up
email addresses. Next thing you know, you're getting spammed!
To keep your address from getting scooped up, you need to develop a
strategy for minimizing its appearance in public documents, or for
disguising it so extractors won't recognize it.
The Usenet newsgroups are one of the most popular fields for the
harvesting of email addresses. You could keep your address off the
spammers' radar by staying away from Usenet. However, if you're a fan of
the newsgroups, you won't like that idea. Besides, it's outrageous that
you should have to avoid a favorite public forum just because of someone
else's unethical advertising method.
A better solution is to disguise your email address, both in the
headers and body of your message, when posting to a newsgroup. You might
configure your software so that a phony address appears in your headers
-- just make sure that you are not using a real domain. In the body of
your message, you could write your address in a form that an extractor
won't recognize, such as "ab-at-enterprise1-dot-com." That way, if
another member of the newsgroup wants to write to you, they'll be able
to figure out your address.
A similar strategy might help to minimize your exposure on Web pages.
Admittedly, though, this can be self-defeating. If you're in business,
you want users to be able to get in touch with you by email. So you may
have to accept some risk in order to have an effective presence on the
Web.
One solution I did run into: SiteUp's Mailto Encoder, a service that
will disguise your email address from extractors while making it both
clickable and visible to a Web user.
The Encoder converted one of my email addresses to this form:
On a Web page, though, the address appears as a live mailto: link.
The Mailto Encoder service is free and is available at http://www.siteup.com/free_stuff.html
.
You can also expose your address to spammers through public address
books, membership profiles and directories. If you are a member of a
commercial online service (such as AOL or CompuServe), a chat site (such
as ICQ or The Globe), or a virtual community, you may be invited to post
a public profile so other members can get in touch. Although you might
be attracted by the idea of making new friends in this way, you need to
realize that spammers (and sometimes other weirdos) troll these public
directories for victims.
Keep in mind that you will sometimes receive email that appears to be
unsolicited but isn't necessarily spam. Often when you sign up for a
membership at a Web site, you'll be asked for your email address. The
site may ask for permission to send you email. If you visit many Web
sites, it's easy to forget how many times you've given out your address.
So don't automatically fly off the handle when you receive email from a
company you don't recognize.
Unfortunately, not all Web site owners operate ethically. It's
possible that a Web site will ask for your email address then sell it to
spammers. So be cautious and don't automatically give out your address
whenever it's asked for. Check out the site's Privacy Statement, which
will explain how the site uses personal information given out by users.
If the site has no Privacy Statement, that's a red flag.
If you are are looking for a solution for your email marketing, newsletter marketing, mailing list management or email tracking, we recommend Nesox Email Marketer.
Click here to learn more about Nesox Email Marketer.
