Realizing you have a spam problem does not mean you went on some forbidden website or have compromised your email security. The people who use spam to try to get you to come to their web sites or to buy something are pretty clever. They buy email addresses from people and have other ways of hacking or finding out your email address without you ever giving it to them. So do not feel that you are being personally targeted by spam. If you get an spam email, that was probably part of a mass broadcast of that advertisement to tens of thousands of email addresses that spammers try to get to in hopes that a few "suckers" will be taken in and fall for their schemes.

The battle against spam seems to be an endless one. The things you can do seem to work for a while and then somehow things change and the spammers start getting through to you again. You can buy software that is supposed to control it. But what we don't see is that there is a continuous battle of wits going on between people who seem to insist on sending out spam and those who are making money stopping it. Each time spammers come up with some new trick or tactic to get their emails to your inbox, the anti-spam people come out with a "new and improved" product to stop it, which of course, you have to buy.

But that just seems to excite the spammers who have endless patience and technical savvy to figure out around the latest blocks and get through again. And so the cycle continues to repeat and the only ones who seem to be doing well in this ugly battle are the people you pay for anti-spam software. You would almost suspect that they are cooperating in the cycle because it sure does line their pockets each time you have to upgrade your spam software to block the latest waves of spam.

But the confusion and the burden of spam doesn't just end with having to spend your hard earned money on software to stop it. Once you get the software, you have to "train" it. Software designed to stop spam has to somehow know the difference between spam and good emails. If your spam software is too "aggressive", it can end up filtering out emails you need and want which can be even more of a problem than the spam in the first place.

So your installation of the software has to learn from you what key words you want to block that it might "see" in the message box or the body of an email message. Often there is a "blocked list" where you can add any email addresses that send you spam and the software will filter them out and send them to the deleted emails folder or a special folder just for spam. It keeps that special folder so you can quickly scan what it puts there before deleting anything in case the software made any mistakes.

The result is that in exchange for spam "protection,", you get a new hobby of constantly finding new email address that are being used to send you spam and adding them to the blocked list. Spammers know this trick and it seems they can create new email addresses faster than you can add the old ones to the blocked list. Blocking on dirty words or certain key words like "Viagra" or "get rich quick" is also somewhat effective but not totally because as soon as spammers figure out what you are doing, they change their strategies and get their spam to you.

You add to that the daily chore of reviewing the "spam folder' where the bad emails were sent to make sure nothing valid went there and you really have not eliminated the problem of spam. You have just organized it into a bunch of habits you have to be in every day to constantly battle the flood of spam coming your way. It is pretty maddening especially when you consider you have to pay the spam software companies for the privilege of constantly training their software to do a so-so job for you. You wonder sometimes who is training who.

There has to be a better way. And in fact, there is a better way that not only is free, it is effective because it reduces the amount of "maintenance" you have to do tremendously. You still must take a few steps each week to keep this system working but it is a slick, simple and effective way to cycle all spam to trash and keep all of your good email isolated. It is so simple that you will wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. Here is how it works.

A New Way of Seeing Email

The problem is we have been looking at this problem all wrong. The approach we just reviewed is based on an assumption that we must fight all bad email from getting into our inbox by pushing it to a quarantine box. So you get into that constant battle of figuring out the originating email address and adding it to the "blocked senders" list so your software can catch that sender and send that email to the designated folder. Then the spammers change their email addresses and the fight is new all over again the next day.

Obviously, the fight to keep your inbox full of only pure emails is a losing one. Like many problems of this nature, maybe instead of trying to find new ways to fight the battle, we need to change the terms of the fight to give the advantage to you and me. The heart of that new approach lies in one basic question which is …

What is so Holy About that Inbox?

Instead of fighting to push all bad email to a quarantine box, what if we changed the way we saw the battle over email. Instead, what if we "quarantined" good email and let the spammers have the inbox? This is a far more controlled approach and if you implement it correctly, you can put this solution in place with no extra software to buy and very little effort. You just have to use a tool that is…

Right Under Your Nose

There is actually some anti-spam tools built right into most email software such as Microsoft Outlook. In fact, you may be already using one of the most effective tools for managing spam that is not really identified as a spam tool. It is the facility Outlook gives you to route email to email folders you create based on keywords or email addresses. So you can identify all of the email addresses from your family and as soon as they arrive, Outlook can put those in a "family" folder so you know what they are.

