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Don't even try to kid me--e-mail has become a big part of your life. But are you in charge of your e-mail, or is it in charge of you? "There comes a time," as W. C. Fields once said, "to take the bull by the tail and face the situation."

Sending and receiving e-mail is an easy habit to form because it's so effortless. I'll bet you get a ton of e-mail every day: Ubiquitous joke lists, annoying chain letters, obnoxious ads, and other uninvited garbage mingle with messages you really need. What's an e-mail user to do? I'm glad you asked. Let me explain how I use filters and rules to avoid spam. I'll also tell you how to handle attachments, and how to preserve your vital data. So before you reopen your in-box, read on.

Filter Out Spam

A true confession: I have more than 150 spam filters in Eudora, my e-mail client of choice. Okay, so I need a new hobby, but at least my in-box isn't loaded with spam.

Filters (sometimes called in-box rules) examine incoming messages, determine their origin, and direct them to the trash rather than to your in-box when they meet specific criteria. I know what you're thinking: Wouldn't it be easier to delete unwanted e-mail manually? Not in the long run. And creating filters is a snap once you've set up a few that identify common spam characteristics.

Some e-mail programs let you copy existing rules and then alter a few words to block a new spam source. If you like, you can start with the generic filters I created for Eudora and the rules I made for Outlook 2000, along with instructions on how to import them. Then try your hand at the tips that follow.

A quick warning: Until you get the hang of creating filters, it's possible that one of them might send an important message from your boss into the trash. To cover my tuchis, I funnel filtered spam into a 'Possible Spam' folder and delete the junk manually every few days.

Experiment by creating a quick filter to block the domains of countries that spammers often use to route their junk. Their two-letter country codes (see the full list) are in the spam's header. Current favorites include South Korea (.kr), China (.cn), Chile (.cl), and Slovenia (.si).

In Outlook Express: Select Tools, Message Rules, Mail. Click the Cancel button to close the New Mail Rule dialog box (for now), and select the Blocked Senders tab in the Message Rules dialog box. Click the Add button, and enter either the spammer's e-mail address, such as spammer@spams-r-us.com, or the domain that sent it, such as spamorama.com.

In Outlook 2000: Select Tools, Rules Wizard, New, Check messages when they arrive, Next. Click the check box next to specific words in the 'Rule description', and enter a country code such as .kr. Choose Next, and then select move it to the specific folder. Click the blue, underlined word specified in the 'Rule description', highlight your spam folder, and click Finish. When you get spam bearing some other country domain, Outlook 2000 lets you copy this rule and easily modify it for the new country code.

In Eudora: To create a filter in Eudora, right-click a spam message, choose Make Filter, highlight the field with the domain (it will be in either the From or the Any Recipient field), and delete everything that precedes the period and country name. Choose Transfer to Existing Mailbox, scroll to the Possible Spam folder, and click Create Filter. In the ad-sponsored version 5.0.2, click the In button; select the Possible Spam folder, and click Create folder.

In AOL: If you want to create an AOL Mail filter, you must first establish a screen name that you will use to receive e-mail only from domains you trust (pcworld.com, for example) and from the people you choose to add to your 'accepted' list. First, log in with your Master screen name, choose Preferences, and select Parental Controls, Set Parental Controls, E-mail Control, Customize. Click Next, choose the option that allows mail only from the sources you list, and add the names of those sources to the list. Your next step is to create new screen names--each with its own e-mail controls--to use for receiving e-mail from specific newsgroups, business associates, long-winded family members ... you get the picture.

When you get spam offering "Secrets to Spy on Others" or promising that you'll "Make Millions in 3 Weeks!!!" use a short, unique portion of the subject or message text in the filter. Don't use the entire subject--the next one will be different--and ignore the e-mail address because that changes, too. Spend just 5 short minutes a day for a week or so creating an effective filter using my patent-pending techniques, and I GIVE YOU MY PERSONAL GUARANTEE YOU'LL HAVE SATISFYING RESULTS!!!

Enlist the Aid of Your ISP

Spam isn't going away anytime soon (no matter what legislation Congress may have in mind). But with a little help from my ISP, I've managed to put a huge dent in the amount I get.

Perhaps your best defense against spam is to choose an Internet service provider that seriously defends you against the stuff. In an average month, my ISP keeps roughly 400 spam messages from reaching my in-box. AT&T WorldNet, EarthLink, and other major ISPs filter spam at the server level using Brightmail. Web-based services such as Hotmail and Yahoo also provide excellent junk-mail filters. Other ISPs attempt to thwart the spam deluge by blocking known spamming domains.

Ask your ISP about its approach to spam prevention and demand that it take action against spammers. For a look at one effective approach, read "Team Fights E-Mail Annoyances." For details about how some people respond when their ISPs' spam filters block legitimate e-mail, see the May 2001 Consumer Watch.