TECH Q and A

Q: I foolishly responded to a pop-up ad that promised I had won a free laptop. But after I gave away my e-mail address, I discovered there was no laptop. For a few months I just deleted the few dozen unwanted messages about everything from tea to debt relief, but now I'm getting hundreds of these a day, many of them duplicates. Is there a simple fix other than changing my e-mail address? (It's a company address, and changing it would be difficult.)

A: You need some filtering software to keep all that junk out of your inbox. Spam, or unwanted junk e-mail, can be separated from regular e-mail by programs that are called spam filters, spam blockers or antispam software. The process isn't perfect, often some spam gets through, and it's possible that some legitimate mail could be inadvertently blocked, but it's far better than no protection at all.

If you're working for a corporation, talk to your information technology department about how to add unwanted e-mail to the company's spam filter (often you can do that at the click of a mouse button in your e-mail program). That should at least reduce the amount of spam you get at your work address.

If you're a small-business person working alone, buy some antispam software or subscribe to a remote anti-spam service. For a review of some antispam programs, and more details about the fight against spam, see www.consumersearch.com/www/software/spam-filters/. For even more product reviews, see www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1738,4795,00.asp.