Spam. Formerly the butt of many jokes when it referred to a canned meat product, the word spam is now more commonly used to refer to unsolicited emails. I’m sure you’re familiar with the emails claiming to offer cheap pharmaceutical drugs, natural male enhancement, cheaper mortgages, and, ironically, spam protection. But the question is: how do I stop it?

The truth is that you can’t stop spam. Once your email address starts receiving unsolicited emails, you will never be spam-free at that address again. Never. It starts with just a couple of emails, but then grows so fast that you’re quickly overwhelmed with the shear number of spam emails.

The solution?

Start over and learn how to prevent it!

I know it sounds drastic, but if you’re overwhelmed with spam, it’s the only option you have. Let me explain how your email address gets added to the spam lists.

1. Common addresses: Is your email address a combination of your first and last names, either in part or in whole? Is your email account hosted through one of the major email or Internet providers such as hotmail.com, yahoo.com, verizon.net, gmail.com, etc.? Because these email providers are so popular, it’s easy for spammers to guess email addresses. Take a common last name and then start adding letters alphabetically to the front of it. asmith, bsmith, csmith, etc., on through xsmith, ysmith, and zsmith. Start adding full names to get alexsmith, andrewsmith, abigailsmith, etc. Now add numbers to each of those. asmith13, asmith93, etc. Take each of those and swap out the @ part with the examples above. I’ve just provided you with 122 potential and probably valid email addresses. A computer program can generate thousands and thousands of email addresses using the above guidelines.
2. Web-site harvesting: Spammers create “robots,” often referred to simply as “bots,” which are computer programs designed to go from one web site to another looking for email addresses. If it finds one, it saves it and moves on looking for another.
3. Voluntary submission: Sometimes you give the spammers your email address. Ever download a free screensaver? (I recommend you don’t, by the way. More on that in the future.) To receive the link to download the screensaver, you have to “register” by giving them an email address. They will then email you the link to start the download. Do you realize what you just did? You told them your email address, and then verified to them that it was in fact a real address. In addition, when you registered, you probably accepted an agreement that allows you to be contacted by “third parties” or “partners.” Why do you think the screensaver was free?

These are not the only ways that spammers get your email address, but they are among the most common. Knowing the above information, though, you can learn how to prevent and control spam.

If there is one thing that you learn from this, let it be this: do not reply to spam emails, do not open attachments from spam emails, and do not click links within spam emails. Doing any of these will only serve as a confirmation to the spammer that the address is valid and that someone is checking it.

I also want to note that some companies offer mailing lists where your participation is voluntary and where you can “opt out” at any time. Often, these are legitimate emails from companies you have done business with before, and they usually provide instructions at the bottom of the email about how to unsubscribe. For the purpose of this blog posting, this type of opt-in, opt-out communication is not spam, even though you may not want it. If you want a name for it, see the Wikipedia entry for BACN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacn_(electronic)).

With that out of the way, let’s talk about how to prevent spam.

The first thing you should do is create an email address that will be your primary email address. This address will be used for important things such as bank and shopping websites and for your family and close friends. You would then create and use a second email address for registering at message forums, giving to casual friends, etc. To make the management of these addresses easier, choose one address at a place like hotmail.com or mail.live.com and a second one at a different provider such as gmail.com. This way, you can stay logged in to both accounts and only have to switch between different web sites to check them. In addition, some email services offer better spam protection that others. I find that my gmail account catches far more spam than my yahoo account. Meanwhile my hotmail account receives absolutely NO spam because I follow the guidelines I have provided here. However, at one time I had a hotmail account with a common name, and within minutes of registering the name, I was getting pounded with spam. That account was closed within the next hour!

Second, select an uncommon email address. If your real name is uncommon or has an unusual spelling, that would be a good starting point. Or pick something unique that you’ve made up. Add periods and special characters into your email address.  As I stated earlier, asmith would be too common. But an.drew.smith would break up the whole name and cut down spam. I’m very fortunate that my first name is very common but is spelled in a very uncommon way. In addition, my last name is not a common last name, and the way I have combined my names, periods, and other special characters means that my email address will likely never be guessed by spam-guessing programs. In addition, once your contacts get your email address, they will most likely add it to their address book or contact list. So even if it is complex like 9teen8Tfour@example.com, they most likely will only have to type it once.

Thirdly, do not post your email address all willy-nilly over the Internet. If you reply to a post on www.Craigslist.com, do not put your email address into the post without obfuscation. The old trick was to spell out the address: andrewsmith at yahoo dot com, but that practice is fairly common and I’m certain spam bots can detect those. If you must post your email address, be clever about your obfuscation or use a trusted obfuscation tool such as Albion Research’s Email Obfuscator at http://www.albionresearch.com/misc/obfuscator.php. This tool turns your email address into a bunch of gibberish, but it is still able to be clicked on like a normal web link.

Fourthly, if you register for message forums or websites, be mindful of how much of the information that you give them will be made viewable in your public profile. If possible, set your profile to private and only give as much information as required. This is true for sites like youtube, facebook, myspace, etc. If the website requires information that makes you uncomfortable, question whether you should be giving them that information and leave if it doesn’t feel right.

Finally, do not use your primary email address to register for free downloads, to send greeting cards to friends, or web sites that you just really don’t care about. There are some websites that are trustworthy, such as Amazon.com, microsoft.com, ebay.com, and many of your big retailers, and you should feel comfortable giving them your email address. But do watch for the options at registration that say, “By selecting here, you agree to receive communications from Company XYZ, it’s partners, and affiliates.”

These tips are all well and good, but what if you have to have a way for people to get in touch with you online? For personal addresses, you may not have much choice. Use your secondary, casual email address, and if you’re trying to make a name for yourself in online social circles, you may just have to grin and bear it and choose an email provider that offers the best spam detection.

If you’re a business user, your options may be even more limited. Your company may have policies that set your email address to jdoe@example.com. You should do your part as a responsible employee, though. Keep your work address reserved for work activities. Do not use it to register for web sites, free backgrounds for your computer, or online music services. And if you’re a representative for your company, whether it be sales, management, PR, etc., the nature of your work inherently reduces your ability to prevent spam. But there are some options. For example, you could contact your web site provider to create a web form that does not disclose your email address. Or contact your IT managers to see if they’re using an anti-spam protection service such as Postini (www.postini.com), Ninja (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/Ninja-Email-Security/), or Barracuda Spam Filter(http://www.barracudanetworks.com). These solutions are not cheap, but you should weigh it against the cost of time spent dealing with spam.

In conclusion, you should realize that “prevention is the best medicine.” Understand some of the most common ways that spammers obtain email addresses, and then do your best to avoid them. Create a primary email address to use for your important online activities such as banking and shopping, and create a second email address that is less secure. Choose a reliable email host with strong spam filters, choose a unique email address, and be careful who you give your email address to. Following these simple tips will help you win the never-ending battle against spam.