How to Stop Unwanted Email

If you've ever had your inbox cluttered with get-rich-quick email and advertisements for porn sites, you know that spam, or unsolicited commercial email, can be a big problem.

Things You'll Need

• Anti-spam Softwares

Instructions

1. Contact your ISP and complain. ISPs don't like spam any more than you do; the mail clogs their servers. The ISP can filter out mail from a suspected spammer address.

2. Avoid displaying your email address in Internet chat rooms and only give out your email address on secure sites.

3. Avoid including your email address when you post to newsgroups.

4. Send a complaint message to the postmaster at the spammer's ISP, if you can figure it out. Many spammers forge return addresses, but you can sometimes figure out the ISP from the full email header. In some email programs you can right-click on the email message and choose Options or Properties to see this information.

5. Be careful when selecting a free ISP or e-mail account. Some of these services make their money by letting 'sponsors' send email messages to their subscribers.

6. If your email provider doesn't have a built-in spam filter, search the Web for email filters and other anti-spam software. Many of these programs are free and can be easily installed.

7. Invest in anti-spam software such as CYBERSitter or Spamkiller, or visit a search engine and type in "email filter software" to find freeware alternatives.

Tips & Warnings

• Many newer email programs have junk mail filters. Enable these functions according to the software instructions (see "Set Up Email Filters," under Related eHows).

• Don't reply to spam unless the message includes clear instructions for removing yourself from a mailing list. In most cases, responding only verifies that your email address is active. Sometimes, the spammer has forged a return address, so by responding you're actually bothering an innocent person.