There are several formulaic ways to introduce features about spam, generally involving attempted humorous takes on its delicious luncheon-meat heritage or by alluding repeatedly to a supposedly timeless Monty Python comedy sketch. At Computeractive though, we like to tell it straight.

In this industry, spam refers to just one thing: junk email. Indeed, after years in denial, even the maker of the original Spam, Hormel Foods, concedes that its brand has been the victim of a hijacking.

The firm states that it no longer "objects to use of this slang term to describe unsolicited commercial email".

We're agreed then, that in the context of computing, spam is neither meat nor mirth; it's simply a menace. All menaces need to be dealt with but how do you deal with emails unwanted from senders unknown and origins unidentified (and often unidentifiable)?

Well, there's a variety of ways and we'll discuss the whys and wherefores of spam, as well as show you how to prevent nuisance messages invading your email inbox.

Canned spam
The history of email spam is awash with urban legends. Sooner or later, most investigators unearth an incident dubbed the 'Green Card spam', attributed to husband and wife immigration lawyers Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel.

In brief, this canny couple exploited the internet to advertise details of their settlement services, offering would-be immigrants a sought-after US work and residency permit: the Green Card.

Canter and Siegel wrote a computer program to 'harvest' the email addresses of contributors to Usenet forums and bombarded the resultant crop of potential clients with promotional postings.

Legend has it that the repeated receipt of this one email reminded readers of the aforementioned Monty Python Spam sketch, leading to the brand's transmutation to an internet community slang term.

Regardless of its beginnings, junk email is a natural progression from traditional junk post: the circulars and brochures that each morning, in most homes, travel directly from doormat to dustbin.

Few people appreciate these unsolicited arrivals but, fortunately the expense of organising widespread postal campaigns imposes limits on the numbers that junk mailers can send out.

However, this constraint isn't a concern for spammers: while the postie might feed your letterbox half a dozen bits of junk mail each day, a regular email user might face the prospect of hundreds of unwanted messages turning up.

Spam is a problem because to deliver huge numbers of messages costs the originator very little.

Moreover, to do so requires minimal effort on behalf of the sender: in theory, it's possible for one person working with one computer to reach millions, or even billions, of email inboxes.

Of course, it isn't just one person but many and they create email misery on a massive scale.

Like Canter and Siegel before them, modern-day spammers employ software 'sniffer' programs to gather recipient data from personal websites, online forums, company staff lists; any online place where email addresses might be displayed.

Junking the junk
For spammers, this blunderbuss approach makes sense. Seasoned email users know to delete junk mail the moment it arrives but in this big-numbers game, where many millions of people will be sent the same marketing message, even the tiniest percentage of respondents could pay dividends.

You might not be enticed by the promise of '80 per cent off inkjet cartridges', a 'Fast Home Loan Approval!!!!!' or the chance to meet 'Loose women who want YOU!', but it's a certainty that someone, somewhere will click to find out more - and that's why spammers continue spamming.

The previous paragraph hinted at the simplest way of dealing with spam: if email from persons unknown arrives and/or the subject line of a received message contains an unlikely boast, then simply hit the delete key.

It's a momentary annoyance for sure but swiftly dealt with. However, while occasional email users can get by using this one-button approach, it's hardly a cure-all.

People who use email on a daily basis, and in particular those who have relied on the same email address for a long time, know that unsolicited email can reach epidemic levels.

The delete button is fine in theory, but when dozens of unwanted messages arrive each hour it could soon cause repetitive strain injury.

Moreover, left unchecked for a couple of days, a regular email user's inbox can fill up with spam, causing wanted messages to disappear in the crowd. Manually sorting the wheat from the chaff is not a fun task.

Game rules
Fortunately, there are various ways to automate the eradication of spam. Unsolicited emails bear certain hallmarks and the ability to recognise these is a powerful weapon in the fight against their spread.

A Microsoft Outlook user, for example, could configure that program's Rules facility to identify messages with subject lines containing keywords and phrases synonymous with spam - 'Free', 'Home loans', 'Reduce your debts', '!!!!!' - and have the software delete them on arrival, or at least move them to a 'suspected spam' folder.

Alternatively, an Outlook user could set up a rule to allow only messages from specified recipients to enter their inbox, effectively eliminating all spam.

If you fancy setting up a few spam-handling rules then select the Rules Wizard option from Outlook's Tools menu. Outlook Express users should choose Message Rules from the same menu, followed by Mail.

The trouble with a rules-based approach is that, when it comes to spam, the rules must constantly evolve.

Today's junk message might carry a subject line promising 'low-rate finance' but tomorrow it could read 'cheap loans' and it's simply not feasible for one person to create sufficient rules to catch all permutations.

