Get to know spam

• YouTube
  
  On YouTube spam is content and/or correspondences that cause a negative user experience by making it difficult to find more relevant and substantive material. It can sometimes be used to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages to users.
  
  The 'Spam' link allows the community to control the number of spam comments left on videos they upload or watch. If enough users mark a comment as spam by clicking the 'Spam' link next to the comment in question, it becomes hidden under a 'Marked as Spam' link.
  
  www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=128036
• Facebook
  
  Some people are getting fake email notifications that look like they are being sent from Facebook. These emails include false notifications for things like friend requests, messages, events, photos and videos, as well as false accusations of Facebook site abuse. It is also possible for adverts on Facebook to promote uncertified pharmaceutical products. Do not click on any links contained within an email or an advert that you believe looks suspicious.
  
  Visit www.facebook.com/help/?page=1051#!/security page for further information.
• Twitter
  
  Counterfeiters are very quick to adopt the latest technologies or online trends to catch unsuspecting people out. Twitter is a rapidly growing platform for communication, which has very short messages that often do not provide enough information for you to recognise when a comment or link is spam. Here are some key words that usually identify a message that could be spam - Buy cheap generic medicine without prescription.
  
  When you're logged in to your Twitter account, you can report a user as spam directly from their profile page. Look for the 'report for spam' link in the Actions section of the user's right sidebar. You can also find this link in the drop-down Actions menu support.twitter.com/articles/18311-the-twitter-rules.
• Forums
  
  Most forum spam consists of links to external sites, with the intention of increasing search engine visibility in highly competitive areas such as weight loss, pharmaceuticals, gambling, pornography, or loans and generating more traffic for these commercial and possibly illegal websites. Usually a forum has one or more moderators who may not be aware that there are spam comments on the website; informing them can help to remove unwanted comments and posts. If you're suspicious of a link, don't click.
• Email
  
  Spam emails are emails sent to you without consent. It is email that you don't want and didn't ask for, and its content can sometimes be embarrassing. The sender generally doesn't target recipients personally. The same spam email can be sent to millions of people at the same time and the addresses can often be guessed.
• What can you do to reduce the amount of spam emails you receive?
  
  Be careful who you give your email address to.
  • Think about having separate personal and business email addresses.
  • Choose an email address that is difficult to guess.
  • Do not advertise your email address, for example by putting it on the internet.
  • Whenever you enter into a transaction or dialogue, online check the websites privacy policies and the small print opt-out tick boxes. These opt-out options give you the opportunity to tell the organisation not to send you emails and not to pass your details on to third parties.
  • Avoid opening or responding to spam emails. Replying indicates that your email address is live. You should not reply to emails unless you know and trust the sender.
  • Do not click on the adverts in spam emails. By clicking on spammers' web pages, it shows your email address is live and may make you a target for more emails. It can also reveal your computer's IP address.
  • Use a spam email filter on your computer. These are programs that work with your email package to sift through new emails, separating spam emails from wanted emails and blocking them. New spam email filters are being developed all the time; you can search the internet for one that is suitable for you. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) also offer filters, which work by examining content and using blacklists to restrict spam emails. For more information on the services that are available to you, please check with your ISP.
  • Hackers and spammers can exploit software problems, so most software companies issue product updates and patches that fix known problems. Updates are generally available through manufacturers' websites and are usually free to download and install.