What’s In Your Email? Put Controls On Your Spam.

My email inbox is swarmming with spam. I get about 200 to 300 messages a day that are pure spam (not the messages I want) and these range from every gimmick and deal you can think of; including dating services wanting to fix me up (I’m fixed, thank you!).

What’s in your email inbox? Anything like these?

Mail from Attractive Daily Savings informs me that I must “Hurry, rates will go up.” Of course, it’s all about the money. Mortgages are hotter than dating services in my inbox.

Recently there’s been a flood of free camera offers. This morning I had six deals for a new Canon camera titled, This 6.3 Megapixel Canon Dig Cam could be yours. Not today, big boy.

There’s another one similar to that called -Just in time for School - get the Family a Dell Notebook Computer from the Product Test Panel. Apparently the Product Test Panel folks are behind schedule since school started about a month ago. Plus, who wants a Dell?

Here’s another new one. Kimberly24 has invited you to open a Cheating Wives directory account. Really? Kimberly24 (think of what the other Kimberlys must look like) is 26 years old, measure 36-24-36 (about the same as me; about), her favorite sexual position is Missionary. And in one click I can learn all I need to know about Kimberly24. Except that I already know more than I need to know.

I once thought that Microsoft software was rather expensive. Since we actually have to pay for it when we’re Mac users, I guess that supposition is correct. Apparently Windows users can get Microsoft Office XP Profressional for as low as $60 with the new spring sale - Office XP Professional from “deephousemusic.com.”

Of course, their advertising copy could use some work. Is this Greek?

Prescription drugs seem to be popular spam messages these days. Krista from roanokemail.com says I can Get ANY prescription drug I want with absolutely no doctor’s appointment.

That’s hard to turn down. I think I will, though.

Is that list of messages indicative of the spam you’re getting these days? Just look at these headlines:

There’s just no end to this crappy email menace is there? How many messages like that do you get each day? What do you do about it?

I’ve tried most of the spam tools with mixed results. Apple’s Mail.app Junk Mail Filter works OK but new spam tricks still get the inbox cluttered with more junk. Here’s my two-step process that’s working quite well.

First, set your email filter to allow ONLY those incoming email messages that match names and addresses in your Address Book. Everything else goes into Junk Mail. That’s a tough love approach, but it works well.

It’ll take a little work to make sure that everyone you want shows up in the Address Book. Second, allow incoming messages that you’ve sent messages to before (“previously sent messages” not necessarily in your Address Book). This works reasonably well, too, and keeps your Address Book from getting too cluttered.

That means most of your incoming messages (assuming you get plenty of junk mail) actually go into your Junk Mail folder. The last step is the most painful of the three. If you’re expecting mail from someone who’s not been previously sent mail by you, or whose email address doesn’t show up in the Address Book, you may have to scan Junk Mail folder to find it.

The first two steps work well. The last step takes work from time to time.

As it stands now, Junk Mail folder fills up fast but I don’t go there much anymore. And I never get junk mail in the inbox anymore. Tough love? Yep. Painful? A bit.

What’s your approach to spam and junk mail?