Email 101: 5 Tips on Avoiding Junk Mail
It has happened to all of us. You check your in box and it is full of unwanted emails. You sit back
and wonder, “How did this happen?” and “What did I do to get all these junk emails?”.
Chances are, you visited a Website and decided that you wanted to try to win that new 2008 sports
car. Alternatively, maybe you signed up for a newsletter and free coupons. If you have entered
your email on any site, you are bound to receive that junk mail.
Therefore, now you have isolated the situation. However, how do you stop this from happening
again? Here are the five best tips for preventing junk email from clogging up your in box.
1. Stop signing up for “free” offers.
Chances are, if you enter your email in any of these sites, your email address is sold to their
affiliates and sponsors. This starts a train of emails coming in. More likely than not, you are not
going to win that car, but rather receive an onslaught of unwanted solicitations from that
company or their partners.
2. Read the fine print
Most websites will tell you they are going to sell or share your information with other parties.
The problem is its under that long page called “Terms & Agreements”. Most of us just do not
bother to read it.
3. Turn on your Bulk or Spam filter
This is a great way to keep those away from your in box. These filters will recognize those
types of emails and send them to those folders or block them. Just note that sometimes good
emails like that job offer you were waiting to hear about or grandma’s pictures may make it into
to those folders or not reach you at all. The spam filter will block these and your bulk email file
will hold on to them for a period of time.
4. Unsubscribe from junk mail
You can click on a link to remove yourself from the mailing lists. Once you do this, you will
receive a message stating it has been removed, or it will take 24-72 hours to remove your
name. In the meantime, you will still receive emails. In addition, if you have 500 of them
stacked up, it will waste a lot of time. However, to some it is worth it.
5. Change your email.
I have done this before and so have many people. This option is good only if you have a few
people that contact you. When you have a large database of friends, colleges and family, this
option can be quite a hassle. Try a work and home email.
These tips come from experience in dealing with junk email and offer a few ways to deal with them.
No matter which option you may choose to use, always remember that you only want to share your
email with certain people or places, and be sure to check the sites you visit.
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