Spammers are constantly searching the Web for e-mail addresses. They use programs called harvesters or bots that can grab addresses from Web pages. Then, they use their swelling e-mail address lists or pass them along for a profit.

That's why I always recommend you not use your primary e-mail address when posting messages to guest books, newsgroups or message boards. In general, if your e-mail address is on a Web page, it can be harvested. And if you have your own Web site or blog, you may be giving spammers even more opportunities.

But you can take precautions to stay off spam lists. Generally, the key is to make your e-mail address unreadable to harvester programs. At the same time, it should remain readable to humans. The good news is that people are a lot more sophisticated and flexible readers than programs.

Your best first step is to avoid the standard e-mail address format of "MyName@Website.com." If that address makes it onto a Web page, you're almost guaranteed a new influx of spam. So what are the alternatives? Here are four suggestions:

1. Spell it out

An easy and effective trick is to simply spell out the address. For example, MyName@Website.com becomes "My Name at Web site dot com." However, this technique has been around a while. No doubt, spammers tweak their programs to search for it.