Hi, I don't know if you can help me or not but I am having a real problem with some junk mail (porn)......I do not know how to get rid of them. I have tried Blocking them but it seems that I just get more...HELP

Thanks for your time
Marilyn

When you're talking about spam, and there's no really good answer. You could look for an ISP that uses "server-side" filtering tools, such as Spam Assassin. This is a program that uses filters of varying degrees of accuracy to prevent junk email messages from even getting to your computer. Or you could download a spam-blocking program. We've looked at a bunch, two of the better ones are iHateSpam (at http://www.ihatespam.net) and Qurb (at http://www.qurb.com), but spam still seems to get through.

You also run the risk of "false-positives." Let's say a spam filtering program blocks mention of prescription drugs. Now, if you need to send an email to or from your doctor about such things, that message may never reach you, even though it is legitimate. In fact, because you have to check the blocked mail, you're really hand-scanning all that spam anyway. Right now, the version of Qurb I'm testing has placed the 4,332 suspect messages I received in the past two days into a special Qurb folder. My Monday morning treat is to scan though all those messages to pick out any that are legitimate.

Here's a tip within a tip for that scanning process: Rather than sorting that folder by the Received column, I'll sort it by the Subject column. That way, similar offers are grouped together and are much easier to spot and delete.

Sadly, this is one of those more difficult areas. Attempts to legislate will likely have the same result as gun control: only the criminals will have guns. Since it's extremely easy to set up a spam-factory, any legislation will simply force spammers off-shore -- and block legitimate email like this magazine and emails from friends. The real answer is for each user to develop his or her own methods. For a regular user without access to servers and special technology, the best approach is to find an ISP that filters.

Other than that, if you have kids, teach them what spam is and what to avoid. It's like going into a city. Lots of kids live there, but they develop street-smarts. Kids using email need to do the same and parents can help by actually teaching.

Then, of course, there's always the delete key.

-- DG

PS: Here's something to think about: Many spam programs determine what they want to block. What happens if the person who makes that choice has a certain political and social agenda and never tells you? What happens if every email that goes through an ISP with the words "Democrat" or "Colin Powell" or "Catholic" is blocked by a faceless developer? There are many dark implications of email blocking and we'll look into them in future issues.

Product availability and resources For more information on SpamAssassin, visit http://www.spamassassin.org. For more information on iHateSpam, visit http://www.ihatespam.net. For more information on Qurb, visit http://www.qurb.com.

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and can be reached via email at david@zatz.com.