SPAM SUCKS

You know what it is. What you may not know is that it CAN be eliminated, but it's going to take a concerted effort by MOST of the people on the internet. Here's what you can do to reduce SPAM.

Below is an excerpt from the FAQ about Spamfighter. This is an excellent program, that I highly recommend, and that you can download from their home page: http://www.spamfighter.com It supports both Outlook and Outlook Express.

You should never be using Outlook Express by the way, it is just way too insecure. Alot of SPAM email actually comes from hijacked Outlook Express clients. Instead, use Outlook. It comes in the MS Office suite, is a great PIM, and email client. I've never found anything better, and I've looked far and wide.

Spamfighter FAQ excerpt:
Why do I get so much spam?
Spam is cheap marketing. Sending messages to millions of people for costs less than a dollar. This is only possible because spammers shift the burden of cost from the senders to the receivers. Sadly some people also actually buy some of the goods offered. All of this means that spammers are not likely to stop spamming in the near future. So PLEASE DON'T BUY ANYTHING ADVERTISED BY SPAM!
That will only make them spam more. If there is something advertised by spam that actually interests you, find it somewhere else on-line! Take the boulder pledge and avoid buying products promoted by spam.

If you have ever bought anything from a spammer's email, I hope you feel embarrassed, and regret it. YOU are part of the problem. Turn it around and become part of the solution. Here's how.

* NEVER buy anything from a spam email. EVER! It is advertising. Make it ineffective by NEVER allowing it to guide you to a purchase. I make it a personal point to NEVER buy anything from a firm that SPAMs me. That includes such large retailers as Sachs Fifth Avenue, but hey it was their dumb decision. I'm making a smart decision by not buying from them. They've already cost me money by spamming me, so I'm certainly not going to lose any more by purchasing from them.

* Get and use a spam filter program. If you get your mail thru Yahoo!, MSN, Earthlink, AOL, or many others, then you have access to a spam filter right on your inbox. Use it. Report the SPAM that slips thru. Check your SPAM filter often for possible false positives, and when found report those as emails you actually want to receive. Enable and use the process. The point of this is not only to see less SPAM in your inbox, but to report to the filter process all the SPAM. Once reported, the SPAM is designated as SPAM for ALL of the users of your particular anti-SPAM service. Eventually, all but the newest SPAM will not be allowed into anyone's inbox, SPAM will cease to be effective, and the spammers will stop. They only do it because it makes money, people. Hit them where it matters.

* Keep track of which email listservers you are subscribed to, and make it a point to not consider them SPAM. If you signed up for it, well then, you signed up for it! If you block or blacklist a listserver that you signed up for, you cause problems for those who actually do want to receive that info. If you don't want it, then unsubscribe. It's not hard, make the effort.

* NEVER click on the "Remove" or "unsubscribe" link in a SPAM email. It is basically just a waste of time. It may even INCREASE the amount of SPAM you receive.

*  If you are committed to reducing Junkmail delivered to your house, also, then read this info. It was copied from the web, and reproduced with credit to the original author. Note that it is several years old, and may be out of date.