Email threats

Email is a form of communication with many advantages.

Unfortunately, with high anonymity, email and the internet leave room for illegal activities such as spamming. Spam includes unsolicited advertisements, hoaxes and the proliferation of malicious malware. The inconvenience and danger to you are increased because the cost of sending spam is minimal, and spam authors have many tools to acquire new email addresses. In addition, the volume and variety of spam make it very difficult to regulate. The longer you use your email address, the more likely it will end up in a spam engine database.

Some hints for prevention:

•If you can, do not publish your email address on the internet

•Only give your email address to trusted individuals

•If you can, do not use common aliases. With more complicated aliases, the probability of tracking is lower

•Do not reply to spam that has already arrived in your Inbox

•Be careful when filling out internet forms. Be especially cautious of options such as “Yes, I want to receive information”

•Use “specialized” email addresses—one for business, one for communication with your friends, etc.

•Change your email address periodically

•Use an Antispam solution