Computer Safety Email – Spam – Forwards

By Dennis Nesser

When I started working on computers 20+ years ago only a handful of people had email accounts.  Odds were that if the office I went into had an email account, it was a single address for the entire office.  Today it is not uncommon for a single person to have several email accounts that they keep for different reasons.  I monitor 6 of my own.  So why would someone have more than one account?  It is an easy answer – SPAM! So I would like to tell you some of the most common ways you get on a spam list, and how to prevent it.
The most common way that you wind up on a spammers list is because your email address was on some ones computer when they got a virus.  These viruses are designed to read all emails, address books, cookies, and other documents and then send all the email addresses if finds back to ‘The Mother Ship’.  They in turn sell your email address to all the spammers of the world.
The second way is when you sign up online for just about anything they require you give your email address.  Many, less and legitimate services, will then sell your email address to list keepers, who then sell them to spammers.
A third way is by posting your email address on a website.  If your email is anywhere on a website it will be found by software that does nothing by scan websites for these addresses.  So if you sign a comment on a blog, or put your name in an ad, and follow it by putting your email address, it is guaranteed that you will be on some ones spam list sooner or later.
So how do we limit our spam?
First thing to do is get a second email account.  Any time you have to sign up for something online then use the second email address.  This way you can check it when you know you are expecting something, but the pile up of spam will not be bothersome to you. 
If you get a random email that has a ‘reply to this address to be removed’ and you do not know it where it came from, then do not reply to that address.  You will only be confirming your email address to the spammers and will start receiving more spam than you can imagine. Now this does not apply if you subscribe to a legitimate service and later decide to cancel.  You might be receiving a daily word of encouragement, or a daily crossword puzzle and just decide you do not have time to read them any longer.  These services are required to have an opt out process, and should be included at the bottom of the email. This will cancel your subscription. But if you do not know where the email came from, then do not try to opt out. 
The best way you can help your friends, and they can help you, is to use the Blind Courtesy Copy (BCC) option on emails if they are sending to multiple people.  This limits the exposure of the addresses.  I do not appreciate my name being included with 100 strangers on a joke that was forwarded.  By using the BCC they will not see my address, and I will not see theirs. I only see who sent me the email and my address.
Last, when you forward an email remove all the header information off the email before you send it.  When you hit forward it will put the previous senders name and all the email addresses they sent it to in your new email.  I’ve seen emails with dozens of headers before the joke, with 100’s of email addresses on them.  A spam bot will find each and every one of those addresses on a machine that is infected. So help everyone out and delete this information before you forward your joke, picture, or bit of urban lore that you want to share with your friends.
So keep your email address for your monthly bills and correspondence with your family and friends, and use a dummy account for everything else.  Help everyone out by using BCC when sending to groups and by removing email headers before forwarding to your family and friends. Following these simple rules will limit your spam and potential for more unwanted emails. 

Dennis Nesser is owner of IT2Rescue, and has been working in the computer industry for over 20 years as a Microsoft Certified Engineer.