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If you're one of the gazillion people who connect to the Internet using America Online or MSN, my sympathies are with you: Getting these ISPs' software to do what you want--and not what you don't want--isn't always easy, or possible. Still, the mega-ISPs can be worthwhile, especially for families, as long as you know how to wrangle their sometimes-arbitrary or hard-to-locate settings. So without further ado, here are three key tips for making life with AOL 8 Plus and MSN 8 a little more bearable.

Surf for Le$$, Maybe

AOL's standard monthly rate for unlimited dial-up access is $24. Is this a deal? You can pay less--only $20 a month--by paying for an entire year in advance (or $240). Already have access to the Internet? AOL's bring-your-own-access plan shaves a few bucks off, down to $15 a month. But if you currently have access, you probably don't need to pay even that. Go for the $5 light-usage plan that includes 3 hours per month of connection time (additional hours are $2.50 each), which is perfect if you just check e-mail from your connection or from airport kiosks, public libraries, and hotels. A similar $10-per-month plan includes 5 hours of connect time, with additional hours costing $3 each. To switch your billing plan, go to AOL keyword: billing.

MSN's standard account, which includes unlimited dial-up access as well as Encarta, Picture-It Express, and MSN Money Plus, is priced at $22 a month. But if you already have a connection to the Internet (through your office, school, or broadband link), you can get the same services for only $10 per month--or even better, $80 when you pay for a year's service in advance. Broadband accounts come with 10 hours of dial-up service too, so you'll be able to dial in from the road. If you use your online account only to check your e-mail, though, you might skate by with MSN's hourly plan, which gives you 20 hours of Internet access per month for $10, with additional hours costing $1.50 each.

The easiest way to switch to a different plan is to call MSN's Internet Access Customer Care at 800/386-5550.

Protect Your Privacy

According to AOL's noble-sounding Eight Principles of Privacy (keyword: privacy policy), the company may use information about your online purchases to steer marketing pitches your way, unless you tell it not to. To opt out, go to keyword: marketing preferences and click each of the buttons next to the five categories of marketing offers (mail from AOL, mail from other companies, telephone, e-mail, and pop-ups) in turn. Select the option at the bottom of each window that starts with No, I do not want to receive, and click OK (see FIGURE 1).

The MSN Explorer browser's settings are similar to those in Internet Explorer, giving you near-complete control over both cookies and downloaded programs (choose Help & Settings, Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the left column). But you won't find an obvious way to opt out of the Microsoft marketing program that drives ads and e-mail to you based on your personal information and browsing habits. To do that, visit privacy.msn.com to see Microsoft's plans for your personal information. Then to opt out, scroll down to the section titled 'Control your Personal Information', and click MSN Communications Preferences. After logging in with your .Net Passport user name and password, you'll see a screen where you can opt out of receiving promotional material from MSN and third-party marketers by e-mail, postal mail, and telephone (see FIGURE 2). To hide your name, e-mail address, date of birth, and other personal information from other Web sites you log in to using .Net Passport, return to privacy.msn.com, click MSN Personal Information Center, and then click the manage your information link in the next page. Click Edit my information to the right of 'My Microsoft Passport Settings'. Uncheck all of the sharing options at the bottom of the page and click Update.

Fry That Spam

Though AOL's version 8 now offers you direct control over spam filtering, that doesn't mean AOL is stopping there. The company claims that its server-based spam filters delete billions of spam missives--more than 2 billion in one recent 24-hour period. Of course, plenty of junk mail will still sneak through. In AOL 8, when you find a spam message in your Mailbox, select it and click the Report Spam button at the bottom of the window. AOL will add the message to its database of known spam.

AOL 8 Plus introduces an optional mail program called AOL Communicator that--no surprise--looks a lot like the Mail module in the company's Netscape browser. One neat feature is a trainable spam filter that gives you local control over what gets junked and what doesn't. To enable the spam filtering in AOL Communicator, choose Spam, Spam Filter, select the General tab, click Filter spam for all accounts, and then click OK. When spam sneaks through the filter, select the offending message in your in-box and click the toolbar's Spam button.

MSN offers some fairly good spam filters, but they're not enabled by default. To block unwanted messages, choose Help & Settings, Settings, click E-Mail in the left column, and then select Junk Mail on the right to view the Junk Mail Settings page. Click Junk Mail Filter, check Turn on MSN Junk Mail Protection, and click Save Changes. If you discover that MSN's spam filter isn't catching enough of the incoming junk, you can boost its powers. Click Advanced Junk Mail Filter in the Junk Mail Settings page, select Enhanced (most junk mail is caught), and then click Save Changes. Be sure to check frequently in the Junk Mail folder under Folders on MSN's Mail screen to catch any legitimate messages that MSN mistakenly sends to the Junk Mail folder.