This is a terrific feature especially if you get a lot of emails. You can have your newsletter subscriptions go to one email folder, work related emails to another and emails from family and friends to another and keep things straight like this. But this is a tool that can very easily become a foolproof spam protection system that doesn't cost a dime beyond what you paid for your email software. It works every day and on every email and it reduces your spam maintenance from a constant daily hobby to an every once in a while maintenance step. Here is how it works.

• Create a new folder in your email system. Just call it "Good Email" or something similar so you know that this is to become the new holding tank for all the emails you value.
• Now use that tool that allows you to route emails to a selected folder based on email address. Look at every routine email you get that could be considered legitimate. Now add each of those emails to a new email "rule" that routes those emails to the "Good Email" folder that you just created.
• Instantly your inbox becomes the spam quarantine and all good emails are kept in one guarded email folder that you have total control over. Now all you have to do is quickly glance at your old inbox to make sure no new good emails show up there. As soon as you find an email from a new person or company that you want to hear from, you move it to the "Good Email" folder and it is safe.
• When you do identify a new email recipient that you want to add to your elite list of allowed emails, along with moving the new email to the "Good Email" folder, you just open the rule that filters your emails and add that one new email address to the list. From then on out, emails from that sender will always go to your protected folder.
• Each day and maybe each time you check emails, you will see spam "trapped" in your inbox. A quick glance confirms it is all spam. Then with a quick "select all" and delete, the spam goes away, just that easy and just that quick.

The maintenance of adding new email contacts to the allowed senders list will be something you will be doing with some regularity in the first few weeks you have this system in place. But before long, most if not all of your allowed email senders will be on your allowed senders list. Then you just have to add new people on an "as needed" basis. Checking for spam is a task that just takes a few seconds because you know almost everything in your email inbox is spam. And you just delete it all and you are spam free again.

It is a system that is amazingly effective considering how simple it is. You can have it in place in moments and forget about paying subscriptions for spam filtering products. You save money, time and a lot of frustration. And above all, this very simple and inexpensive system is fool proof, it works every time without fail and it accomplishes what all the fancy and expensive software says they will do but they cannot do. It gives control over your email back to you and keeps that control in your hands forever. That is good spam control for sure.

1. A firewall (blocks dangerous applications that could harm your computer)
2. A pop-up blocker (blocks advertisements that pop up when you click on a website. This means that any hidden viruses are blocked and you don't have a load of annoying adverts flying at you)
3. Email filter
4. An Anti-virus

So my last thing was an anti-virus. I am using the free edition of AVG Antivirus and it is great! They recently brought out the new edition called AVG Antivirus 8.0 (can get free by searching in a search engine and clicking on the Grisoft version [free.grisoft.com]) so you download it and then you follow the instructions to set it up. Once you have done all that you will now have AVG 8.0 Free Edition. With this you can start checking your computer for any viruses that you don't have. With this edition you are also checking your computer for spy-ware. When your computer finds any viruses or spy-ware it automatically sends it to the virus vault which you can check through and delete the files with the help from the program.

Also included with this product is a link scanner which when you search anything on a search engine it will automatically check the website to see if there are any viruses on it and if it goes green with a tick then it is to continue. The great thing about this program is that Grisoft are continuously updating and fighting the new viruses which come out every day so to make sure your AVG keeps up to date whenever you connect online you will be notified that an update is ready, so take a few minutes updating it and viola your system is ready to fight the latest viruses and the current and old ones if they choose to arrive. When you download any files you will always be at risk that the file has a virus in it so with AVG you can decide to scan it for viruses and if there is it will notify it. AVG is available for Windows and MAC computers and laptops.

