How to Slice Spam Out of Your Inbox

How much spam (unwanted, unsolicited junk e-mail) are you getting? Odds are you're getting more spam today than you did yesterday. Spam is one of the single largest problems associated with e-mail, more prevalent than viruses although not necessarily as harmful. According to some analysts, spam may account for as much as 90% of all e-mail within a very few years.

Some e-mail providers filter out spam before it even reaches your mailbox. E-mail from Network Solutions comes with industry-leading spam protection from Symantec Brightmail Anti-Spam. All incoming e-mails are screened, based on a number of search criteria, to detect and delete unwanted spam messages before they get to your inbox. When mass unsolicited e-mails are sent, they are detected almost instantly by the network and stopped. Brightmail has a 99.9999% accuracy rate.

Even with spam detection by your e-mail provider, there is no foolproof way to eliminate spam. What else can you do to help prevent spam? Plenty.

Most e-mail programs contain a filter that you can find in the dropdown menus on the toolbar. (In Microsoft Outlook Express®, for instance, the tool is called "Message Rules"). The filter lets you pre-delete (or direct to a special folder) e-mail by identifying specific factors in the subject line, the sender line, or other feature.

For instance, suppose I'm sick and tired of getting spam from someone using the name, "Really_Annoying_Spammer". To prevent additional mail from this sender from reaching me, I simply add the sender's name to my spam filter's list of prohibited mail senders and click on the instruction that automatically deletes all e-mails from "Really_Annoying_Spammer".

Now, suppose I'm getting multiple e-mails with subject lines that include the word "SuperSavings." To avoid future emails with this subject line, I follow a similar procedure, except this time I enter the offending word in the prohibited-subject-line part of the filter.

Here are a few more simple suggestions for getting the largest spam reduction from your filter:

• Update your filter regularly: A few minutes every day or two spent adding names and offending words or phrases to your filter can keep the task from getting unmanageable.
• Don't filter common words your real correspondents use: The filter is dumb; it will remove all instances of whatever words you enter. For instance, don't filter out "re:" if used in the subject line-unless you don't want to receive any replies to your e-mails.
• Review what you've filtered: It's a good idea to check the deleted e-mail folder (or a folder you assign to hold filtered mail) frequently to make sure you're not filtering out e-mail you want. If you find legitimate mail in those folders, take a look at what triggered the deletion and adjust your filter accordingly.
• Consider a commercial anti-spam program: Take a look at what the commercial programs cost and what they offer, and decide whether their convenience is worth it to you.

The Bottom Line: Set up your email program's spam filter today. Take a few days to get used to how your filter works, watch for new items to add, and start setting yourself free from spam.