How to Get Rid of E-mail Spam

Spam refers to unsolicited junk mail. In addition to being a nuisance, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Because the Internet is a public network, little can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. However, the use of software filters in e-mail programs can be used to remove most spam sent through e-mail.

Check your Internet service provider - If you're already getting spam messages, you should check with your Internet service provider to see whether it has a spam-prevention option that scans your incoming e-mail for known spammers.

Sign up for a second free e-mail address - If you never got spam, then sign up for a second (free) e-mail address from a service such as Yahoo or Hotmail. Use this address exclusively for e-commerce, mailing-list subscriptions and bulletin-board postings of any kind. Reserve your main e-mail address for private e-mail to and from friends.

Create folder - Create an e-mail folder called Suspected Spam and use the filtering feature in your e-mail program to redirect spam messages to your Suspected Spam folder.

Define individual rules - You should define individual rules to catch e-mail that isn't addressed to you personally but that you don’t want to receive, such as messages from lists you've subscribed. Have these rules redirect the relevant messages to the Inbox or to special folders that you have created for mail.

Define specific rule - Define a rule for incoming mail that says, "If my name appears in the To: or cc: field, then move this message to the Inbox". The procedure for defining rules varies among e-mail programs, so you should consult your program's Help feature to learn exactly how this works.

Never reply - Never reply to a spam message, even to request that your name be removed from the list. That just tells the spammers that your address is valid.