Similarly, excluding receipt of messages from all senders bar those you specifically name is ham-fisted because people with perfectly legitimate reasons for sending an email your way might find themselves blocked from communicating with you.

Soft options
A better bet is to employ some dedicated software as a spam sentry. Perhaps the most popular program with the anti-spam community is MailWasher (www.mailwasher.net), developed by lone warrior Nick Bolton. See below for a step-by-step guide to using the software.

It's a simple piece of software that places itself between an email program proper (like Outlook) and the server that stores incoming messages until they're picked up.

MailWasher checks the emails waiting on the server before they're downloaded, comparing them against a database of previously reported spam messages as well as filters based on the user's own list of key words and phrases.

For heavy email users, this is a good way of doing things. Junk messages can be earmarked and deleted before any time is wasted downloading them.

MailWasher can also rub its cleansing hands across multiple email addresses (or accounts), including web-based mail services like Hotmail.

Provider problems
With time wasted downloading unwanted emails in mind, it is fair to wonder what the ISPs are doing to combat the proliferation of spam.

Surely it makes sense to centralise spam-detection facilities and limit the reach of the bulk emailers by having ISPs identify and delete spam directly from their server computers.

In fact, ISPs are caught between a rock and a hard place. Obviously, customers do not want inboxes inundated by junk messages but equally, few people would be comfortable with the notion of a third-party censoring post marked for their personal attention.

How would you feel about your postman making the decision to bin letters that he thought you might not want? It's a problem faced by every company providing email services.

An answer to this quandary might be found in so-called 'back-room' software tools, like Brightmail Solution Suite (www.brightmail.com).

This is a program that monitors all messages coming in to an ISP's email server and does much the same job as MailWasher only on a grander scale.

According to company president Enrique Salem, the beauty of the Brightmail system is that an email user will see up to a 95 per cent reduction in spam receipts, with no effort on the part of the individual.

Brightmail's strategy is multi-pronged, employing rules, keyword filters and the propagation of decoy email addresses.

This last tactic is unusual but clever. Aware that email details are harvested for spam purposes from web pages, chat rooms and the like, Brightmail's software creates sham email addresses, distributes them online and then monitors the inboxes for incoming mail.

Given that the addresses are made up, it's likely that emails sent to them are spam and thus details of incoming messages are added to the blacklist.

Brightmail is an 'opt-in' system, so only users volunteering to have their mail vetted can benefit.

What's more, access to a system like Brightmail demands a significant investment from the ISP and so far the number of companies that have made the outlay is small.

In the UK, BTopenworld customers can opt for Brightmail spam-scanning services and soon Hotmail users should notice a reduction in the amount of junk that turns up in inboxes.

Back home
Obviously it's going to be some time before ISP-based spam-handling systems are widespread.

If you're seeking an immediate remedy but fancy neither faffing around with personal rules nor the middleman nature of MailWasher's operation, then there's another avenue: collaborative reporting and removal of spam. In essence, email users banding together to identify and block junk messages.

That's exactly what users of SpamNet do. Once the software is downloaded (from www.cloudmark.com) and installed, Outlook (but not Outlook Express) users are connected to a central server that anonymously links them with hundreds of thousands of other users. The system is very simple to use. See below for a step-by-step guide to using the software.

When junk email arrives, the user clicks the Block button and the mail is shifted to a Spam folder (or deleted, if preferred). At the same time, technical information about that email is extracted by the SpamNet server.

If sufficient SpamNet users flag up the same mail as being junk, future recipients will find that it moves automatically into the Spam folder. The genius of this technique is that it's based on human decisions - democracy deletion, if you like. The flipside is that one person's spam is another's interesting email.

Next to the Block button on the SpamNet toolbar that's added to Outlook is an Unblock option. Obviously, this has the reverse effect as Block but even so, SpamNet devotees are wary of allowing automatic deletions in case a wanted message ends up in the wastebasket.

All spammed out
During the preparation of this feature, we approached several people notorious for their spamming activities. Not one deigned to reply, despite our numerous emails and telephone messages.

While endeavouring to spread their marketing mails far and wide, spammers operate in a clandestine world and they certainly don't like discussing their methods. This is hardly a surprise, given the past consequences of press revelations.

When infamous junk emailer Alan Ralsky complained to the Detroit Free Press that he'd become the target of militant internet users who'd taken to publishing his home address and telephone number on the web, the anti-spam campaigners redoubled their efforts and hounded him still further.

Being identified as a spammer can also lead to legal and financial woes. Only recently, AOL secured millions of dollars in damages by winning an action brought against CN Productions, a company that had sent a billion unsolicited email messages to AOL subscribers.

