Put an End to That Nagging Spam Mail - Run a Reverse Email Lookup

Though not all Spam is bad, the type that comes into your email box is probably not something with which you want to deal. Though there are some lucky people that never get it, most have had to deal with it on a daily basis. There is not always a lot you can do about spam, but you can use a reverse lookup to see where some of it is coming from. From there, you can see if there is anything else that you can do.

The problem with tracing the email address of someone sending spam is that they often change addresses. Most of the time, they get a new one for each mailing that they put out. That can mean a trace is useless for the most part. Some even know how to take over someone else's computer so that it appears to come from a totally innocent person. If nothing else, you can let someone know they need to do something about that.

There are a few ways that you can run a email reverse lookup if that is what you want to do when you get spam in your inbox. You can see if the email comes up when you put it into a search engine. Most of the time, if the email is from someone who mails out spam, you are going to find it on sites complaining about troublesome email addresses. Other times, you may find a hit that gives you more information.

You can also see if you can get a match through people searches. Most spam email addresses are not active long enough to come up on these, but you never know what will happen. Some small time spam emailers use the same address for a period of time, and you may find some information on them if you search them out through sites like Yahoo People Search.

You may want to do a reverse email search that can get you email addresses that are more protected. This could be something you do if you are being scammed through email, or if the ones you are getting are especially offensive. The fee you pay for the details to any email they can locate is very small, and very worth it if it helps you put an end to your troubles.

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How Do SPAM Filters Work?

Now that email has become a major way that many communicate, it has been, at times, reduced to worthless and annoying sales pitches. The problem with spam is that you don't want it, but it keeps coming anyway. You may never open these, or buy what they are selling, but someone must be doing it or it would not be coming at alarming rates. You can get spam filters on your email, and some already come with these, but they don't always work. Each filter works in a different way.

Spam filters can have point values that they place on certain words or phrases that are most commonly found in spam emails. They may assign points, and when those points add up to a certain number, that email is then considered spam, and is filtered away from your inbox. Filters also attempt to see if they can tell when a header has been altered to hide the origin of the email. Many spam mailers can spoof other email services to appear legitimate.

Some of the words that spam filters look for are probably ones that you associate with spam already. The word Viagra is always a red flag, along with many pornographic words. Phrases that urge you to act now, or tells you that an offer ends soon are also flagged. Even things like excessive exclamation points and typing in all caps can mean an email is deemed to be spam. Remember that when writing your personal emails. Links and emails that are nothing but a large graphic can also be flagged.

Spoofed headers are often much harder to detect. You may not know it, but a spam mailer can send out a program that can take over your email. Your computer could be sending out spam without your knowledge. Though some programs can detect some altered headers, not all of them can. That is why some can get through when others are deleted or sent to your bulk or spam folder.

No spam filter is ever going to be perfect, but some do very good by having each person emailing you verify that they are a real person. It can be a pain, but it does work. Some can be set so that only addresses in your address book come through, and that can eliminate spam, but also some other emails that you may want to get. If you have any concerns about any email landing in your inbox, use a reverse email search for more information on the sender.

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How Do Spammers Find You?

It seems the holiday season always means more spam mail. As you await important messages from family and friends, your inbox overflows while you're out shopping because of unwanted spam. Nobody wants to be exposed so how do these tenacious spammers find you anyway?

Here are a few ways spammers find you while you're going about your normal online activities:

Mailing lists make you subject to spam. Some mail servers provide mailing lists upon request. Others involve trickery on behalf of the spammers. Either way, use caution when signing up for mailing lists and make sure your information won't be shared.

Web pages you visit could leave you open for spam communications. Spammers have their own spiders that crawl through web pages to look for email addresses. Some even send targeted email based on web pages you visit. If you recently looked up a particular product then received an email from a similar site, you were spammed thanks to recent website visit.

Guest books, registration forms and other web forms also make you more accessible to spammers. The form may become available on the web or the website may sell email lists to other companies. Before you decide to register for a website or leave your personal information verify the SSL certificate and make sure your details won't be shared.

Domain name registrations are another way spammers attempt to contact you. Since website contact addresses are typically correct, spammers attempt to sent emails about your domain registration to harvest your information. Know your web hosting company and don't accept communications about your domain name from anyone else.

