Try different search engines so that you can increase the likelihood of finding a match. You can search using Google.com, MSN.com, Yahoo.com or Ask.com. Some pages that are indexed by certain search engines may not be indexed by others so it's always a good idea to try your search at various search engines.If you can't find an email address posted on a website. If the email provider has no system of profiles, you may not be able to use the second method either. An alternative method would be to use a reverse lookup directory. These contain millions of public records that you can access online. All you need to do is enter the email address in the search box provided and the system searches the directory database for a match. When a match is found the information is displayed for you to see. The information usually includes the name and address of the email owner. There are lots of reverse lookup directories online and you can find them by doing a search on any major search engine.
Protect Email Addresses From Spammers
First of all, let's understand how it is that spammers get a hold of your email address in the first place.
1. Opt-in registration - you agree to receive solicitations from "legitimate" sources.
One of the simplest methods spammers use for getting spam-able email addresses is buying lists from websites who collect email addresses as a part of their normal activity. Some of these lists were created in "legitimate" ways such as having an "opt-in" check box on a registration. Often these opt-in check boxes are checked by default and the user has to un-check it to avoid getting on the list. Or, they are cleverly worded in order to get the user to not only agree to receive "legitimate" updates and offers from the website, but also anyone to whom they might sell their list. Deep within their terms of use you might find that by providing your email address you are "opting in" to having your email address sold like a cheap hooker to anyone willing to pay. Of course, you won't know about that unless you actually read the legal stuff on a privacy policy or terms of use page.
2. Your email address was compromised by poor security or an inside job.
Websites that store personal information online must secure that information so that hackers cannot get to it without great effort. Nothing is fully hacker-proof, but strong server security is a hard target and in most cases the would-be intruders move on to an easier target. This is not often the case with smaller companies and start-ups. They often use shared hosting and never give a thought to security. They often do not comprehend the simplicity of hacking an insecure site.
Additionally, even secure companies can't always prevent an inside job. The bigger companies who employ an IT staff that knows their way around the security may be compromised by a mole. This would be someone who steals the email list and sells it to anyone willing to buy it. There is no way you or I can avoid this scenario. If there is a dirty employee, only the company can stop them and they usually don't until it already happened once.
3. Your email address was harvested by a harvester bot.
A harvester bot is a program designed to crawl through the code and content of your website much like search engine crawlers. However, these evil bots have one thing in mind as they scan through your html code: email addresses. I have seen a new email address that I created for one specific purpose without any safeguards and saw it get spammed within a week of being posted. The longer it was up, the more spam it received. Once this happens, that email address is compromised. There is NOTHING you can do to un-do it. The damage is done.
4. Dictionary harvesting - guessing common email addresses.
This is where you may create email addresses for various reasons. Info@, or contact@ are examples of common email aliases or address used by website owners. The problem is that these are too common and easy to guess. Even personal email addresses like" sally775@y*hoo.com" can be guessed. You may take all the precautions to prevent compromise but if the email you are protecting is a common generic email address, you will lose the battle.
Suggested Solutions that will truly work for Email Addresses
1. Never opt-in to receive promotional email from anyone at all!
The truth is that you never know who is going to sell your email to some spammer. Moreover, the list might be stolen by some sneaky employee who sells it to spammers without the company knowing about it. So, when there is an option to opt-in or out... opt-out every time.
2. Use "disposable" email addresses when registering with websites or posting contact info on your website.
A disposable email address is one that you create with the idea that if it were to be compromised, you can ditch it without much hassle. For website owners, it is very wise to use a disposable email address for your published contact email. If the spam starts to come in torrents, you simply shut it down and replace it with a new one. For business cards, stationary, or direct client contact it is best to use a more permanent email address rather than a disposable one.
