A personal email address is a luxury that allows users to communicate both professionally and personally on a daily basis. As with everything, however, it must be secured at all times to guard against malicious content. Spam is one of the top complaints that all users have when it comes to the functionality of their email accounts. These types of email can clog up your inbox and sometimes trick people which can lead to a virus attacking the contents of the computer. Below are some tips and tricks to assist you in securing your email from the constant attacks of unwanted emails and viruses.

1) CREATIVITY

Always create an email address that is unique and that doesn’t contain any personal information. An email address that contains any parts of your name or numbers that have meaning, such as birthdays or mailing addresses, should be avoided at all costs. These types of email accounts can assist spammers in cracking through into your personal information and possibly causing more harm than good.

2) PRIVACY

It is vital to have an email address that is completely private from outside sources. This email address should be used for all contact with family and friends and any other information regarding your personal and professional well being. Most advisers would suggest having one email for personal use, one for business use and one for sporadic use that involves mailing lists and websites.

3) SOCIAL NETWORKING

Never sign up for social networking sites with any email addresses that are important to your daily life. The best option would be to enroll in any social networking site with an email address newly created for this purpose. The reason for this new email is that social sites always have third party games and applications that are always looking to post or notify others on your behalf. This opens up your email to sending and receiving spam as well as possible malicious attacks.

4) NEVER REPLY OR UNSUBSCRIBE

There should never come a time where you acknowledge a spam email. Whether it be sending a reply email to a piece of spam or clicking on a link that states that you are requesting to unsubscribe, this notification raises an alarm to all hackers and spammers. This simple reply signifies that this email address is in use and is valid and opens up your inbox to an over abundance of unwanted emails and solicitations.

The above tips should assist all email users in avoiding the unwanted hassles of spam on a daily basis. There are numerous websites that allow for the creation of an email address at any time so when all else fails, you always have the ability to close and create a new email at any time.

This article was submitted by Danny Wilson, an internet blogger and internet security specialist from North Carolina. Danny is a blogger for northcarolinainternetproviders.com