Articles tagged: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tip of the Day: Stop Freaking Out About Porn Spam

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

Tip of the Day: Never Reply to 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.

How Using BCC Reduces Spam

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Did My Bounced Message Get There?

When an email message comes back to you because of a problem, exactly who did or did not get the message can be confusing.

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

An email with only a link

Tip of the Day: Always Send More than a Link

“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

What Are My Hotmail and Outlook.com Account Recovery Options?

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

Has a Hacker Really Hacked My Email Account?

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

Tip of the Day: Send Links Instead of Attachments

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.

Tip of the Day: Unsubscribe Versus Mark as Spam

Tip of the Day: Don’t Forward All Email

Tip of the Day: Check the From: in Bounces

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.

How Do I Unsubscribe from All These Unwanted Emails?

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

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?

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? 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.

‘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.

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 by placing it in a junk mail folder. Sometimes it gets a little too aggressive. I’ll look at how to tame it.

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.

Why Was My Email Bounced for Sending Too Much Spam?

You are exactly right: you are being punished for the actions of others. To understand who those “others” are, we need to look at how email makes it off of your computer to its destination.

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.

Why Am I Getting Empty Form Submissions from My Website?

Spam, spammers, and hackers. They make website management quite difficult, and you may be experiencing this with your web form.

Why do I keep getting a CAPTCHA?

Most of these major email providers are doing what I would call behavioral analysis. They’re looking for signals that indicate spam and then posting a CAPTCHA.

Do Gmail Preview Images Pose a Security Risk?

Gmail occasionally includes preview images of attachments that are included with an email. Rather than being an additional risk, when present, these preview images can help keep you safer.

How Do I Protect My Email Address Book?

With email account hacking on the rise, it’s important to understand what it takes to keep your account (and its address book) safe from compromise.

Why Am I Being Labeled a Spammer?

Possibly being labeled a spammer is another reason not to forward political and other emails. Do it enough and your normal email may not get delivered.

Why Am I Getting (or Sending) Emails that Contain only a Link or Spam from My Contacts?

Email account hacking is on the rise. One of the signs is the amount of spam being sent to contacts from those hacked accounts.

Why Are Electronic Greeting Cards a Bad Idea?

Electronic greeting cards, or ecards, seem like a nice idea, but often end up giving the recipient more than you intended, in the form of spam or worse.

Someone’s Sending Email that Looks Like it’s from Me to My Contacts, What Can I Do?

If your contacts are getting email from you that you didn’t send, then it’s very likely that your email account has been compromised.