On September 1st, 2002, EZ-Net introduced a new service - SpamGuard. It is an effective way to get rid of much of the annoying junk email from your inbox. Follow the instructions below to activate SpamGuard on your email address. SpamGuard is free to EZ-Net customers, offered on a "best effort" basis - it will not eliminate SPAM completely, but it will certainly identify a good percentage of it.

Setting up EZ-Net SpamGuard

Your email will now be set to use our SpamGuard service. Note that any Junk Mail Settings will apply to Outlook Express too, although the junk emails will not be moved to a separate folder. You can move them automatically to a different folder by setting up Outlook Express message rules. To do this:

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. Click on the Tools menu.
3. Go to Message Rules and click on Mail
4. Click the button labled "New..."
5. Check the box "Where the Subject line contains specific words"
6. Below that, check the box "Delete it"
7. Below that, click the underlined link which says "contains specific words"
8. Type in SPAM and click Add
9. Click OK
10. Click OK again, then click OK on the next screen

Messages detected as SPAM will now be sent directly to the Deleted Items folder. Keep in mind that legitimate emails may be labeled as SPAM and consequently deleted. Take care when emptying your Deleted Items folder.

Lastly, here are a few guidelines for using email:

1. Don't give your email address out to people/companies you don't trust.
2. Don't reply or "unsubscribe" to junk mail. Many times your email address is obtained from a list of randomly generated emails. Replying only confirms your address is active (and gives them the power to sell that address).
3. Set up Message Rules to block emails with certain words in the title or body of the message.
   For example, you could send all messages containing the word "adult" directly to the trash bin. You can also block specific email addresses, though for junk mail the sender's email address usually changes each time a new email is sent.
4. Visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/inbox.htm. It gives some general advice, but more importantly provides information on how to report the junk email to the Federal Trade Commission.
5. If your mailbox gets too overwhelmed, you can always change your email address. Contact EZ-Net for more information.