The technological world is facing a mess made out of spam. Spam volumes have doubled from the past year, according to Ironport, a firm that filters spam. They find that unsolicited junk mail accounts for more than 9 of every 10 e-mail messages sent on the Internet.

What is spam? Besides a canned meat product, spam is the unofficial term for unsolicited e-mails that advertise such things as fake miracle drugs, pornographic Web sites and worthless stocks and financial ploys. Spammers make money off gullible people and are what used to be called con artists—people who promise something for practically nothing. Instead of street corners, they use e-mail to sell their wares.

For the past few years spammers have stayed one step ahead of the anti-spam technicians. Using viruses to steal computer access and text that is encoded in images, junk mail designers fool the anti-spam technology that is limited to sifting out unwanted e-mails by recognizing similarities in text only (Brad Stone, "Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself," The New York Times, Dec. 6, 2006).

What to do? Simplify your technological life and try to accept e-mail only from those you know and who are in your address book. Keep track of Web sites that send messages to you and don't open the ones you don't recognize; delete them. There are many spam-blocking programs available and technology experts to advise you on which to purchase. Take advantage of them and try to remain spam-free.