Stop The Spamdemic!
- Intega IT
- Feb 8, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The world is just weeks into 2021 (or 2020 Part II, if you like), and IT support services are already hearing the same question over and over: How do we stop the spamdemic?
It’s a valid query because around 320 billion spam emails are sent daily, 94% of which contain malware, according to 2020 figures from Cisco Talos. Google blocks 100 million phishing emails to Gmail everyday. So how do you stop the madness? Here are the top tips from the Intega IT support team:
Never reply to spam. You’d comprise your security, expose yourself to malware or end up on a never-ending list of spam emails.'
Avoid ‘unsubscribe’ buttons unless you are familiar with the sender, such as an online store you trust.Spammers use unsubscribe to confirm your email address is active. Mark as spam and block.
Create an alias account. If your account is BigJohn@gmail.com, create another calledBig.John@gmail.com and use it for online purchases. The ‘dot’ or even a + symbol before the @ symboldoesn’t change where the email ends up, but does show you where spam is coming from.
Use a Gmail filter to manage the alias address. This extra step means all the spam will go to whateverfolder you choose. (To create the filter online, click Options, then Settings and then Filters and blockedaddresses. Click Create a new filter, enter your tweaked address in the To field. From there, you canmark them as read, archive them or label them.)
Consider anti-spam measures like Mozilla’s Private Relay add-on. The Firefox add-on simplifies howusers filter spam with one click.
Want to know more? Ask us! Info@intega.ca.
