Avoiding SPAM & Malware

Okay, it's probably impossible to avoid SPAM and Malware altogether but there is a lot you can do to cut it down to size. Incidentally, if you arrived expecting recipes then you are probably looking for the official SPAM website here.

• If you have your own web space

That's either a website or blog or any other Internet hosted area. Ensure that explicit mail addresses are avoided as it's very simple to 'harvest' addresses in this way. Use a form to collect information. To avoid the form 'bots' add some text such 'Anti-SPAM, do NOT remove' and check in the script that it's still there before accepting. Alternatively, you can generate some random characters and get your user to type it in. Many web-sites use CAPCHA technology and, if you have a supported content management system then you can probably get an add-on for it. This will help pin it down to a human operator.

• Keep a SPAM address

Maintain a second e-mail address and use it to provide details to websites. In this way you will keep your permanent address away from unknown senders. If the second e-mail address starts getting deluged with SPAM drop it and get another.

• Hang on to your information

Avoid giving out personal information but if you must then provide the second mailbox address as described above.

• Lock your system down

Make sure that your system cannot be accessed from the Internet without your knowledge. Get a reliable hardware firewall for your ADSL connection - don't rely on the software versions as they can be inadvertently turned off. This is particularly important as a significant proportion of SPAM is sent from insecure systems that have been hijacked.

• Internet browsers

A common point of entry is via your browser. Some are more secure than others but whichever browser you opt for check the security levels are set appropriately. Ensure the browser is set to prompt when software is to be installed - be wary of Active-X controls for example.

• Do NOT reply

Don't reply to anything you suspect is SPAM as you will only confirm your address.

• Get SPAM filtering software

Most Anti-Virus software contains SPAM filtering too. Get yourself a reputable example and keep it up to date. Aaland recommends Trend Antivirus.

For a glossary of SPAM terminology look here

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Too late? Got some form of malicious software on your system? Give Aaland a call on 07748-472194 and we'll get rid of it for you