As e-marketing is on the rise in Cambodia, spam email is becoming a problem. In this month’s article, the Geek would like to give you some tips on how to prevent spam and how to fight back if you are under attack.
First of all, let me start with some of the mistakes that you might have made that lead to spam. Have you got a personal website or work website that lists your email address for public viewing? Maybe you have just been to a conference or workshop that requires you to provide your email address to join their mailing list for future updates. Maybe you signed up for a mailing list or website membership using your main email address.
Free, downloadable games on the Internet sometimes come with hidden spyware or a Trojan virus. These enable a spammer to infect your hard drive and harvestit, sending data like yourSkype contacts or Excel sheetsback to its creator. You can also get these malware on your computer by installing pirated software from the market. Without an up-to-date antivirus programs that also detects spyware, your computer will run slower and you might get spam email or pop-up ads even without going to a website.
The consequences of your email being attack can be major. The worst case is your professional email address being spoofed. An attacker uses your email address to sendjunk email to people in your contract list. The only way to get rid of this problem is to change your email address and then reconnect with all the people in your contact list.
Solutions: If you have to have your email address in the public view, make sure your web/email hosting company knows what they are doing. Many local companies only know how to post the website and email system but don’t know how to maintain it. Some well known ones like godady.com and lunapages.com give you the option to add on premium protection. You should also have a few email addresses and use one for just registering to mailing lists or for subscriptions. Use better antivirus/spyware/spam email/hacking protection software like ESET Smart Security (eset.com or via netpro-cambodia.com). This solution can cost about $50 per year but might save you from having to reprint your business card and the hassle changing your email address. If you really want to get back at the spammers, Spam Bully is the program that you can download at spambully.com and install it as an add-on to your Outlook for a 14 days free trail (the license is about $30/year). Spambully allows you to report the spammerto their Internet providerwith the ease of a mouse click.
