Check the privacy policy of websites or companies before you provide any personal information when filling out web registration forms, online surveys, etc.
Look for options in websites or emails that allow you to unsubscribe from receiving further emails, offers or other marketing information.
Be careful when subscribing to free email account services, especially when filling in the account profile. Check the terms and conditions of the email service.
Use the anti-spam solutions offered by your ISP, or install email filters to reduce the amount of spam email you receive.
Whenever feasible, use separate email addresses for different purposes. For example, use one email address for public newsgroups or chat rooms, and another for personal email messages.
Avoid using an email address that contains simple dictionary words, or common names. Spammers can use brute-force techniques to guess valid email address at a specific domain using words from dictionaries, or combinations of common words.
Install and enable anti-virus software, and keep it up to date using the latest virus signatures. Enable real-time detection to scan for computer viruses, malicious code for active processes, executables and document files that are being processed.
Install and enable personal firewall software.
Apply the latest security patches/hot-fixes from product vendors to your operating system and/or the applications installed in your computer.
Be cautious when opening emails and email attachments, especially when receiving emails from strangers.
Simply delete emails from unknown senders or dubious sources because if you reply or click on any link in the email message from an unknown source, you are confirming to the unknown sender that your email address is a valid one.
Check the "sent" folder or outgoing mailbox of your email programme (or webmail account) to see if there are any outgoing messages that were not sent by you. If there are such messages, your computer may have been hacked and used by spammers to send emails from your account. You should disconnect from the Internet immediately and scan your computer with anti-virus or anti-spyware software (make sure the software's signatures are up-to-date).