Spam Information

What is spam?

Spam is the common term for unsolicited commercial email (UCE) – the Internet version of junk mail. It is also used to describe the method of flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message. In addition to being unsolicited and annoying, spam emails often include advertisements for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or questionable legal services.

Why do I get spam?

You get spam for the same reason you get junk mail through the postal service – people are trying to sell you something. Email is cheaper to send, so you can get even more of it!

How did my email address get on a spam list?

There are many ways that spammers collect email addresses to build their lists. Although you need to be careful of broadcasting your email address on social Web sites, in newsgroup posts, and when chatting, sometimes you'll end up on a list without exposing your address whatsoever. It's common for spammers to guess potentially valid addresses by taking a common username and adding valid domains to it. For example, chances are there will be a " bob@ " at just about any provider's domain.

Remember, never send a reply to a spammer with a "remove" request. This only confirms that your address is valid, and you'll probably get even more spam.

How do I protect my computer from spam?

As an EarthLink subscriber, the best way to protect yourself from spam is to use EarthLink's spamBlocker, an exclusive, cutting-edge tool that helps you eliminate almost all junk email messages before they reach your inbox. spamBlocker is free for all EarthLink subscribers and is equipped with all EarthLink email addresses.

spamBlocker provides two levels of spam protection:

• Known spam blocking detects messages from known spammers on EarthLink servers and intercepts them before they reach your inbox. These messages are automatically sent to your "Known spam" folder, where you can view the messages before deleting them. This level of protection works regardless of your email program.
• Suspect email blocking allows you to only receive email from the people in your address book. All other email will be sent to the "Suspect Email" folder until you have approved the sender.

NOTE: Legitimate emails coming from EarthLink will NOT be filtered and will ALWAYS be delivered directly to your inbox. You should NEVER accept a blocked email that ended up in one of your spam folders just because it APPEARS to be from EarthLink.

spamBlocker features are available through Web Mail. EarthLink suggests you set spamBlocker to its highest protection level.

FAQs

For more information, and instructions on how to use spamBlocker, click on the links below:

Web Mail

• How to adjust your spamBlocker settings in EarthLink Web Mail
• How to accept a Suspect Email with spamBlocker in EarthLink Web Mail
• How to Block an email address with spamBlocker in EarthLink Web Mail
• How to Unblock an email address using spamBlocker in EarthLink Web Mail