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After checking my email today and again sorting through the phishing attempts, Nigerian royalty trying to give me money, and drug ads to increase the size of certain appendages, I decided that it is time again to educate some folks as to what to do with all this stuff that bungs up the old Inbox.

DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!

Yes, that wonderful key on your keyboard is a godsend. I think it should be voted "Greatest little key on the keyboard that makes all the other keys hang their head in shame" or something equivalent. With this key, and an appropriately muscular index finger, we can solve all the bad email problems in the world, without having to point a finger at anyone.

Lets walk through some of these categories of email ripe for destruction....

Virus, Worms and Trojans, Oh My
So you download your email for the day and wow, someone you don't know sent you a picture of Pamela Anderson's assets, COOl!
DELETE!
If you really need to see Pam's Assets, google them, there are plenty of pictures on the net. This is one of the oldest ways in the book to spread malicious software, by trying to make it something you would want to open and look at. You may even get something like this from someone you know. If it seems out of character for this person, for example its from you're girlfriend say, its more than likely that their computer has been compromised and is trying to spread the virus.

The next one you see is a e-card from someone you don't know. Now you might think its nice to get an "I love you" e-card link from someone named Harry, but I think most would find it a little creepy, especially heterosexual males. These e-card links are dangerous. The site may look legit and may even have a card from Harry on it, but the websites usually install malicious code, that at best will just flood you with advertising for poop you don't want, like Lithuanian yahk porn or some such, and at the worst completely take over your computer and make it into one of Internet Undead...Thats right, your computer could become a zombie on a BotNet, being controlled by shadowy evil forces, used for such nefarious purposes as spewing Spam or mounting attacks on innocent web servers. Do not underestimate the power of THE DARK SIDE. MWA HA HA HA BRAINS! GIVE ME BRAINS.......Sorry
Just DELETE! For the good of Mankind!

Phishing

Okay, who in their right mind is going to email someone they don't know and offer to give the 10% of a African country's net worth? No One! This is called the "Nigerian scam" and

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