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Beating Back the Flood of SPAM (unsolicited email)

We're not promising you'll be SPAM-free, but following these simple tips could give you a little respite!

1. Never, ever bite. No matter how much you'd like to respond with a plea to have them remove you, or an expletive, don't do it. All you'll succeed in doing is help them confirm that the address they spammed has an actual human being at the other end. On the other hand, if the company that SPAMed you is a reputable brick and mortar outfit, like JC Penney for example, a request to remove your email from future mailings is usually honored. Another thing to keep in mind, oftentimes when you open a message received in HTML format, the message may be pulling a specific code from the spammer's server, indicating that your email address is valid. If you're certain a message is SPAM, delete it without opening it.
2. Most ISPs allow subscribers multiple email addresses. Use this to your advantage. Create an email for personal correspondance (and make sure to tell your friends and family that you'll fill their real mailboxes with reall spam if they so much as breath a word of it online to others). A second email for online ordering, and maybe a third for registering software, hardware, or other products. In this manner, you can simply ignore any correspondance sent to the last 2 addresses, unless you have a specific reason to be expecting and email.
3. Avoid using any of your email addresses in a public forum, like chat rooms or newsgroups. When posting to newsgroups, add characters to your email address (ie bill@_NO*SPAM_microsoft.com) so that humans can parse the real address, while foiling email harvesting robots.
4. If your email box is totally out of control, and you're not particulary tied to your email address, consider getting a new email address.
5. Add numbers or characters in the MIDDLE of your email address. Example: jesse123m@anywhere.com. This procedure will foil spammers employing auto-generators that try to guess every combination of common names like: jess, jesse, jessie, jesse1, and so on.
6. Filter, block, and organize your incoming mail. Most email clients have the ability to apply message rules and filters to incoming messages. Learn them and use them!
7. Feel better by telling on them! Most ISPs and mail server administrators hate SPAM more than you do. For information on tracking spammers visit "Tracking Spammers." at PCWorld. More information can be had at Mail Abuse Prevention System and SpamCop.