It’s a fact of digital life at this point — if you have an email account, at some point you are going to receive spam. Spam is a type of commercial advertising that involves blasting out a large amount of low-quality messages to email addresses that have been harvested from publicly accessible sources.
Just how common is spam? Some estimates indicate more than 95 percent of all email messages sent across the world are spam. This makes it extremely important to be able to combat spam as effectively as possible.
The most common forms and effects of spam
One of the dangers of spam is that it can include viruses or Trojans that could infect your computer and then, in turn, infect others. This malware could take control of your email inbox and cause it to send spam to other people, or simply render your computer unusable.
Another common form of spam is “phishing,” in which messages appear to be sent from a legitimate source in an effort to trick email recipients into entering sensitive data (such as a credit card or social security number) into a fraudulent website. Obviously, this could lead to a lot of financial losses and potential identity theft.
How to protect yourself from spam
To make sure you are protecting yourself from spam, follow these tips:
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Use virus scanning software. There are plenty of free tools (and paid premium tools) available that will actively shield your computer from malware and allow you to scan your entire system at any time.
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Always check the source of emails. If you are at all suspicious of a message, check where it’s coming from. Keep in mind a legitimate institution like a bank will never send you messages asking for your personal information.
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Do not download attachments. Never download any attachments or open links from an email address you do not know. These are often the means by which malware is delivered to computers.
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Have strong passwords. Your accounts will be harder to hijack if you have passwords that contain a good mix of letters (capital and lower case), numbers and special characters.
How hosting your email with IDMI.net can help
If your email is hosted with IDMI.net, you have an extra advantage in the fight against spam. Here are some of the benefits of having your email hosted with IDMI.net.
For more information on how to practice good online security and avoid spam, contact the team at IDMI.net.