WebWorks Intl' Frequently Asked Questions : Email

How to Combat Spam:

Do not open email from senders you don't recognize!
Disable the preview pane in Outlook Express! Most spam emails contain images (sometimes invisible) which are automatically retrieved when displaying the email. Outlook has the ability to prevent files from being retrieved, but the current version of Outlook Express does not. Accessing the spammer's server to retrieve these files will tell the spammer that the email address is valid and even allows them to snoop your IP address, which email was opened and when you opened it.
Create and update a filter. Filters are easily to create but also easily to be circumvented. How many spelling variation of Viagra do you know? Also a spammer might use images rather then text to circumvent a filter. But filtering out some is better than none.
Keep a black list of spammers. Better is a white list of people that you allow to send emails, and put everyone else in a spam folder. It will be necessary to go through the spam folder once in a while as people change their email address and you might get email from people that never emailed you before.
Ask your ISP/Email provider to use spam lists (provided by spamhous,dbldb,etc...) to filter out spammers. A black list contains IP-addresses or block of IP-addresses from know spammers. Unfortunately more and more spams are being send from PCs infected with a virus and the person in question often does not know they are spamming.
Ask your ISP/Email provider if their email server supports white lists. A white list on the server will send an email back to the sender to confirm their identity (as a lot of spam mails use bogus email addresses, email address lists (bought or retrieved through other means (like viruses))). After the sender confirms the identity, the email is accepted. You as the retriever can then put the sender on a black, neutral, or white list (which is contained at the server).

How to Protect Your Email and Your Computer:

Do not open emails from senders you don't recognize!
Disable the preview pane in Outlook (Express).
Setup Outlook (Express) to block access to potential harmful attachments. You can always disable this feature if needed.
Remember the motto: 'there is nothing free in this world'. If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.
Get a firewall. Hardware one if possible. Or get a software one like Norton Internet Security, CheckPoint, McAfee, ZoneAlarm, etc... Block all ports not used. Most frequent used ports are: 80 (Web), 25 (SMTP), 110 (POP3), 443 (SSL), 21 (FTP). Look under security for more information
Ask your ISP if you can get anti-virus on your email, so it gets scanned and cured or deleted before it hits your PC.
Get an anti-virus program and most important of all, keep it up-to-date. Most anti-virus programs are set-up to check for updates each time you connect to the Internet. If you have an always-on connection, like DSL or cable, make sure the anti-virus software check for updates a couple times a day.