Many email programs offer filtering capabilities that allow you to block certain addresses or to allow only email from addresses on your contact list. Many ISPs also offer spam tagging services that allow the user the option to review suspected spam messages before they are deleted. Spam tagging can be useful in conjunction with filtering […]

If you want to give someone on a message board or social network you email address, it’s best to send it to them via a private message. Alternatively, you can type out the address, substituting actual words for the “@” and “.” symbols. These techniques protect you from having your email captured by automatic scanners […]

Unsubscribe buttons are useful for removing your email address from high-volume mailing lists, like those from political campaigns or big box stores. However, they can also be used against you by spammers: Clicking one of these buttons confirms your account is in active use and in some cases redirects to you a compromised webpage. Flagging […]

Never respond to email spam, as this will confirm to the sender that it is a “live” address. Have a primary and secondary email address – one for people you know and one for all other purposes. Avoid giving out your email address unless you know how it will be used. Never purchase anything advertised […]

If you ever forget a password, you’ll likely reset it by having a link sent to an on-file email address. Make sure that that account is secured with two-factor authentication, doesn’t have any unusual forwarding filters set up and allows for global sign-out in case someone else accesses it.

You might think email is relatively safe, but it’s an old set of protocols with many vulnerabilities. Consider using encrypted email for full protection – messages sent through these services are completely unreadable by anyone without your key, although using it can take some getting used to.