Articles tagged: spam

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How Do I Stop Outlook.com from Putting Legitimate Messages in the Junk Mail Folder?

Outlook.com, like most email services, tries hard to keep spam out of your inbox. Sometimes it gets a little too aggressive. I’ll look at how to tame it.

An image showing the annoyance of spam emails. Depict an overflowing email inbox with spam messages, a frustrated person looking at their computer, and various sources of spam like social media, phishing attempts, and data breaches illustrated around the scene.

8 Ways Spammers Get Your Email Address

Spam is annoying. What’s more annoying are all the ways spammers have to get our email addresses in the first place.

Unsubscribe or This is Spam?

How Do I Unsubscribe from All These Unwanted Emails?

There are emails from which you should certainly unsubscribe if you no longer want them. However, there are emails that you absolutely should never unsubscribe from. I’ll review the difference.

A frustrated person looking at a computer screen with an email bounce-back message. In the background, an image of a spam warning symbol and multiple email servers connected in a network.

Why Are They Saying I’m Sending Too Much Spam?

How your email can get blocked for spam you didn’t send, and what to do about it.

Stop!

How to Deal When Unsubscribe Doesn’t Work

When a legitimate email sender doesn’t respond to an unsubscribe request, they’re no longer legitimate. Here’s what to do.

One person pointing accusingly at another person, saying 'SPAMMER!'. The scene is intense, with the accuser looking serious and somewhat angry, while the accused appears surprised and defensive. The background is a nondescript office setting.

I’ve Been Accused of Being a Spammer. What Can I Do About It?

It’s not uncommon for email to bounce in ways that imply you might be spamming. I’ll look at what may or may not be happening.

A digital battle scene symbolizing the ineffective and illegal attempts to fight spam with spam. Include visual metaphors such as email icons clashing like swords, a figure representing a regular email user transformed into a spammer wearing a villainous mask, and digital debris to illustrate the chaos and negative impact of such actions. The scene should convey the message that while the idea of retaliating against spammers is tempting, it ultimately backfires and turns the well-intentioned user into part of the problem.

Can’t We Just Spam the Spammers to Death?

Unfortunately, that turns you into, yes… a spammer! There are many, many problems with this idea. I’ll explain a few.

The scene includes a computer screen displaying an email inbox with several spam email subjects visible, such as "Account Hacked!" and "Urgent: Security Alert." A large, bold, red 'X' is superimposed over these scam emails, symbolizing rejection or marking them as spam. In the foreground, a figure symbolizing a user (not specific in appearance) confidently presses the 'delete' or 'spam' button on the email client, ignoring the scam attempts.

Has a Hacker Really Hacked My Email Account?

An email claims your email account has been hacked, possibly even including a password you’ve used. Don’t be fooled; it’s a scam.

A dimly lit room with an open laptop casting a soft glow on a table. The screen displays an email interface with an unread message icon, subtly hinting at communication from beyond. Around the laptop, personal items like a framed photo of a smiling group of friends, a wilted flower, and a candle casting long shadows, create a poignant atmosphere of loss and the unsettling feeling of receiving a message from someone who has passed away. The overall mood is one of contemplation and sorrow.

Why Am I Getting Email from a Dead Person?

It’s hard enough to experience the loss of a friend or a loved one. To get email from them thereafter can be very disturbing.

An investigator, characterized by a friendly and approachable design, using a magnifying glass to look closely at an email message on a computer screen. The scene is set in a dimly lit room, highlighting the focus on the screen, suggesting the importance of paying attention to detail. The investigator's expression is one of curiosity and determination, emphasizing the significance of scrutinizing every piece of information to uncover the truth behind the email message. This image should inspire viewers to be more diligent and thoughtful when examining their own emails.

Behind the Scam: Decoding the Secrets of Fraudulent Emails

Scam emails often have clues ranging from obvious to obscure. I’ll take a scam email and show you what I see.

Password Frustration

How Do I Recover My Outlook Account?

Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Microsoft account compromise and loss happens. Here’s how to get your account back depending on what happened to it.

How Do I Tell If an Email Address Is Fake?

It’s hard to determine whether an email address is fake.

Copying a sharing link.

Tip of the Day: Send Links Instead of Attachments

Spam filter

What Is and Is Not Spam

Understanding what is and is not spam is important to make sure you get what you want and improve spam filtering for everyone.

User unknown bounce

Tip of the Day: Check the From: in Bounces

No Spam

Why Shouldn’t I Post My Email Address in a Public Forum?

Spammers and internet trolls harvest email addresses via a variety of means. One of the most common is to simply surf the web and look for anything that might look like one.

No Spam

Why Is There So Much Spam?

Even though most of us might never fall for it, the reason there’s so much spam is simple: spam works.

No Entry

How Do I Stop Someone from Emailing Me?

Sometimes you want to keep someone from contacting you. Ignoring them is often simplest, but there are tools to help as well.

Spam

Someone’s Sending from My Email Address! How Do I Stop Them?

Email spoofing is rampant. Spammers often send email that looks like it came from you, and there’s little that you can do about it.

