Step #5: Create Specific Named Public Email Addresses As And When Required
When you are forced to register on a website where you want to get some information from, you are
usually asked for a valid email address. Well guess what, you now have an unlimited supply of valid
email adresses. I usually use a specific format when registering at websites - it is
"websitename"@andywilliams.com. So if I am registering at a website called www.get-rich-quick.com,
I would use the address get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com as my valid email address. When the site
sends me an email, it gets redirected to my personal email or whatever the default or catch-all
address is.
Step #6: Send Spam Back To Where It Came From, If Possible
Here comes the real bonus, if you subsequently start receiving spam addressed to none other than
get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com, you simple create an email alias for
get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com and redirect the email back to exactly where it came from, for
example georg-bush@get-rick-quick.com. You will then never get another email from anyone using that
email address ever again. This is cool and is my favourite part. Bear in mind that spammers usually
send email from an address that is not their own, so if you see an address like
noreply@get-rick-quick.com, then you would redirect it somewhere else, for example a Hotmail
address that you setup just for redirection purposes. Please exercise some discretion here because
spammers often use the email addresses of real people and we don't want these innocent people
getting redirected email.
Step #7: Be Diligent In The Ongoing Management Of Your Domain
If you do this diligently for each website where you register by identifying the website name, you
will very quickly know which websites are selling email addresses and which ones honor their
promise not to share your information. ALl this while, nobody by your personal inner circle knows
your private email address.
A real-life example in my case: I use a specific email alias for my Paypal account which nobody but
Paypal knows. I have never ever received spam on this address, but I have received hundreds of spam
messages on other email aliases that I have created. All of these emails supposedly come from
Paypal and address me as "Dear Valued Paypal Member" or something similar, warning me that my
account is going to be closed or suspended unless I click on their link and update my credit card
information.
I hope that I have given you some food for thought on how to manage the ever growing spam problem
by protecting yourself by taking some initiative and getting your own domain name. The added
benefit is that you now have a permanent email address no matter where you choose to live or which
ISP you use to connect to the internet.
There are many other ways to fight spam which I will perhaps address future
articles.
About the Author: Balraj Dhaliwal is an Internet Consultant for BSD Register. He helps
customers with whatever they need to achieve their goals. BSD Register is well respected and liked
by its customers because of its no nonsense simple approach to getting things done. Visit BSD
Register at http://www.BSDRegister.com.
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