Spam is unsolicited email, usually of a commercial nature, which is mass distributed to newsgroups, multiple mailing lists and individuals.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Spam If you are tired of dealing with unsolicited junk mail clogging your email accounts, follow the steps in this guide to learn how to stop spam email.

Are you interested in lengthening your manhood? Finding cheap prescription drugs? How about helping a Nigerian diplomat transfer a large amount of money into an off-shore account? If you have an email account, chances are that you've been asked these questions, and various others, before in email messages known as spam. Whether you get 3 to 4 a day or 30 to 40, sorting through and deleting these unsolicited commercial emails can take up time and energy. With a little bit of information, you can help slow the spam down without the need to open new email accounts or change aliases.

There have been rumors of a National Do Not Email Registry (similar to the Do Not Call Registry) but such a list does not exist. In fact, in a report to congress, the Federal Trade Commission decided that such a list would not work in combating spam and might actually contribute to the proliferation of spam.http://www.ftc.gov/reports/dneregistry/report.pdf Their reasoning was that any list that is a compilation of email addresses and accounts can be accessed by spammers.

Spam can hurt people, companies and the Internet. Here are three reasons why:

1. Phishing: Spam emails are often used in order to engage in phishing - a practice in which links are used to collect personal information (financial data, social security numbers, account information) from unsuspecting users. That information can then be used for Identity Theft.
2. Malware: Another harmful thing that spam emails often include is malware - computer viruses, spyware, and malicious programs that can silently infiltrate a user's computer and cause major problems. Simply by clicking on a link, you can expose yourself (and your computer) to harmful viruses that can affect the functioning of your computer.
3. Loss of Productivity:While checking and deleting spam emails can be annoying, it is the time consumption and loss of productivity that really costs you.http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=21402133

Here are a few reasons why we see so much spam:

1. Spam works because some people click on the spam mail's featured links. Studies have shown that enough people click on spam mail to make it a worthwhile practice for advertisers.
2. Spam is cheap as a marketing tool. Since sending email is free, the cost of sending a spam message to one person is the same as sending it to 1 million people. Even if only 1 out of every 1,000 people actually click on the link, the cost of sending the emails makes it a profitable endeavor.
3. Spam is hard to fight because while software companies and Internet service providers are working constantly to help battle spammers and prevent unsolicited emails, marketing professionals are working equally hard to get around those barriers.http://www.mytrashmail.com/spam_help.aspxWhile new technology can help to prevent certain methods of sending spam, other technologies may provide spammers with ways to get around those defenses.

Here are some simple things that you can do:

1. Don't Open Spam: Don't open messages, don't click on any of their links, and don't buy anything from a spam-advertised site. People get tricked every day into opening spam messages, clicking on their links and buying what they're selling.
2. Don't Respond to Spam: Responding to a spam email in any way just proves to the spammer that yours is a working email address and that you actively check your emails. Many spammers are actually just looking for email addresses that work. Don't click on any link that says "Unsubscribe" or "Click Here if you Don't Want to Receive Any More Emails". These are just ways for spammers to confirm that you have read the email.
3. Delete and Mark Spam: It is always a good idea to delete spam emails as soon as you get them. But before you delete them, make sure you mark them as Spam in your email client. Most email clients will allow you to mark certain emails as Spam. This helps the email client identify similar emails in the future and prevent them from finding their way into your inbox.http://cybernetnews.com/helpful-tip-automatically-delete-or-mark-spam-as-read-in-gmail/

A disposable email account can be used as a dummy address for when you have to fill out registration pages online or enter your email address in order to access or sign up for a specific website or service. While many of the websites and services that you access online will claim to be secure and promise not to let your personal information get into the wrong hands, it is nearly impossible for them to ensure complete security.

Using a disposable email address for registering online will ensure that your regular email address does not end up in the hands of data mining services or spammers. You can set up your disposable email address to forward your registration emails to your regular account. As soon as your disposable email account starts receiving spam emails, simply delete your account and start a new one. There are a number of email services that offer disposable email accounts for the sole purpose of helping to fight spam.

• The most common method of battling spam is through the use of spam filters and software that are designed to automatically recognize and filter out spam messages. Since many ISPs and email clients have spam filtering software built into their services, a lot of the spam filtering that goes on within your email account is done without you even noticing it.

While your email account may be working silently to help keep spam out of your inbox, there are a few things that you can do to help it better recognize and filter spam:

1. Mark Messages As Spam: One of the best ways for you to help your email client recognize spam is to mark any spam messages that do get through. Most email clients will have an empty box next to each email that you can use to mark messages that you think are spam. Spam filters can use that information to block similar emails from getting into your inbox.
2. Identify False Positives: One of the drawbacks of aggressive spam filtering is that it will occasionally mistake a real email for a spam one. This is called a False Positive. Every so often, it is a good idea to go through your spam folder to make sure that there aren't any in there. If you do find a false positive, go ahead and move it into your regular inbox. This will let the filter know what to do with similar messages in the future.
3. Adjust Your Filter Settings: Go into your specific email client's spam filter settings and make that sure they are configured correctly. Some email accounts will let you specify certain domain names to automatically mark as spam, or look for specific keywords and phrases in emails to do the same. You can usually specify what you want done with spam email such as have them deleted immediately or leave them there for a certain amount of time.

Here are some things that you should always do in order to prevent your address from getting into the wrong hands.

1. Disguise Your Email Address: If you have a personal website, blog or other online presence, chances are that you'll have your contact information displayed somewhere. Since spammers will often use computer programs to search for anything containing the @ symbol, it is always a good idea to spell out "at" in your address, rather than writing the whole thing (i.e. andy at mahalo.com).
2. Don't Enter Online Promotions or Contests: Be wary of online promotions and contests that ask you to enter in your email address or other personal information in exchange for being entered into a free drawing. Signing up for free trial software is another way for spammers to find and use your personal information.
3. Avoid Multi-Forwarded Emails: We've all received funny or amusing emails that have been forwarded to us by a friend or colleague. While some of these may be harmless attempts at amusement, some can be a simple way for spammers to collect large amounts of working email addresses. You can usually tell that an email has been forwarded multiple times if it has "Fw:Fw:Fw:" in the subject heading.

You can help by reporting spammers and their activities to the proper authorities. Here are a few ways to do so:

1. In order to report spam, read through the United States Justice Department's website regarding how to report unsolicited e-mail.[http://www.usdoj.gov/spam.htm This page will give you information on how to report different types of spam email.
2. Email the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov in order to report spam. The FTC then uses that information to help find and prosecute suspected spammers.
   • Make sure to include the full email header of the spam in your complaint along with the full email message and IP address.
   • If you've been scammed by spam, you can also file a formal complain with the FTC.
3. You can also report spammers to your Internet service provider. This can help them identify people who are sending spam through their system.

You can also use some of the independent spam reporting services. By signing up for an account with these services, users can quickly and easily forward spam messages to them. Those messages are then analyzed by the services and the proper actions are taken to stop the spammers. Here are a couple of the most popular spam reporting services:

• 1. SpamCop: While signing up for a basic account and reporting spam is free, SpamCop also offers premium email accounts that make use of their extensive databases to provide users with spam-free email.
  2. Spamhaus: Spamhaus is an International non-profit organization that works to stop spam by compiling lists of known spammers and their IP addresses. They also provide anti-spam services for large organizations and businesses.http://www.spamhaus.org/