How to Spam Proof Your Inbox

Well never stop spam. But with these tips, you can minimize its impact on your own inbox.

By Kathleen Carr

October 10, 2007 — CSO — Spammers make a lot of money--a lot as in six figures a year. What this means, according to Andrew Graydon, CTO of BorderWare Technologies, a company that has been fighting spam and other Web-based security issues for 13 years, is that we'll never stop it. Despite better filtering technologies, spam still costs businesses big bucks. In a survey released earlier this year, Nucleus Research, a Wellesley, Mass.-based firm, reported that U.S. companies are losing $71 billion annually to lost productivity caused by spam.

However, there is hope. By following the practical advice below, Graydon promises, users can dramatically reduce the amount of spam they have to wade through at work.

Don't click on it. As soon as you respond to a spam message, the spammers know you're there, and they will pass your name around to their friends. Don't engage them.

Use your work e-mail address ONLY for work. Online, it's best to keep your work life and your personal life separate. Having a personal e-mail account will protect your work e-mail from more unsolicited messages. In fact, Graydon suggests having two personal accounts. Use one, such as Hotmail, for purchases and a second account, like Gmail, for personal correspondence from family and friends. That way, you decide when you want to go into those accounts. You can search for the information you need and ignore the rest. And be sure to use a personal account when you sign up for anything online.

Never unsubscribe or buy anything from an e-mail solicitation. As soon as you take action, the spammers know you're there, even if that action is unsubscribing to an e-mail. The same goes doubly, of course, when actually purchasing something from an e-mail solicitation. Don't do it. They'll know you're there, and they'll tell their friends (read: other spammers) about you.

Change the format of your e-mail address. Unfortunately, it's easy to find you. And spammers are persistent. They'll search for your name on your company website, and they will guess at your e-mail address until they get it right. However, if you include a middle initial or middle name in your e-mail address, they are less likely to be able to track that information down. Request a middle initial for your work e-mail, and use one in your personal mail when you sign up for an account.

E-mail in disguise. When you use Hotmail or Gmail, don't use your real name. Your friends or the websites you're buying from won't care what name you go by. I have a friend who uses Sportichick. It's not professional, certainly, but her friends remember it, and the websites she makes purchases from don't seem to mind. And when you come up with your own personal name tag, keep it gender neutral to ward off potential online predators. 

Kathleen S. Carr

Read more about data protection in CSOonline's Data Protection section.

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