Junk e-mail or unsolicited advertising received as e-mail is known as "spam". The term comes from a famous Monty Python skit where Spam is the main item on the menu.
There is one thing about Spam that is absolutely true: You can't stop it! However, there are things you can do about it. Some are effective but many are not.
Many ISPs, including Adams, offer a Spam blocking service. The cost is in the neighborhood of $20 per year. The advantage of this system is that blocked messages don't even get to your computer. This, however, is also a disadvantage if you want to check what was blocked to be sure there was nothing you wanted, you must perform some time consuming steps that are not necessary when the blocking software (like Spam Inspector above) is running on your own computer where you have complete control over it.
The following suggestions don't require software and are easy to follow. Although they won't stop Spam, they may help keep your "Spam Count" from increasing:
| Never reply to an unsolicited message (spam). Simply delete it. |
| Never follow the instructions for removing yourself from a spammer's list. It may get you off that list but it will probably add you to several others because now the spammer knows for sure he has a good address and can sell it to others or use it himself. |
| If you're using Outlook and use rules, be careful about creating rules that generate automatic replies - you don't want spammers to even suspect you're paying attention to them. |
The Imaginary Landscape site contains information about some other things you can do. Many of them require some serious effort on your part to fight back.