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Tips for reducing unwanted email.
HomeSurf USA uses various techniques to reduce the amount of unwanted email (or SPAM) you receive. We use a sophisticated filtering system including content-matching rules, checking against DNS-based blackhole lists, URI blacklists, Sender Policy Framework (SPF), checksum-based and statistical filtering. With this technology, we successfully prevent thousands of messages a day from reaching our client's email boxes, but even with all these measures, some unwanted mail still gets through.
How Can I Reduce the Amount of Spam that I Receive?
Try not to display your email address in public. That includes newsgroup postings, chat rooms, websites or in an online membership directory. You may want to opt out of member directories for this reason; spammers use them to harvest addresses.
Check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a website. See if it allows the company to give others your your address. You may want to opt out of this provision, if possible, or not submit your address at all to websites that won't protect it.
Read and understand the entire form before you transmit personal information through a website. Some websites allow you to opt out of receiving email from their "partners" — but you may have to uncheck a pre selected box if you want to opt out.
Consider using two email addresses — one for business and one for newsgroups and chat rooms or to make purchases. You might consider using a disposable email address service to creates a separate email address that forwards to your permanent account. If your disposable address begins to receive spam, you can shut it off without affecting your permanent address. (you can get free email addresses here)
Use a unique email address. Your choice of email addresses may affect the amount of spam you receive. Spammers use "dictionary attacks" to sort through all possible name combinations at your domain, hoping to find a valid address. Thus, a common name such as "sales" or "mike" will get more spam than a more unique name like "thefrontdesk".
Use an email filter. Use a program like Outlook to download and filter your email. In Outlook, you can use the "junk mail" features to move mail that may be unwanted to a separate folder.
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