Whenever I write a column of this sort, I wonder if some of those spammers might just want to make a concerted effort to go after me, just to show “that old so and so” how powerful they really are. But it’s a casual thought, and not an active part of any paranoiac instincts. At least I hope not.

At the same time, I have noticed that the amount of spam that clutters my mailbox these days is less than it used to be, but I don’t think people are less vulnerable. Instead, I believe the steps I’ve taken have improved the situation over the past few months to a point where the problem has become more and more manageable.

Understand, however, that you don’t want to live under the illusion that it’ll go away, any more than computer viruses (even if they haven’t really hurt the Mac thus far), phishing scams, or even the criminal who wants to hijack your car or break into your home.

You see, it’s a dangerous world out there, but there are some ways you can at least insulate yourself a little from the worst of the online offenders who ache to fill your mailbox with unsavory schemes for home-based businesses, penny stocks, porn, and all the rest. Or even hijack your computer.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.

This article was posted on Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 at 7:50 PM and is filed under News and tagged with: Computer Story, Concerted Effort, Illusion, Mac, Newsletter, Night Owl, Owl, Penny Stocks, Spam, Spammers.