In a previous article I shared some of the hazards of using a challenge/response system to keep spam out of your inbox. Let’s look at some things you can do that will reduce or eliminate spam without the problems of challenge/response.
Don’t post your email address publicly in forums or on your website. Spammers use software to harvest email addresses from the web, and posting your email address on a public website guarantees that you will get more spam.
Be careful where you share your address. Before you give your email address at a website, make sure that you are on the site you think you are on. Some sites look deceptively similar to others. Then, look for signs that the site will not give or sell your address to anyone else. Each of my websites has a privacy policy that says I will use your email address to send what you have requested (e.g., an email course, newsletters and updates, or receipts and other information related to purchases). I don’t send other emails and I don’t share email addresses with any other person or company.