So my third thing was to have an Email Filter. Now then AVG automatically scans all your emails when you receive them to combat viruses but that doesn't stop all the unwanted “junk” that comes your way so I have found a great little product called MailWasher. What it does is collect all your emails into the program then it waits for you to open the program and you then check through your emails and bouncing any spam that you don't want. Once you have figured out the spam from the genuine you can then set the program up so that it remembers the spam so that when you next receive it you get a little box saying “Blacklisted” and then you have others saying “Possible”. You now just bounce these emails and filter through your proper emails to read. Bouncing the emails basically means to send the same email back to the place where it was sent from so that this deters them to send any more to you. Mailwasher is free but if you want you can donate to it, search it in any search engine to download.

I also use a firewall which is run by Agnitum Outpost Firewall. This is the firewall which you decide what you want to block from being able to run without permission and what can run without permission from you.

I can't stress this enough. A computer without Anti-Virus Protection is just plain insane. Not only do you have to install it, but you must keep it updated and scan regularly.

Paid Programs:

I use Zone Alarm Anti-Virus (ZoneAlarm) and I am very pleased with its performance. It, like many other anti-virus programs, checks every new file, if it from the internet, from a USB Drive, or from any other source. This is called "Real-Time Scanning", and it is very useful. Especially if you're lazy like me and don't have much time to scan!

Also, for a more "lightweight" program, try ESET NOD32 Anti-Virus (Eset) This is also a very good program, which updates itself whenever you turn your PC on.

Free Programs:

Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus (Grisoft). A good free alternative that I used before I got Zone Alarm. It is efficient, if you don't use the internet heavily. Otherwise, use a paid alternative.

Best in Test:

ZoneAlarm Anti-Virus. This program meets all expectations, and found all of the viruses that I tested it with. As the saying goes, You get what you pay for. www.ZoneAlarm.com

Install A Firewall

Why you need a Firewall:

Connecting to the Internet is like opening a door to your computer. If hackers see that door, they can easily gain access to your PC. Once inside, hackers can steal your valuable personal data, such as bank account details and passwords to many different things. Your PC can be used without your knowledge to launch attacks on other computers, even on entire networks. A hacker can even completely "kill" your computer! But, you can stop this all with a decent firewall. It is necessary to install a good firewall, keep it on, and only disable it if it is absolutely required.

Paid Programs:

ZoneAlarm Firewall: (ZoneAlarm). This program is one of the best out there. It "learns" your Internet Habits, and makes them secure. There is also a "free version" of this.

Comodo Firewall Pro Plus: (Comodo). I found this program to be quite restrictive. It didn't give you as much detail about the program the need access to certain things, and therefore I blocked a few things that were needed.

Free Programs:

ZoneAlarm Basic Firewall (ZoneAlarm). This is the "free" alternative of the other version. This is very good if you don't want to pay.

Best in Test:

ZoneAlarm Firewall. As with the Anti-Virus, ZoneAlarm takes it out. www.ZoneAlarm.com

Regularly run Anti-Adware/Anti-Spyware/Anti-Malware

Every time you visit a website, you may, without even knowing, have downloaded content onto your machine. This content includes key loggers, dialers, spying programs, advertising material, spam bots and much, much more.

Paid Programs:

SpyFerret (here). Paid programs don't give you much more than free programs when it comes to Anti-Spyware. I would recommend that you don't get paid programs, but it is YOUR choice when it comes to security.

Free Programs:

Ad-Aware 2007. (Lavasoft USA). This program performs a "deep search". This means that it checks each and every file, and "quarantines" them.

Spybot Search & Destroy (Safer-Networking). This program checks your computer for all these "nasties" and easily removes them.

Best in Test:

"Ad-Aware 2007" & "Spybot Search & Destroy". (Lavasoft USA & Safer-Networking) I give these products both the award, as they in conjunction with each other, keep your computer clean. I recommend that you run Spybot S&D after every internet session, and Ad-Aware once a week.

Have Spam & Email protection

Don't open unknown emails, don't open unknown attachments. Even if you know who it is from, do not open them if you are not expecting them.

