Avoid replying to the sender with REMOVE in the subject line
Messages you receive may include instructions (such as to reply with REMOVE in the subject line) on how to remove yourself
from future mailings from the individual or organization. Unfortunately, many senders include these instructions in order to try to confirm that they've reached a working e-mail address, not to remove you from mailings. Unless
you are unsubscribing from a mail distribution list that you signed up for or you know the message sender, the best practice is to discard these messages without responding. Some messages contain a phone number to call, but
many contain no information on how to stop future mailings. Often if you reply to these messages, you find that the return address or phone number is invalid or is that of someone other than the real sender.
Alter your e-mail address when posting
Organizations that sell e-mail addresses use computer programs that scan Web pages and newsgroups to harvest e-mail addresses. If you display an e-mail address on a Web
page or when posting to newsgroups, alter your e-mail address in such a way as to trick search programs but not confuse users. For example, if your e-mail address is jim@mysite.com, change it to jimNOJUNKMAIL@mysite.com. Most
users will know to remove NOJUNKMAIL from the address before using it, but search programs will not.
Use a separate e-mail address for mailing lists, etc…
Another suggestion is to use two
addresses. One where you give your name to friends, business associates and family members only. For the second address get a free account with Yahoo. They have a (very good) bulk mail filter which automatically filters
out a lot of the junk. You can use this for any mailing lists or any registering at any web sites you visit. Or set up a second e-mail address (resp@mysite.com) & account in your e-mail client (Outlook Express®,
Outlook®, Netscape…) and create a rule to move messages from that account into a special folder.
Use your e-mail client to filter e-mails…
Some E-mail clients programs can search for
commonly used phrases in e-mail messages and automatically move messages containing these phrases from your Inbox to a designated folder. You can also filter messages with a list of senders of junk and adult content
e-mail. As you receive unwanted e-mail messages, you can create a list of the e-mail addresses of these senders.When you first begin using these features or when you make modifications to them, you should review
messages that are automatically removed from the Inbox to make sure that any wanted messages are not accidentally removed.
Use your E-mail client's Help or the E-mail client's website Help
Outlook® & Outlook Express® Online Help - http://office.microsoft.com/assistance
Choose Outlook Help / Configuring E-mail /
Manage Junk and Adult Content Mail links
Netscape® Mail Help -
Creating Filters / Creating Message Filters on the Help Menu Drop Down.
