Many website owners include their personal or company email on their website to make it easier for visitors to contact them. Unfortunately, this can make them a target for email address harvesting. They may start to receive a huge volume of spam messages without realizing why. Spambots or robots are used by spammers to continuously scan forums, blogs and websites to collect email addresses.

The good news is that there are some simple methods you can use to protect your email addresses and publish email links on your website. They will enable users to easily contact you while protecting your email address from spammers.

A company called Syronex offers a free tool to help you in the fight against spam. Their antispam tool stores your published email address in a coded form. A full JavaScript interpreter must be used to reveal it. The best part is that the encoded link will appear to be a regular email link. This means that visitors can clink on it to send you an email without any problems. In fact, they won’t even be able to tell you have protected your address.

The free program provides users with two options. You can encode your email address or choose an even stronger encryption method. Although it is the safest option, it will require users to type letters revealed in a graphic called a captcha. This verifies that the request is being made from a legitimate person rather than a spambot. Once the letters have been entered correctly, the email client window will appear.

You can find the spam protection tool by visiting at http://w2.syronex.com/jmr/safemailto/.

Many individuals have generously offered to donate money to help the people of Burma recover from the devastation caused by cyclone Nargis. Unfortunately, this group of people is also being targeted by heartless spammers.

A large number of individuals have received email messages containing links that direct them to fraudulent websites. The phishers have tried to capitalize on the massive publicity following the natural disaster and the appeals made by aid agencies such as the Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK. Phishers have designed websites that are made to appear as if they are actually from the UN. Unsuspecting users are lured to these sites when they receive fake emails asking them to donate money to help the Burmese people.

As a result of these phishing scams, many people are now hesitant about donating. However, organizers are encouraging individuals to donate only to registered charities, not via links contained in emails that may lead to fake charity websites. You can verify if a charitable institution is actually registered by visiting www.charitycommission.gov.uk

In addition to the UN, the Federal Trade Commission has also been alert to the phishing tactics used by these fake fundraising scams. Similar phishing tactics involving fake charity websites were used in 2005 to exploit potential donors wishing to help people affected by Hurricane Katrina.