Browsing the web leaves you open to spam. Some spammers use a variety of tricks to get a surfer's email address from the web browser. Often the surfer doesn't notice even notice it but the spammer gains access to your email address to send unwanted communications. Certain viruses can even harvest email addresses from your address book, leaving everyone you know open to spam.

Chat rooms may give out email addresses to those who ask so be aware before you share. During the holiday season, we often visit chat rooms and forums to talk to old friends. Only visit secure chat rooms that don't share personal information. Use a designated email address strictly for the purpose of visiting chat rooms and forums so you can more easily target spammers.

As a webpreneur, you are likely to engage in all of the activities above. Superior spam protection from a reliable web host helps ward off undesirable communications that waste your time and may even subject your computer to viruses. With some caution, you can get rid of spam for a more rewarding and profitable online experience.

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Can an Email Address Ever Really Be Anonymous?

For the most part, you are going to send out emails to those that you know, and you have no problem with them tracing the email back to you if they needed to do so. There are many clues to your identity in your email, even if you don't sign your name or if you sign up for a new account. There are times when emails can not be traced, though those tactics are not entirely infallible. For the most part, sending out a truly anonymous email is too complicated for the average Internet user.

You can try to start an email account with a new provider, and leave all identifying information out of the sign up process. You can even try fake names and data if you wish. For some Internet users, they will never know who you are because they don't know anything about IP numbers or email headers. In this case, those IP numbers and headers can give you away if someone knows what they are looking for. This is not the best way to send anonymous email messages.

You can send an anonymous email through what is called a remailer. What this does is it alters the information about IP address and it also alters other things on the headers of the email so that it can not be traced back to you. However, the remailer still has your information, and that means it could come back to bite you if you are doing things you should not be doing. In that case, using a second remailer can help, but again, not foolproof.

If you want to use any service that allows you to send what they call anonymous and untraceable email, you should think about a few things first. These services are not in place to allow any one to do anything illegal. If you are going to threaten someone, or use the service to run an email scam, they will give your information over to the authorities. However, if you have something you want to get off your back, but don't do so in a threatening way, or wish to make a statement in an anonymous way, these can help.

When you get an email that appears to be anonymous, don't be sure until you have had a chance to check it out. You want to find a place to use a free reverse email lookup. If there is any name or other information associated with that email address, this type of site may be able to give you that data. If an email is threatening, skip that and go straight to the authorities and your Internet service provider.

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How to Deal With Threatening Email Messages

Email is used to communicate through the Internet, and though it is the preferred choice of communication for many today, it has its pitfalls. One would be that if an email is lost, you may never know it. Another is spam, and though that is annoying, it is often not threatening. However, there may come a time when an email does come into your inbox that threatens you in some way. When that happens, you have to know what to do about it.

The most important things to remember when you get threatening emails is that you should not delete them and you should never respond to them. If you respond, you are giving the matter the attention the sender wants. If you delete it, you have no proof that you have received anything. These are sometimes saved on email providers servers, but it is hard to get them to give them up, and the process can take a while.

The next thing you should do it to print out the entire email, headers included. The headers are important because the information contained within can be used to trace the email back to the person that sent it. Take your print out and go to the police to file a report. If you get more, do the same thing. If you can, do the same with the FBI. This is actually a Federal crime.

You may also want to forward a copy of the email to your Internet provider and the email service you use, if the two are different. You should also send the entire email (again, headers included) to the email provider from which the email was sent. No matter who you have sent this to and how many times you have printed the email out, still refrain from deleting. If you don't want to look at it, make a folder in your email account to file it away for later use, if needed.

You can also find some tools that will help you trace the origin of threatening emails if that is something you feel you should do. If it ends up being someone in your town or someone that you know, it is a good idea to avoid them. You can't do that if you don't know who they are. However, no matter what you find, do not contact the person in any way. Take what you have found to the police.

The Scourge of Spam and How to Tackle It   Spam Filtering For Small Businesses - Increase Productivity and Protect Your Data   Ways to Fight Fraud   Email Spam Blocker - Free Up Space in Your Inbox