Wasting Time

A ‘geek’ friend was talking about how spam lets him know that his email is working. It seems that the intrusion of spam is such a constant now that we are resigned to accept it. However, there are real consequences, besides security issues.

I have two main email accounts: one for FlyingHamster and one for Spywareinfo. I have other accounts but I would say that those are my two primary accounts. I check and respond to mail in those account several times a day. I think it would be an under-estimate to say that I spend at least ten minutes, throughout the day, in clearing out the spam. However, for the sake of easy calculation, let’s use ten minutes a day. The time for spam would look like this:

1 day = 10 minutes
365 days = 3,650 minutes or 60.8 hours
assume that 1 work day = 8 hours
number of work days spent clearing out spam = 7.6 days

It is really more than that because I am certain that it exceeds that ten minutes a day. It is a horrendous waste of my time (and your time) just to rid the mail of junk.

I use Nick Bolton’s MailWasher Pro to preview, screen mail and delete the spam at the server. I don’t allow it to be downloaded onto my computer and then delete it from the inbox. I feel that it is an extra layer of security to delete it in this manner. And it is faster - much faster with Nick’s program (I believe Nick still has a free version of his program). In addition, I don’t open any attachments on my desktop. I use the laptop (if I must open the attachment). Any e-greeting cards are not opened. E-mail addresses are too easy to spoof and clicking on a link in such an e-greeting card possibly could lead to a whole load of unwanted problems. Generally, if I recognize the address of the sender, I will write back, say ‘thanks’ and tell that person that I will not open such greetings. Again, it is time needlessly spent.

I could go on and on about how spam wastes my time. I am certain that you have a list of your own. What irks me is that people are beginning to accept this annoyance, as part of being online. I think that attitude is a slippery slope and guarantees that the problems will persist and multiple. And, of course, more time will be wasted.

Catherine