How do I prevent spam?

Get the basics on spam: Part 2

You know what spam is. Now prevent it with these easy tips. And see what Microsoft is doing to keep spam from ever reaching your inbox.

Block images

Just as a lighthouse beacon beams a message with light, so pictures (or “Web beacons”) in e-mail messages can be adapted to secretly send a message back to the sender. Spammers rely on the information returned by these images to locate active e-mail addresses.

The best defense against Web beacons is to stop pictures from downloading in your inbox until you've had a chance to review the message. (For example, both MSN Hotmail and Outlook 2003 are preset to do this automatically for people not in your address book.)

Improve your computer's security

You can greatly reduce your risk from hackers, viruses, and worms if you use a firewall, install antivirus software (and update it routinely), and keep your Windows and Office software up-to-date. See our checklist for PC security.

Be careful about sharing your e-mail or IM address

· Only share your primary e-mail address with people you know.

· Set up an e-mail address dedicated solely to Web transactions. Consider using a free e-mail service to help keep your primary e-mail address private. When you get too much spam there, simply drop it for a new one.

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What does it mean?

firewall
A security solution which segregates one portion of a network from another, allowing only authorized network traffic to pass through.

spam
Unsolicited commercial e-mail.

virus
Code written with the express intention of replicating itself.

· Create an e-mail name that's tough to crack. Try a combination of letters, numbers, and other characters: Don2Funk9@example.com or J0e_Y0ng@example.com (substituting zero for the letter "O").

· Disguise your e-mail address when you post it to a newsgroup, chat room, bulletin board, or other public Web page. For example, SairajUdin AT example DOT com. This way, a person can interpret your address, but the automated programs that spammers use often cannot.

· Watch out for prechecked boxes. When you buy things online, companies sometimes preselect check boxes to indicate that it's fine to sell or give your e-mail address to responsible parties. Clear the check box if you don't want to be contacted.

How does Microsoft protect me against spam?

Microsoft Outlook increases your protection against junk e-mail. The protection level of the junk e-mail filter in Microsoft Outlook is set to Low by default. At that level it will catch the most obvious spam, but if you want to filter your e-mail more aggressively, set it to High.

1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Options.

2. On the Preferences tab, under E-mail, click Junk E-mail.

3. Click High to raise the protection level, and click OK. Check your Junk E-mail folder before you empty it to make sure no messages you want have been moved there.

Outlook helps you keep the junk e-mail filter up-to-date. Microsoft regularly release updates that include the most current definitions of which e-mail messages should be considered junk, so check the Microsoft Update site regularly to keep your guard against spam high.

Outlook moves junk mail out of your inbox automatically. Outlook includes a set of built-in filters that identify junk e-mail and e-mail suspected of having adult content. You can direct Outlook to automatically move those messages out of your Inbox into a folder you specify.

1. On the Tools menu, click Organize.

2. Click Junk E-mail.

3. Click the down arrow to the left of Junk messages, and click Move.

4. Specify the folder where you want to move unwanted messages: Junk E-mail (the default), the Deleted Items folder, or Other Folder to choose another folder.

5. Click Turn On to enable the feature.

6. Click the down arrow to the left of Adult content messages, and click Move.

7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for adult content messages.

If you’re not an Outlook user, consider trying MSN Hotmail or Windows Live Mail to protect your inbox

· Spam filters automatically help separate spam from the e-mail you really want.

· Images in e-mail are prevented from opening automatically.

· Get increased protection from viruses that can come in unwanted e-mail attachments.

· You can report junk e-mail before you open it.