Spam: It's Not Just Tinned Meat
by Kelley
eBay Staff Member

Spam, spam, spam.

We all get it. We all hate it. What can we do about it? Is it like death and taxes - always with us - or can we at least reduce it?

What is "spam"? We are not talking about tinned meat. "Spam" is the term given to "unsolicited commercial email" that we all get to some degree or another. We may not be able to actually reduce it by much, but we can make it less of a nuisance.

To help reduce spam, use a User ID...

To reduce the amount of spam you receive, choose a User ID for eBay (and any other sites you use that provide for IDs or nicknames) so that casual viewers do not see your email address, and robots cannot collect it. Beware of giving your email address to sites you visit. While the "contest" may be appealing, it may also be nothing more than a mechanism to harvest email addresses.

Consider getting a special email address...

If you find that there are a number of sites you want to use that require registration that asks for your email address, you might want to get an alternate email address to use for just such purposes. Then if you find that mailbox filling up with unwanted email, you can cancel that address, or just trash the email.

Be careful about responding to spam...

Some spam has a link to click, or instructions to enable you to remove yourself from the email list. Exercise some caution here! If the email comes from a reputable business with which you are familiar, it is probably advisable to use that link or send that "unsubscribe" email. This should remove your address from their list.

However, if the email is from someone you never heard of, or for merchandise that is out there on the fringe, you might not want to inform them that their email reached a real person. Rather than remove your name, they may send you even more email.

Install virus protection and a firewall...

To protect yourself from viruses and other unwanted intrusions into your computer, be sure to have up-to-date virus protection, and a firewall. There are many good products on the market, some inexpensive or even free. When web-surfing, set your browser for "high" security to prevent information gathering from your computer system. There are sites you can go to that will tell you if you are vulnerable. Seek them out and find out how protected you are. It is always better to take precautions than to clean up afterward.

For more information...

More helpful information may be found at the University of Delaware Police Cyber Crime Investigations Resource Site, and other official sites on the Internet. A page dealing specifically with spam can be found at SPAM - Unsolicited Commercial Email.