How to put an end to the reign of spam?

Even if spamming is not illegal in some countries, it can be considered a practice that undermines Internet service providers. In France, the Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés (CNIL) is clear on the subject. Prospecting by e-mail will be considered illegal if the recipients have exercised their right to object. On the other hand, opt-in mailing is perfectly acceptable.

A few tips to limit spam invasion

To ensure that ethics and harmony reign supreme, certain basic rules have been put in place and stipulated in the French Data Protection Act (loi informatique et liberté) promulgated in January 1978. Their mission is to protect the security of Internet users. If spam can’t be totally eradicated, there are a few tricks you can use to prevent it from reaching users’ mail servers.

The first tip is not to follow up on a spam message because everything in it is wrong: address, content, etc. By clicking on the link indicated in the content, users run the risk of adding to spammers’ databases. The second tip is not to click on spam attachments, especially those containing images. The third trick is not to unsubscribe via the link on the junk mail. By clicking on it, Internet users risk doing the opposite, i.e. confirming the validity of their e-mail addresses and their inclusion on the spammers’ list.

For greater convenience, computer security specialists suggest that users set their spam filter so that all junk mail lands in a specific folder. A spot check would be necessary to ensure that no false positives are overlooked. To participate in a forum, online discussion platform, blog, etc., disposable e-mail addresses are more appropriate. Users should keep their email address for business communications and correspondence with close family and friends.

Using an unprotected computer can leave users’ e-mail addresses and address books vulnerable. Even in the workplace, 40% of corporate IT systems are not secured to effectively combat spam and other computer threats: viruses, phishing, scams, malware, Trojans, etc.

Cost-effective spam protection

Nowadays, it’s possible to keep your e-mail address free of spam at low cost. Adopting a hosted anti-spam solution is one of these low-cost solutions, especially for businesses. All company e-mails are filtered upstream, i.e. before arriving on the server. What’s special about hosted anti-spam is that companies don’t have to invest in new infrastructure or protection software, or finance upgrades and maintenance. What’s more, it can be up and running in no time.