3. Never use generic email addresses.
Info@, contact@, customerservice@, etc, are all really bad ideas. They will get spammed despite all your efforts to secure them. Instead, add a character or number to these generics. Or, you may abbreviate them in a non-standard way such as cntct@ instead of contact@. Adding dashes or periods work very well, info1.0@ or cust-omer.service@ are good examples. Be creative, but also realize that these should be "disposable" and you would only use these for website contact information. You are prepared to ditch them at the first sign of trouble.
4. HTML code obfuscation.
Sounds fancy, but it simply means hiding or masking the code so that the bots can't find it or read it. There are many theories on what works best and there are many methods floating around. I personally know of a two-part method that I use and I have great success. I have email addresses that I have had posted on my client's websites that have been up for years and have never been compromised. I will not explain it here as it would just give the enemy too much information. Let's just say that it works...period. I set this up for my client's and offer it as a professional service for those who are interested.
5. A good spam filter at the server level.
This applies to personal email addresses and website email. Trapping "junk mail" that comes into your inbox is usually weak and often produces false positives (legitimate email that is wrongfully filtered) or is bypassed by the spammers and ends up in your inbox anyway. It doesn't work effectively. Dealing with spam at the server level before it even gets to your inbox is the right way to do it. I recommend Google's Postini email filtering service. I have used this effectively for many of my clients including my own website email and it literally keeps out 99% of all spam. There are stats that show the user how many emails came to the server and how many were out-right blocked. For those it is unsure about, it will "quarantine" them and send the user a daily list of quarantined emails which are suspected of being spam, but may also be legitimate. The user can then simply view the list and choose to deliver an individual email that should have gone through. I see very few false positives on the daily quarantine list I receive, and for the most part Postini is the most effective spam filter I have found.
Spam is an annoying reality that we all live with one way or the other. There are steps you can take to prevent your email address from every getting on a list. There are also methods you can use to safely publish email contacts on your website without worrying about getting spammed. However, once an email is compromised, there is no undoing it. There are good spam filter services that will help alleviate the spam for compromised email addresses that you cannot live without. Following the advice above will truly help protect your email addresses from spammers.A lot of people are always frustrated when they fail to locate emails addresses of their friends simply because there is no straightforward way they use. Lack of a master or general list of email accounts across the world makes email address search an uphill task for most of them. So that a master list or record of email addresses exist in the directory, those companies offering email service must ensure they remit all the information details to a central master file. It may not look easy either for email service providers; they will be expected to seek the service of a recognized body or organization to operate this service.
Protect Email Addresses From Spammers
First of all, let's understand how it is that spammers get a hold of your email address in the first place.
1. Opt-in registration - you agree to receive solicitations from "legitimate" sources.
One of the simplest methods spammers use for getting spam-able email addresses is buying lists from websites who collect email addresses as a part of their normal activity. Some of these lists were created in "legitimate" ways such as having an "opt-in" check box on a registration. Often these opt-in check boxes are checked by default and the user has to un-check it to avoid getting on the list. Or, they are cleverly worded in order to get the user to not only agree to receive "legitimate" updates and offers from the website, but also anyone to whom they might sell their list. Deep within their terms of use you might find that by providing your email address you are "opting in" to having your email address sold like a cheap hooker to anyone willing to pay. Of course, you won't know about that unless you actually read the legal stuff on a privacy policy or terms of use page.
2. Your email address was compromised by poor security or an inside job.
Websites that store personal information online must secure that information so that hackers cannot get to it without great effort. Nothing is fully hacker-proof, but strong server security is a hard target and in most cases the would-be intruders move on to an easier target. This is not often the case with smaller companies and start-ups. They often use shared hosting and never give a thought to security. They often do not comprehend the simplicity of hacking an insecure site.
Additionally, even secure companies can't always prevent an inside job. The bigger companies who employ an IT staff that knows their way around the security may be compromised by a mole. This would be someone who steals the email list and sells it to anyone willing to buy it. There is no way you or I can avoid this scenario. If there is a dirty employee, only the company can stop them and they usually don't until it already happened once.
