1. Read carefully when filling out web forms that require an email address.

2. Use another email address for web forms, online shopping, etc. (like a free web one - Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, GMail, etc.)

3. Short email addresses are easy to guess. Avoid things like your first name only (john@doe.com). Use some naming convention like john.doe@doe.com, or jdoe@doe.com.

4. Use a filter. This can either be on the server, or on your email client. If you are using web-based email, this would have to be on the server. Do a Google search for "Spam Filter". There should be plenty of software that will show up. PARASITE offers a tool called SpamAssassin. Some have even gone to "Whitelisting", which basically means that you only allow mail to get through that you have explicitly pre-approved as acceptable. This is usually a last resort.

5. If you get Spam, NEVER click on the "Unsubscribe" link and NEVER follow any instructions on how to "remove yourself from the mailing list" and NEVER reply to the SPAM. The only thing that this does is tell the spammer that you are a valid email address and that you took the time to read their email. They may remove you from that particular list, but you will receive probably 10 more emails for the single email that you unsubscribed from.

6. DO NOT use your personal email address on a web page. Spammers have spider programs that crawl the web looking for valid email addresses. When they find one, they start spamming. It is much easier to change sales@company.com to sales1@company.com than to change your personal address. Also, the same goes for using your personal address on a web forum post. Those spiders crawl there too.

Finally, if the SPAM has gotten to be too much, you should think seriously about changing addresses. Just let everyone on your address book know, and make the switch. The time it takes to let everyone know that you have changed email addresses will most likely be less hassle than dealing with all that SPAM.