What gives??? Since the first comment on my blog was spam, I figured that there's no better time to talk about some Short-term Strategies to Combat Spam.
Here are some quick fixes that you can do:
If it isn't already, turn your spam filter on. Most ISPs have some sort of filtering where mail can be intercepted before it hits your inbox. Check with your ISP to find out how to do this.
If you have a website, cloak your email addresses. Spam robots (called spambots) search your site's source code for the standard "mailto:" code along with the accompanying "name@domain.com". There are a few ways you can disguise your address.
1. You can create an image. Real people can read it, but the source code says it's an image, so the 'bots go right on by. Isn't this a pretty picture:
? With any simple drawing program, you can type in your email address, save it as a jpg or gif and place it wherever you want on your page. Hiding out in plain sight!
? With any simple drawing program, you can type in your email address, save it as a jpg or gif and place it wherever you want on your page. Hiding out in plain sight!2. You can use an Anti-spam JavaScript code snippet like this, which splits up the address and then tells the browser to reassemble it. But hold up a second, you're saying - wouldn't spambots just start looking for this chunk of code? Maybe, but I tend to think they're too lazy. There are plenty of email addresses out there ripe for harvest. Programmers of spam don't need to rewrite their creepy crawling code just yet.
If you have a form on your website, protect it against attracting spam with a CAPTCHA system. That's the funky little distorted text thingy you sometimes have to key in before you can submit a form. People can read it, computers can't. Use it everywhere from your blog to your input forms - anything that has a Submit button.
Moderate your blog comments. Yes, I moderate comments on this blog (OK, "comment"). I decided to post it as an example of how spammers get their names onto blogs (and guestbooks, etc). If you're busy and have a high-traffic blog - too much to research and approve every little comment, then use the CAPTCHA system above.
Use a separate email address for postings to internet mailing lists, blogs, newsgroups, etc - never use this for your personal email. Only give your main email address out to trusted sources. Then, you can quickly go through the secondary mailbox (and delete most of it) and your primary box won't be so full of spam.
Never buy anything from a company that spams. Sounds simple, but someone must be buying something, or spam solicitation wouldn't be such a lucrative business. If you click, you'll be proving to them that you're a live body and you'll just turn yourself into a bigger target. Just delete those emails.
~ SPECIAL BONUS TIP ~
Be selective about who you send email to. It's hard to think of your friends as spammers (because you've never sent spam), but if they receive an email that says "send this to everyone in your contact list", and actually do follow directions, then they're contributing to the Spam-O-Rama (as indicated by the current load in the Spam-O-Meter), sucking up valuable bandwidth across the internet.
Resist the urge to forward it even if it says "if you get this back from 5 friends, you're a wonderful person." On the contrary.
For long-term solutions in fighting spam, here are some helpful resources:
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com - Some good ideas for making the transition toward a more spam-free existance.