Paid Programs:

Kaspersky Anti-Spam (Kaspersky). This program was as good as the MailWasher, but the interface was a bit harder to get around. If you would rather use a paid program, use this, or go for a free alternative.

Free Programs:

MailWasher (MailWasher). Before you download your email into Thunderbird, Outlook, Outlook Express, etc, you run this tool, and choose all the emails that are of spam. Then, you open up your email client and download your emails. The emails that you "marked" as spam in MailWasher, are now "blacklisted" from your account.

Best in Test:

MailWasher is an excellent program, that I found got rid of my spam problem after a few weeks. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get rid of the spam in their email accounts. 

5) Popup Protection:

Some pop-up's can download virus's and spyware to your machine. Get protection from them, and you won't have to deal with the consequences.

Paid Programs:

Winguard Popup Remover. (here). This program, along with many other paid programs, doesn't give you much more protection from Pop-up's than the free ones. But, if you would rather buy a program, then go for it.

Free Programs:

Firefox Browser (Mozilla). The award winning browser, Firefox, has a built in pop-up blocker. I highly recommend you give Firefox a try. It speeds up your internet browsing, and is overall safer than Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which by default, is installed with all Windows Computers.

Google Toolbar (Google). This is a great toolbar for your browser. It not only has a pop-up blocker, but it can be incorporated into Gmail (Google's answer to Free Email), and of course a Google Search Box, right at your fingertips.

Best in Test:

Firefox with Google Toolbar. Firefox comes with a Pop-Up blocker already built in, and with the added extension of Google Toolbar, you have twice the power of blocking these annoyances. 

Patch

It is important to keep your computer patched and up-to-date. This protects your computer from new vulnerabilities, which may allow hackers to gain access to your computer. Your firewall should stop this, but if it is new, it might not. So be on the safe side, Patch regularly. If you have limited allowance on your internet, don't subscribe to “Automatic Updates” Change this to “Notify me if there are any updates, but don't download or install them”. Then, go to Microsoft Update and download the “Critical Updates”.

Backup

Unfortunately, there is no 100% way to keep your computer secure. Therefore, you should back-up all your important data, and keep it stored on a DVD or CD in a safe place. I backup at least once a month. And I keep all my information in a case, stored away securely.

Watch out for scams

“You have just won $1,000,000! Give us your bank details!”

“You are the 999,999 person to view this site, click here to claim your prize.”

“I have a large amount of money, and I need you to help me transfer it……”

You may have seen these types of messages before. But, as you may already be aware, these are scams. Don't click these ads, or open any emails with this content, as it may install spyware, virus's or other "nasties". “If it sounds too good to be true, then it is most likely that it is.” Remember to trust your Instinct. If it seems a bit weird, delete that email or close that site and run Anti-Spyware & Anti-Virus ASAP.

These are 8 ways to keep your PC secure. I take no responsibility for any problems that may occur with these products. They shouldn't cause any problems, but if they do, it is not my fault!

• Internet Security - Put Internet Specific Security Measures in place as well as the normal gambit of LAN Security Measures.
• Staff Education - Staff education and training along with "awareness campaigns" are essential in ensuring that staff become aware of those Internet security measures that are being; or have already been, put into place.
• Staff Obligations - Staff will also need to know exactly what is required of them so training and resources will need to be allocated to fulfill these objectives.
• Staff Compliance - Ensure that your staff do adhere to the Internet Security Measures as well as any other additional measures that are in place.
• Security Policies - The development of corporate security policies is one way in which ambiguity can be eliminated. They should also spell out; in clear detail, the responsibilities of all parties involved. Corporate security policies should be supplemental to government legislation and guidelines

Install and use Protective Software

Prevention - Prevention is better than cure, particularly when it affords proactive remedies.

Preventative Software Measures - Preventative software measures which may be implemented (singularly or in conjunction with other technologies) include:

• Anti-Virus
• Anti-Spyware
• Anti-SPAM
• Malicious Code Removal Tools

Updates - Manufacturer updates; including Microsoft®, should be checked regularly to determine as to whether or not any new issues have arisen or old issues have a remedy.

