We all get it.  We all hate it.  What is it?  Spam, of course.  The question is how did we get it.  And the answer is that we usually did something stupid.

Wait, did I just call you stupid?  Unfortunately, yes.  And for the record, I do stupid things too.  For example, I’ve entered my e-mail address into sites to sign up for a white paper or free download.  Now they have my e-mail.  In some cases, this is not a big deal.  In other cases it is absolutely a nightmare.  I’ve been inundated with all sorts of offers ranging from ways to grow my private parts to offers of sharing in millions of dollars.  It gets downright annoying.  But you know what, it’s my fault.

However I have a couple of simple tips to eliminate spam.  First, set up a second e-mail address.  Use this e-mail for any website or offer that you sign up for.  Over time if it’s a legitimate offer, move it to a third e-mail address.  Use the third address for newsletters and valid offers.  Notice that I did not suggest that you move it to your primary e-mail address.

Only use your primary e-mail for it’s intended purpose.  If it’s a work e-mail, use it for work.  If it’s a personal e-mail use it for friends and family.  Do not ever, ever, ever put it into a form.  This includes putting it into forms for companies that you trust, such as Disney or Microsoft or Dell.  I am not suggesting that these companies will spam you, but you will get e-mail from them, and potentially from companies they partner with.

So now that you have a new second “spam” e-mail address.  Sign up wherever you want.  You only have to check it right after you sign up for something in case they want you to verify your e-mail address.  Over time, if there’s enough spam in it, throw it away and get another e-mail address.

If you are already being hit with a ton of spam and you can’t change your e-mail address, then you can try a third party program like spamarrest.  They are a demand e-mail system where senders have to verify that they are human and not spam bots.  This can be somewhat annoying to some people who send you e-mail, but so what?  You’re the one with the inbox filled with junk.

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Excellent reporting on CNN about the Internet and Privacy.  This is a must watch video.  It’s a little less than 4 minutes long.

This video reinforces what we’ve been saying for awhile.  Be very careful what you post and where you post.  Protecting your privacy is your responsibility.

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It seems that the European Union has taken the government of the United Kingdom to task over its handling of behavioral advertising.  The EU is suing the UK.  That’s right, suing.

This all started with Phorm, the behavioral advertising company that allowed Internet Service Providers to snoop on their subscribers.  Phorm and the ISP’s did not consider this snooping; they consider it better customer service and a better user experience.  The concept was that if the user was searching for Cats, they would be a better candidate to see advertising based on cats, such as cat litter.  On one hand, this is not an unreasonable assumption.  The problem was the the ISPs did not inform their subscribers that they were doing this.

An article titled “UK taken to court over web “secret surveillance” outlines the entire affair.  It’s well worth a look.

Our opinion is that there is nothing wrong with this type of technology.  The problem lies in the subscribers not knowing it was there.  If they had the option to turn it on or off, then it might actually be useful.

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