Spam Problem with Mail?

[matthall405]

So i have gone through 3 email addresses in the last 2 years and each time I was forced to switch due to an obscene amount of spam mail received. I've been very careful about handing out my address to online webpages, i've activated the junk mail filter, etc. and have been getting what seems like an exponential increase in spam over time.

So, before I switch email addresses yet again, is there kind of spamware that could be on my computer that could be sending my email address places or anything else that may help alleviate this spam?

Most of the spam i've been getting is odd in nature and seems to be coming from the same place via thousands of different emails but generally looks something like this:

"Sweet jordan elliot
http://groups.google.com/group/jonellebow/?lobeswerzporstfupewty21room
dull walk sets sob swam pecks faint ought
doing ann pig odd us pain
aloud nor just queen flame"

and about half of the emails have come from various addresses at laposte.net. does anyone have any information about where these emails could be coming from how I might be able to stop them?


thanks in advance.

 

[liptonlover]

I had the same problem only more extreme... but I can't help you because the problem disappeared on its own. I have a .mac account. I don't mess with anything, but a while back my account started suddenly sending out random spam to random people every time I opened mail, and would keep it up until I closed it. Not only that though but I was also receiving it. It was coming from my account, but the emails, both sent and received, weren't anywhere on my computer. but after a few months it just stopped.

 

[soberbrain]

I use gmail which has it's own spam filter, plus the junk filter on Mail. I access gmail on my work PC so I can see if any non-spam email was accidentally placed there. Also, I have a separate email address for signing up for new websites that I don't trust yet or ones that I just need an email address for intial sign up, while I use my main address for Amazon, eBay, etc.

 

[GGJstudios]

If you're interested in avoiding spam, there are a number of things you can do:

* Make sure your friends don't include your address in any broadcast emails, such as joke of the day, party invitations, etc. Using BCC is a better way than CC for those purposes.

* Don't list your email on any web page. If you need to, either post an image of your email address, or use myname <at> gmail.com or something similar, so automated programs "bots" can't "harvest" your email address from sites.

* Use temporary email addresses, such as www.temporaryinbox.com to minimize exposure of your primary email address. If you're downloading software, for example, that requires that they send you a password or key, use a temporary "throw away" email address.

* Don't reply to spam! If it says, "click here to unsubscribe" and you do, you've just verified that your email address is valid and working. They won't unsubscribe you. Instead, they'll sell your address to other spammers, now that they know the address is being used by a live person.

* Don't fall for hoaxes, such as "Yahoo mail is closing down. To keep it open, forward this email to everyone in your address book" or "McDonalds will donate $1 to charity for every email sent..." None of these urban legends are true and their purpose is to expose every address in your book to spammers.

* Ask anyone you give your address to that they NOT put you on mailing or distribution lists, but that they only email you directly, one-on-one.

* Be aware that some email domains such as yahoo, hotmail and aol are more prone to spam. Also posting your information on some sites, such as Monster.com, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube will give you greater exposure to spam. You may want to set up separate free yahoo accounts for each of those type of sites, so you can track where the spam comes from.

* If you Google "avoid spam" you will find a great number of sites like this that may have more suggestions to minimize spam.

I hope this helps!

 

[Moof1904]

SpamSieve

I spent $30 or so for SpamSieve. It integrates with Apple Mail wonderfully and it absolutely amazing at stopping spam. It's the best $30 I've ever spent.