Spam-proof your inbox and cellular phone

Spam is the bane of computer users everywhere. Spam accounts for more than 90 percent of all e-mail. And now, cell phones are getting spam.

There is no foolproof solution to spam. But you can banish most of it.

Use a good email filter

Your first line of defense is a spam filter. Filters screen incoming messages; spam is killed before it hits your inbox.

Good spam filters don’t rely on sender information. Rather, they use Bayesian filters. These filters improve as you use them. I recommend a free filter like MailWasher, POPFile, Spamato, or SpamBayes.

Webmail providers usually have built-in spam filters. Make sure yours is activated. Tag spam that reaches your inbox to improve accuracy.

Choose e-mail addresses carefully

How do spammers get e-mail addresses? They buy mailing lists and harvest addresses from the Web.

You’ll be surprised to learn that they also often just guess e-mail addresses. They use programs that combine simple words.