Prevent Spam in Your Inbox (Part I)
Adapted from Microsoft’s Help keep spam out of your inbox:
Recently, I’ve been receiving a lot of weird messages in my Yahoo! Mail bulk mail folder. Why weird? The most recent spam message I received was dated September 12, 2035. Hmm, I reckon this is one way of spammers to get into the first slot in your Spam Mail folder.
So how can we prevent spam messages? I found these tips in Microsoft.com and gave some additional inputs (italics).
1. Only share your primary e-mail address with people you know. Avoid listing your e-mail address in large Internet directories and job-posting Web sites. Don’t even post it on your own Web site. If you think you really have to post your e-mail address in your websites for contact purposes, create a contact form instead. You can also disguise your address using signature e-mail generators.
2. 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. Currently, I am using two e-mail addresses. The first one I use in submitting my sites to directories, signing up in internet offers and other “unofficial” transactions. As much as possible, I would recommend to avoid signing up on internet freebies and newsletters.
3. 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”). Research shows that people with such names get less junk e-mail. I thought using such “funky†texts are only applicable in text messages. 
4. 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.
5. Do not forward chain messages. Chain messages are not only annoying but they can also reveal your e-mail address to other people you don’t know. It might be prudent to tell your friends not to send you these messages.
6. Download a program that can alert you if you are visiting a ‘phising’ site or a spammer’s site. For this, SiteAdvisor will be a great help. It can be used for most browser. This also works with most major search engines such as Google, Yahoo Search, MSN and Ask. This could also add security to your web browsing and computer as it detects malicious software in a website.
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