How to Block Junk Mail in Gmail

Gmail, which is Google's free email service, does an excellent job of catching spam and automatically putting it into a spam folder so it doesn't clutter your inbox. Every now and then a junk mail will make it into your inbox. Fortunately Gmail offers tools to help you block these junk emails. It also gives you a way to help Google improve its spam filter to make this annoyance less common.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Set up "filters" in your Gmail account to automatically delete junk mail from specific senders. While spammers tend to change their email addresses frequently, you will sometimes get repeated spam messages from the same sender. Go into your "Settings," click "Filters," and set up a filter that automatically deletes all incoming emails from the sender.

2. If you are getting junk mail from the same company, but the return address keeps changing, create a filter to delete the emails by detecting certain words. For example, maybe the company is called Global Moneymaking Enterprises. Create a filter that catches all emails that contain those three words and set it to delete them automatically.

3. Rather than deleting junk emails that make it into your Gmail inbox, select them and click the "Report Spam" button. This will move the message into your spam folder, but it will also give Google information to help it improve its spam filter.

4. Set up a special Gmail address that you use for making purchases, signing up for newsletters, and doing other activities that require you to give out your email address. Sometimes companies will opt you into promotional offers or sell your email address to spammers. Block this mail from coming to your main Gmail account by protecting that address and only giving out your special account address.

5. If you notice a lot of junk emails in your spam folder that contain certain words, set up a filter to screen out emails with those words. Terms such as Viagra are common, but spammers often change them around to defeat spam filters, However, many of these changes are used frequently. For example, many spammers use the same Vi@gara misspelling. When you notice this, block those terms and you won't even get their messages in your Gmail spam folder.

Tips & Warnings

• For one-time email uses, such as signing up for a website, don't use your Gmail account. Use a service that allows you to use a temporary, disposable address, such as Mailinator. This will protect your Gmail address from getting into the hands of spammers. You may also be able to find a pre-existing login through a site like Bugmenot that you can use instead of creating your own account.

Resources

• Gmail website
• Mailinator temporary email website
• Bugmenot public login website