It is increasing obvious to us that many of you  are still not checking their spam folders for “good” emails. This is something you must get in the habit of doing or you’re going to miss a lot of good email. No spam filter is perfect. None. Zero. Nada. There is no such thing as a perfect spam filter. Inevitably the baby is going to get thrown out with the bath water. So if you don’t get in the habit of checking your spam folder frequently — you are going to miss an important email.
Let’s get to the gist of this tip which is that the spam folder is not poison, nor is it necessarily full of harmful thingies that will eat up your computer. A few simple rules to follow before you delve into that dark, foreboding, spam folder:
1. Don’t click links in email from senders you don’t recognize; especially if they’re selling something or trying to get you to download something.
2. Don’t click any links in emails that appear to be from banks, governments, financial institutions or stock trading companies. Dollars to donuts, you can bet these are phishing scams.
3. When in doubt, delete it out. If you’re not sure, delete the darn thing.
Now, with those rules in mind, check your spam folder whenever there is anything in it. MSN/Hotmail, Yahoo will delete items from your bulk or spam folder at unspecified intervals. Gmail will auto-delete mail in your spam folder every 30 days. What that means to you is this: If you don’t check your bulk or spam folder frequently, any good emails ensconced therein, will be deleted from the face of the earth – never to be seen again. That means things like our newsletter, that birthday greeting from auntie Em, or that special email from uncle George who wanted to know your current address so he could make you a billionaire when he passes on – you’re getting the idea, right?
Here, we’ll even show you. This is a screen cap of one of our Gmail account spam folders. See the button that says Not spam? Select the email you find in your spam folder that is not spam by clicking the box next to it and clicking the “Not spam” button. After you mark email from a certain sender “Not spam” any mail from that sender in the future will no longer be placed in the spam Folder. Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, et. al. don’t know if something marked spam is good email unless you tell them. If our newsletter ends up in this folder and you don’t check it, you’re going to write to us, boo-hooing that you didn’t get your newsletter. And, if you don’t select a good email and mark it “Not spam” what do you think is going to happen the next time the sender sends you an email? Right! It’s going to end up right back in the spammy bin. It doesn’t get any easier than this! Look below and absorb 🙂
Soooooooo….don’t be afraid to peer into your spam folder frequently and dig out the good emails that are in it. If you find a good email, select it and click “Not spam”. That way Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail, or Gmail won’t put future emails from that particular sender, in your spam folder the next time. Duh!
The spam folder is not dangerous – just browse through it to make sure  there isn’t any good email in it. Sooner or later you’ll find an important email in your spam folder. Check your spam folder often or take your chances on losing important emails – like that email from uncle George telling you that he wants to give you $100,000.00 before he kicks the bucket.