Stop That Spam

If there's anything more loathsome than spicy, gelatinous, canned luncheon meat, it's junk e-mail. You know the drill: You fire up your in-box hoping to find your friend's promised photo, the latest budget report, or that long-overdue marriage proposal. Instead you get slapped upside the head with all kinds of ridiculous offers, from discount life insurance to refurbished sneaker insoles and red-hot you-know-what. And before you know it, your first e-mail task each day involves deleting dozens of unwanted messages.

There are two kinds of spam. Some messages whisked off to the masses are legitimate promotions from merchants or other organizations. They're touting low airline fares, flower delivery services, new home gym equipment, and so on. Your old alma mater might send you a note every week requesting donations. You may have signed up for "special offers," only to get junk mail about all kinds of things you're not interested in buying.

The second type of spam, though, is more illicit--and in some states, illegal. This kind of junk mail arrives unsolicited and often points you to porn sites, phony get-rich-quick schemes, bogus mortgage services, and the like. Your e-mail address was tracked down by "harvesters" and probably sold to professional spammers several times over.

But buck up: Although spam seems here to stay, you can reduce it to a minor annoyance. Depending on how badly you're being spammed, you may need to take some drastic action--and of course, that comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. So read on for the ten best ways to manage your e-mail and stamp out spam.