Getting spam mail in our inbox is really annoying. At the same time spam emails can make our computer get infected with malware or hacked. In this article I will be explaining what spam is, why spam manages to make its way in our mail and how to stop spam for good.
- 8 common tips to stop spam emails
- 1. Use of spam filter
- 2. Never respond to spam emails
- 3. Marking suspicious emails as spam
- 4. Using separate Email addresses
- 5. Never make your email address public
- 6. Do not purchase anything from untrusted and suspicious looking online sellers
- 7. Accept emails from only know senders
- 8. Unsubscribing from newsletters.
- Conclusion
What is spam? Types and reasons to get it in your inbox.
In simple language Spam mail is any mail that makes its way into our personal mail without us knowing or wanting, that is sent by email. During earlier days of the internet, spam email was not created to cause intentional harm to our computer. However, today spam mail can cause serious deliberate harm to our computer if we are not careful enough.
Now let’s talk about the types of spam email. I would like to categorize some common spam based on their nature below:
- Malware: This type of spam emails contain viruses, Trojans, spyware and so on attached to it. They are made intentionally to cause harm to your computer.
- Phishing Attack: Mails that are attached with phishing links are the ones which try to steal confidential and sensitive data from the victims to gain unauthorized access to the user’s computer system.
- Scams: These types of emails are created to fool and lure the victims, usually to gain monetary benefits.
- Adult contents: These emails contain 18+ contents which are usually annoying. These are sent to mails to get email lists and promote their pornographic contents.
- Advertisement: These emails as the name suggests are made for advertising their products and services
Reasons for getting spam.
Generally, most spam emails are sent to your inbox to advertise their products/services or to scam you. Therefore, the main aim of spam emails is to make money. Nowadays, spammers are so smart that they use AI and automation to send spam emails in bulk.
Now, I will share some 8 important tips to stop spam emails
8 common tips to stop spam emails
1. Use of spam filter
As an internet user, you must use a spam filter to avoid spam emails. It is really simple. In this section I will illustrate how to use a spam filter in one of the most popular email service providers – Gmail.
Now, I will show how to use Gmail spam filter below:
Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account.
Step 2: Now you will be taken to your main Gmail user interface which looks like below:
Click on the Settings icon as shown in the screenshot above.
Step 3: Now you will land in the settings of Gmail as shown in the screenshot below.
Click on Filters and Blocked Addresses.
Step 4:
Click on Create a new filter then a prompt will appear.
Step 5: Finally, fill in your necessary details and set up your own email filters. Here you can block and unblock selected email addresses as shown in the below screenshot. By doing this you can easily control spam email and these features are inbuilt in Gmail. All the users must use this method as it is very easy to use.
There is a feature of spam filters in other popular email service providers like yahoo and outlook as well. You can set up by going to their respective settings option. You can try this for yourself.
2. Never respond to spam emails
You must not respond to spam emails. Answering spam emails takes you nowhere. It wastes your time and may make your situation worse. Now, you understand that spam emails are not to be answered, but you may have questions on how to identify spam emails.
Here, I will share some common ways of identifying spam emails:
- Fake Promises or products: The spammer will often send you email of their fake promises and products. For example, you will grow thin by using their products in no time, lottery confirmations demanding personal information, grow rich by night scheme and so on. Don’t trust them, they are all lies.
- Poorly written emails: Scammers may entice you for a second but not fool you because they usually write technically poor emails.
- Suspicious attachments: They try to fool you with suspicious, strange and at the same time appealing email attachments. Never open those. Directly delete those emails.
- Verify the signatures: A legitimate source always contains verified signatures. Always remember to check for it. Scammers always try to fool you by creating fake signatures that look like legitimate signatures.
- Strange looking URL: The URL of fake spam email will always look strange. They may send you multiple strange looking URLs. In this case, you can compare the URL with the real URL. Most strange looking URL contains malware. Never click it.
- They will ask for your sensitive credentials: If you receive emails that ask you your sensitive credentials then you can be sure that it is spam mail you are receiving and is trying to hack your computer. It is because genuine emails never ask you for your sensitive credentials.
3. Marking suspicious emails as spam
If you receive suspicious emails in your inbox then you should mark them as spam. By doing this, you are helping Gmail to recognize similar kinds of email that are being received in your mail as a spam email.
4. Using separate Email addresses
For example, you use the same email address for different purposes. This practice is considered bad because there is a high chance of getting spam emails. Therefore, to avoid it, you can create many separate email addresses for different purposes. Always remember to reserve your main email addresses to do important tasks only.
5. Never make your email address public
Usually, spammers are always hunting for the email address of users so that they can send junk emails. If you make your email address public then they can easily gain your email information and send you junk emails. Therefore, you should be very careful not to share email addresses publicly.
6. Do not purchase anything from untrusted and suspicious looking online sellers
Always, buy products and goods from trusted online sellers. You can know whether they are genuine or not by carefully inspecting their website, their signature, their review, testimonials and privacy policy. Accidentally, if you happen to buy from an untrusted online seller then they will use your sensitive information against you.
7. Accept emails from only know senders
If you want to avoid spam emails then accepting emails only from known senders is one of the simplest and effective methods. You can set up a filter that makes sure only known senders are allowed to send emails in your mail. This feature is available in all popular mail service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and so on.
8. Unsubscribing from newsletters.
At some point you may have subscribed to newsletters. When you do so, you receive their email based on how frequently they update their information. But, at some point you may be annoyed by the spam nature of emails. In that case you can opt for unsubscribing it. By doing so, you will not receive their marketing emails.
Conclusion
You may follow all my given tips and still see spam in your mail. However, the number of spam emails you receive will certainly decrease drastically because I myself have tried this method. I have written this article from my experience and found it effective.