Re-Occurrence and New Issues - Continued vigilance is necessary in order to prevent recurring outbreaks of malicious code. Once a solution has been found it should generally be enforced. Prevention against newly arisen or re-emerging threats (at least to some degree) is also possible by many Anti-Malicious Code Tools today.

Install and Use a Firewall

Digital Security - By acting as digital security guards; firewalls can prevent unauthorised and inappropriate access to computers and computer networks

E-Mail

Awareness - We all need to be aware of the existence of harmful e-mails as the potential for them to create chaos is enormous.

Caution - It is advised that one should err on the side of caution when opening emails and email attachments from unknown or questionable sources.

Minimize SPAM

All Spam - Unfortunately; it is not possible to completely prevent all Spam from getting into your E-Mail (mail box)

Target Spam - Through the use of Spam filters and specialty software it is possible to greatly reduce the amount of Spam that is coming your way. One way in which this is done is by simply blocking all traffic originating from any given web site.

Backup

Data Lose and Corruption - Creating a copy and/or backup of your data is one simple mechanism that can be employed to provide some degree of protection against data lose/corruption.

Recovery - Having an up-to-date copy/backup of your data and in some cases of entire computers including the OS and its configuration will allow you to retrieve your data and get your network up and running in the shortest period of time after the disaster of data lose has occurred.

Business Requirements - Business needs to be able to recover all of their business information quickly and easily regardless of location.

Secure Passwords

Effective Passwords - The creation and use of effective passwords can provide additional means of protecting the information on your computer.

Education - It is also important that all staff not only understand the password policies, guidelines and recommendations that you are trying to implement but the need for greater care of their passwords.

Software Updating

If your software is out-of-date you are more susceptible and vulnerable (exposed) to security beaches. Mechanisms to assist in the updating of software include:

• Microsoft's Automatic Updates Wizards
• Manufacturer Web Sites
• Online References
• Application Initiated Updates - Adobe Reader for example continually checks to determine whether or not there are any updates that are relevant to your system

Online Banking Security

If you bank online you should follow security advice provided by your financial institution.

Security Policies

• Develop and maintain a security policy
• Monitor and test your security policies
• Make any adjustments required 

There are lots of safe and reliable programs out there but its the case of finding them that's difficult! This article explains three pieces of software I would not be able to live without...

• AVG anti-virus
• CleanUp!
• Ad-Aware

1. AVG Anti-virus
   

   

   AVG Anti-Virus is a product from Grisoft and you have the choice of choosing the free version or the AVG internet security package.

   Obviously the free edition is very basic but will still scan your hardrive for virus's and delete them if any are found, scan emails and also schedule hardrive scans. AVG updates every day so you know that you will always have the most up to date protection.

   The Full protection edition can be bought for as little as 52.95 USD and contains anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, a firewall and technical support. Definitely worth investing in.

   "It has all the essentials, including a resident memory scanner, an e-mail scanner, and scheduled hard disc scans. But what really amazes us is the frequency of the virus definitions and application updates available from GRISOFT."

             - Maximum PC

2. CleanUp!

   CleanUp! is a program written by Steven Gould. CleanUp! Is a quick and easy way of deleting temporary files from your computer freeing space allowing your computer to run faster.

   “CleanUp! frees disk space and reduces the "clutter" on your computer helping it to run more efficiently.”

   Amazing that such a good piece of software is free.

3. Ad-Aware

   Ad-Aware is a product from Lavasoft, with the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware 2007 easily can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.

   Not much else to say about Ad-Aware but, two hundred and seventy seven million eight hundred and eighty five two hundred and seventy eight people cant be wrong.

As different web pages load you can see if it's a safe site. Agree bar means you're good to go.

• A yellow bar means proceed with caution.
• A red bar means use at your own risk
• A silver bar means that the site has not been rated by McAfee yet

If you click on the site advisor bar, a new window will open with all the details you should know about that site, the sites it's linked to, downloads, spam, email, spy ware, viruses, etc.

By far the best little ad-on I've come across.