Not Spam!

Why Is My Mail to This Person Not Getting Through?

Spam prevention measures have made getting email delivered more difficult. We’ll look at how to maximize the chances your email will make it through.

Under a load of spam.

I’m Drowning in Spam. What Can I Do?

Sometimes it seems like spam is a tidal wave of junk that threatens to make email completely unusable. While you can’t stop spam, you can manage it with a good spam filter.

It's Shocking!

Tip of the Day: Stop Freaking Out About Porn Spam

No Spam

Tip of the Day: Mark Spam as Spam and Move On

Spam

Tip of the Day: Never Reply to Spam

Not Spam!

How Do I Stop Email From Going to Spam?

Train your spam filter to stop emails you want from going to your spam folder.

Stop Compromising the Privacy of Others

How Using BCC Reduces Spam

Using BCC on forwarded email is one way to reduce the amount of spam your recipients might get.

So. Much. Spam.

I’m Suddenly Getting More Spam Emails. Should I Be Worried?

A sudden flood of additional spam is not unusual. I’ll look at why I think it happens, and when I start to worry.

Getting Too Much Email

Why Am I Getting Email Sent to an Email Address Similar to Mine?

It’s not uncommon to get unexpected email sent to an email address similar to your own. I’ll review why that is and what to do about it.

No Spam

How to Get Rid of Spam Emails

If you’re not getting spam now, you will soon — and probably lots of it. What can you do? There’s no magic answer, but there are various things you can do to help.

OMG! Porn Spam!

Does Getting Porn Spam Mean You’ve Been Surfing Porn Sites?

Porn spam doesn’t mean anyone did anything illicit. Everyone gets spam, and some of it is porn. Lack of spam doesn’t imply you’ve been good, either.

Never Attribute to Malice . . .

Malicious intent is commonly understood to be the cause of technological trials and tribulations. It’s usually the wrong assumption to make.

Frustrated Computer User

5 Reasons Your Closed Email Account Sends Spam

Closing an email account is many people’s first reaction to seeing spam sent from their account. It rarely helps, if it’s even possible. I’ll explain.

Return to Sender

Did My Bounced Message Get There?

When an email message bounces back to you, it may be hard to know who did or did not get the message.

Email

Why Do Pictures in Email Sometimes Show as Attachments, and Sometimes in the Message?

Pictures in email don’t always display. The reasons are varied and confusing, but I’ll review the three most common causes of problems and what you need to do.

Tip of the Day: You Might Need to Report Spam Multiple Times

Tip of the Day: You Might Need to Report Spam Multiple Times

An email with only a link

Tip of the Day: Always Send More than a Link

Fake!

“From” Spoofing: How Spammers Send Email that Looks Like It Came from You

“From” spoofing is how spammers send email that looks like it comes from you that you had nothing at all to do with. I’ll look at how it’s done.

Spam email relating to COVID-19

Tip of the Day: Legitimate Information Doesn’t Arrive Unsolicited

How to Get Email with Attachments Delivered

How to Get Email with Attachments Delivered

Emailing attachments — particularly large files — is getting more and more difficult as ISPs limit size and scan for malware.

Spam Can

Tip of the Day: Unsubscribe Versus Mark as Spam

Forwarding SPAM

Tip of the Day: Don’t Forward All Email

Fake Ask Leo Email

Dealing with Fake “Ask Leo”

Someone’s sending spam that looks like an Ask Leo! recommendation. It’s not, and it gives us clues to keep in mind when evaluating any email message.

Email / Spam

Why I (Still) Don’t Like Challenge/Response Spam Blockers

An error caused my newsletter to come “From” the wrong address. Flooded with challenge/response mails, I wonder: what other messages are you missing?

IP Reputation Report

Why Does My IP Address Have a Bad Reputation? And What Do I Do?

Email reputation for your home IP address probably doesn’t matter, and having it characterized as “poor” might even be a good thing.

Stopping Spam is Harder Than You Think

Spam is a much more complex, much more widespread, and much more global in nature than most people realize. All that adds up to it being VERY difficult to stop.

Emails Opened?

Emails Opened? Is There a Reliable Way to Tell?

It’s very common to want confirmation that an email has been opened, delivered, or read. In the age of spam, it’s simply not possible with any accuracy.

Too Much Email

‘Tis the Season … to Unsubscribe!

The holiday season brings with it a flood of email. That’s a great opportunity to evaluate, and unsubscribe from things you no longer need.

Auto-response spam

My Flood of Auto-Responses

I made a minor change to the newsletter and as a result was flooded with auto-responses when it sent. What I learned about auto-responses is important to know.

SPAMmed Laptop

Why Does My Account Keep Sending Out Spam?

Unfortunately most of this is out of your hands now. There are a few things you can check for, and then you’ll have to just get on with your life.

How Do I Stop All this Spam?

Sometimes, it seems like spam is a tidal wave of junk that threatens to make email completely unusable. While you can’t stop spam, you can manage it very well with a good spam filter.