3. Your email address was harvested by a harvester bot.
A harvester bot is a program designed to crawl through the code and content of your website much like search engine crawlers. However, these evil bots have one thing in mind as they scan through your html code: email addresses. I have seen a new email address that I created for one specific purpose without any safeguards and saw it get spammed within a week of being posted. The longer it was up, the more spam it received. Once this happens, that email address is compromised. There is NOTHING you can do to un-do it. The damage is done.
4. Dictionary harvesting - guessing common email addresses.
This is where you may create email addresses for various reasons. Info@, or contact@ are examples of common email aliases or address used by website owners. The problem is that these are too common and easy to guess. Even personal email addresses like" sally775@y*hoo.com" can be guessed. You may take all the precautions to prevent compromise but if the email you are protecting is a common generic email address, you will lose the battle.
Suggested Solutions that will truly work for Email Addresses
1. Never opt-in to receive promotional email from anyone at all!
The truth is that you never know who is going to sell your email to some spammer. Moreover, the list might be stolen by some sneaky employee who sells it to spammers without the company knowing about it. So, when there is an option to opt-in or out... opt-out every time.
2. Use "disposable" email addresses when registering with websites or posting contact info on your website.
A disposable email address is one that you create with the idea that if it were to be compromised, you can ditch it without much hassle. For website owners, it is very wise to use a disposable email address for your published contact email. If the spam starts to come in torrents, you simply shut it down and replace it with a new one. For business cards, stationary, or direct client contact it is best to use a more permanent email address rather than a disposable one.
3. Never use generic email addresses.
Info@, contact@, customerservice@, etc, are all really bad ideas. They will get spammed despite all your efforts to secure them. Instead, add a character or number to these generics. Or, you may abbreviate them in a non-standard way such as cntct@ instead of contact@. Adding dashes or periods work very well, info1.0@ or cust-omer.service@ are good examples. Be creative, but also realize that these should be "disposable" and you would only use these for website contact information. You are prepared to ditch them at the first sign of trouble.
4. HTML code obfuscation.
Sounds fancy, but it simply means hiding or masking the code so that the bots can't find it or read it. There are many theories on what works best and there are many methods floating around. I personally know of a two-part method that I use and I have great success. I have email addresses that I have had posted on my client's websites that have been up for years and have never been compromised. I will not explain it here as it would just give the enemy too much information. Let's just say that it works...period. I set this up for my client's and offer it as a professional service for those who are interested.
5. A good spam filter at the server level.
This applies to personal email addresses and website email. Trapping "junk mail" that comes into your inbox is usually weak and often produces false positives (legitimate email that is wrongfully filtered) or is bypassed by the spammers and ends up in your inbox anyway. It doesn't work effectively. Dealing with spam at the server level before it even gets to your inbox is the right way to do it. I recommend Google's Postini email filtering service. I have used this effectively for many of my clients including my own website email and it literally keeps out 99% of all spam. There are stats that show the user how many emails came to the server and how many were out-right blocked. For those it is unsure about, it will "quarantine" them and send the user a daily list of quarantined emails which are suspected of being spam, but may also be legitimate. The user can then simply view the list and choose to deliver an individual email that should have gone through. I see very few false positives on the daily quarantine list I receive, and for the most part Postini is the most effective spam filter I have found.
Spam is an annoying reality that we all live with one way or the other. There are steps you can take to prevent your email address from every getting on a list. There are also methods you can use to safely publish email contacts on your website without worrying about getting spammed. However, once an email is compromised, there is no undoing it. There are good spam filter services that will help alleviate the spam for compromised email addresses that you cannot live without. Following the advice above will truly help protect your email addresses from spammers.A lot of people are always frustrated when they fail to locate emails addresses of their friends simply because there is no straightforward way they use. Lack of a master or general list of email accounts across the world makes email address search an uphill task for most of them. So that a master list or record of email addresses exist in the directory, those companies offering email service must ensure they remit all the information details to a central master file. It may not look easy either for email service providers; they will be expected to seek the service of a recognized body or organization to operate this service.