1. Upgrade your windows:

   Upgrade your operating system to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Windows SP2 provide better overall protection, this free update also adds the Security Center screen (go to Start/Control Panel/Security Center), where you can manage settings for firewall, antivirus, and other protection tools.

2. Use anti virus and anti spam software:

   You need better protection than a simple antivirus program. Install several firewall, antivirus pop-up blocking, and anti spyware and spam utilities. A firewall gives added protection from hackers by protecting your privacy and personal information. Update your security patches and antivirus regularly. Make sure your antivirus program is automatically scanning all incoming emails and attachments. Anti-spam software can automatically scan your email for spam before it gets to your Inbox, sending it to a junk email box instead.
   
   You can also use a full security suite that does it all, for example Symantec Norton Internet Security, McAfee Internet Security, Trend Micro Internet Security 2007, Zone Alarm Internet Security, and F-Secure Internet Security.
   
   Never go online with any computer before it has had anti-spam, antivirus and firewall protection installed. Without these system protections, your computer could be infected with viruses that are programmed to create gateways that relay spam to other email recipients.

3. Always disconnect:

   Don't forget to disconnect from the Internet and shut down your system. Spammers are usually seeking out and exploiting unprotected home computers with high-speed Internet connections.

4. Use different email address:

   Use separate email addresses for different online activities. Share your email address only with trusted personal and business contacts. If these email addresses become clogged with spam, delete it.
   
   Use a combination of letters and numbers as your email address. By choosing a more complex email address, you are making it more difficult for spammers to randomly discover and fill your email account using software.
   
   Use Yahoo or Google email to subscribe to newsletters, site registrations, mailing lists, etc. That way the bulk of your spam will be sent to your junk-mail account, where you can easily delete it. These free emails are also provides free antispam filter. If the anti-spam filter lets a junk email pass through, you can click the “This is spam” button on the toolbar.

5. Don't post your email address:

   Posting your email address will attract spam. Share your email addresses only with people you know. There are many softwares such as spiders, crawlers and bots that can help spammers to search the Internet for email addresses.

6. Don't respond:

   Never open, reply to or click on the "remove" or "unsubscribe" link in a spam message. These actions can confirm your email address, causing you to receive more spam. Similarly don't fill any forms or click links in the email.

7. Delete it:

   Don't try, don't buy, and don't reply. Never visit Web sites or buy anything advertised in a spam message. Spam is almost always a scam. Just delete it.

8. Never download unknown attachment:

   Never open attachments if you don't expecting them, or if it comes from someone you don't know. Spammers can use email accounts of others using spoofing technique. Email spoofing is a technique commonly used to hide the origin of an email message. By changing certain properties of the email, spammers can make the email appear to be from other user than the actual sender.

9. Protect your personal information:

   Beware if you receive a message suggests that there is an urgent need for you to provide personal information, such as your login name, passwords or even credit card numbers, often combined with the faked threat that your account will be blocked if you do not comply. Remember that companies will never contact customers in this manner. If you get an email that appears to be from your bank, and the bank requests that you contact it, call its customer service hotline. Be sure to use the customer service number posted on your bank's Web site, not one included in the email. Alternatively, you can send the bank an email, but always use a customer support address listed on your bank's site.

10. Clear your private data:

    It is a good idea to clear your private data in order to protect them, especially when you go online in public places. You can do this easily if you use firefox just click tools then clear private data, or just press ctrl+shift+del.

I never knew the difference between adware and spyware. Now, I don't have to worry. Spyware Terminator is adware and spyware removal. I feel that I don't need Ad-aware now, Spysweeper, and an anti - virus program.

Sometimes other programs seem to get old even when they are updated. They seem to find a great number of threats when you first download them and only a few after you have had the program for a long time. If your computer does not seem to perform any better, and if your terminator seems to keep finding the same old threat every time you scan, it is time for something new.

I noticed that Spyware Terminator found some threats that I kept seeing in my other terminating programs. It was suppose to have gotten rid of them. With Spyware Terminator, you can remove them. It found threats that I did not know I had. Try Spyware Terminator today and find out more.