Sadly, spamming is a profitable business for a few and by employing new and ever more devious methods, it's inevitable that they'll find ways to deliver their messages. The fight goes on, so make sure you're armed.

SPAM SCAMS

Some spam is straightforward marketing material, sent to email addresses the world over. This kind of junk message might contain details of a shop's special offer, or perhaps the option to receive a discount on some product.

However, some spammers have much more sinister intent: fraud. The fact is that many junk emails are sent out with the intention to deceive the recipient. Perhaps the most notorious fraudulent spam is the Nigerian money offer, also dubbed the '419 letter'.

This email promises a share of vast riches in exchange for help to electronically spirit funds out of some (non-existent) bank account or other.

All the recipient needs to do in order to benefit is supply the sender with their bank details and wait.

More elaborate developments on this scam have led to deluded souls travelling to seedy parts of the world carrying bags full of cash.

Of course, all spam is annoying but spam scams like these can be seriously damaging. Our advice is simple: treat all unsolicited email as spam. Unless you know the sender of an unexpected email, or the reasons for its receipt are otherwise crystal clear, delete it.

And should you receive an email that promises millions of dollars in exchange for your bank account number and sort code - wake up!

MAILWASHER

Step 1.
Download the latest version of MailWasher by connecting to the internet, going to www.mailwasher.net/download.php and clicking on the Download button near the bottom of the page. Save the file to your Desktop.

Step 2.
When the download has finished, find the file called mailwasherxxx.exe (the 'xxx's will be a version number along the lines of '2b21') and double-click on it to start the installation. There are no options to choose during the installation, so just click through the screens until it finishes.

Step 3.
You can choose to start MailWasher at the end of the installation; otherwise, double-click on its Desktop icon. Before MailWasher can be used, you need to configure it to check your email, since it does this independently of any email application. Choose Accounts from the Tools menu and click on the Add button. You can add both POP3 and Hotmail accounts, so choose the appropriate type and click on OK.

Step 4.
The set-up for both types of account is the same and you'll need to know your email user name and password, as well as your incoming and outgoing mail server for POP3 mail. You'll also need to give the account a name. Click on OK when you've finished and add any additional accounts if you need to.

Step 5.
MailWasher works by checking mail waiting on the server independently of your email application. It doesn't download emails but merely lists their 'headers' - the To, From and Subject information. You can set how often MailWasher checks email in Tools, Options or start a check manually with the Check Mail button. When you receive a spam message, click the box next to it in the Delete column to mark it for deletion and then click the Process Mail button to delete the messages from your server before you check your email.

Step 6.
MailWasher can also 'bounce' messages in order to make it seem as though they were sent to an invalid email address. This option is enabled in the Account set-up dialogue box and messages can be selected for bouncing by placing a tick in the box on the appropriate column. Right-click on a message and you can also add it to the 'blacklist' or 'friends' list, so that all future messages are automatically deleted or ignored. You can edit these lists by choosing Tools, Options.

SPAMNET

Step 1.
Download the latest version of SpamNet by logging onto the internet and going to www.cloudmark.com/products/spamnet/download. The download will start automatically. Save the file to your Desktop.

Step 2.
When the download has finished, find the file called SpamNetxxx.exe (the 'xxx's will be a version number along the lines of '1Beta7d') and double-click on it to start the installation. There are no options to choose during the installation, so just click through the screens until it finishes.

Step 3.
SpamNet works with Microsoft Outlook, so you'll need an email account configured within Outlook before you can go any further. Assuming you have, start Outlook and click on the Send/Receive button to check your email.

Step 4.
When you receive a spam email, select it in the Inbox list and then click the Block button in the Outlook toolbar. The message will then be moved to the Spam folder, marked as 'spam' and automatically detected and moved from now on. You'll also see an acknowledgement message and you can disable this, if you wish.

Step 5.
With SpamNet installed, all incoming mail will now be checked against the main Cloudmark spam database and you'll just have to 'block' any messages that aren't caught in this way. If you accidentally block a message that isn't spam, simply select it in the Spam folder, click on the Unblock button and the message will be moved back to the Inbox. You can also check any messages that were received before SpamNet was installed by clicking on the SpamNet button and choosing Run SpamNet Now.

Step 6.
There's also a SpamNet options tab within Outlook's Options (from the Tools menu). Here you can specify which folder to move blocked messages to and change other sundry settings. SpamNet works just as well without changing these though.

See also:

Junk mail

The term 'spam' may have been popularised by a Monty Python sketch but, in the electronic world, junk mail is far from a laughing matter.  06 Jun 2003

Hotmail takes steps to freeze spam

Microsoft's free web-based email service limits users to sending 100 emails per day  25 Mar 2003

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