Steve Bass's Home Office: Slam Spam and Be More Productive

Spam's the e-mail equivalent of telemarketing. In its own way, it's worse, because it often contains nasty stuff. Here's a roundup of stories that'll help you reduce the amount of spam in your in-box.

Spam-Stopping Strategies

When it comes to dumping spam, Jim Welp knows his stuff. I read his pithily entitled "Spam Begone" article twice, culling tips that I hadn't thought of. That, folks, is a high compliment. Pay close attention to his strategy of using multiple e-mail addresses.

One thing that Jim tells you most readers should already know: Never respond to spam. But there's a new twist in the way spammers try to verify e-mail addresses. They now send out cleverly disguised messages that are designed to look like authentic newsletters, not spam. You've seen them--they aren't gaudy, and they contain lots of corporate-type logos. They don't try to sell you anything, and even provide a way to opt-out of the "newsletter." It's oh-so-tempting to go to the site and unsubscribe, but you'd better be careful: It could be a scam. Unless you recognize the company and remember signing up for the newsletter, the sender could be a bottom-feeder trolling for fresh e-mail addresses. My advice? Learn how to filter.

Dig this: One of our crackerjack editors caught this banner ad (it points to Emazing.com). Odd--that's how I feel after a day of answering pesky questions from my editor.

Filtering Spam

So here are a few articles to help you learn what filtering is, how it works, and what it takes to use the feature. Start with Jim Welp's "Office XP Tips: Organize Outlook E-Mail," a smart newsletter on setting up folders and rules.

Now head for an article I wrote a while back. "Tame Your In-Box" covers Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, AOL, and Netscape filters. Then look over "Got Spam? Here's How to Stop It," a newsletter I wrote about the same issue.

You might enjoy reading what happens when a spammer targets the wrong person. Spammers often forge the domain name in the return address and headers of the junk they send. One time they did it to the "Man In The Wilderness," a guy who says he "makes my living providing Internet access, advanced TCP/IP network know-how, and Internet security." He's also an expert hacker. Read the story of how he made a spammer pay dearly. And get a remarkable view--with explicit details--into the world of spamming. (Thanks to Steve Gibson for this terrific site.)

While we're talking about e-mail, you might not be aware that some people might be perceiving your e-mail as spam. (Gosh, no!) Consider this: If you send messages with attachments or haphazardly add friends to your joke lists, you may be breaking one of the cardinal rules in "Essentials of E-Mail Etiquette," by one of our great writers, Laurianne McLaughlin.

Anti-Spam Tools

You might be inclined to track down, report, and even fight spammers on your own. Here are some tools to help you on your quest.

Sam Spade is a hero among people who spend lots of time on the Web. This freebie is a powerful ally, letting you decipher gnarly URLs, look up Web site owners, and check if an e-mail address is valid.

If you really hate spam and want to spend $50 to help stop it, SpamKiller might be for you. The program acts as a super magnet, pulling out spam before it gets to your in-box. You can give it a try for free.

Quick pitch: I've talked about Jim Welp in this newsletter for good reason. I signed up for his Office XP Tips newsletter months ago. Even though he steals lots of my thunder, he's also given me scads of useful info. BTW, I think it was my not-so-sharp editor who added "XP" to the title. The tips are ideal for Office 2000 and, in some cases, earlier versions of Word. Take a gander at Jim's work and sign up for his newsletter.

Dig this: Have you heard the news? "Surprise settlement evenly splits Microsoft; one firm to make software, other to make patches. Decision keeps Redmond from monopolizing massive Microsoft patch industry." Oh, you don't believe it? It's true, really--I read it online.

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