[SpellingTroll]

I have tried the "unsubscribe" links, some might work, but enough don't (or are ignored) that my e-mail address is sold again and again.

This is the biggest mistake many people make. Spammers use this as a means to verify active e-mail addresses.

Depending on your ISP, you may be allowed 1 or more additional POP3 e-mail accounts at no cost. If this is the case, I suggest you create a new POP3 account, and abandon the old one.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that there is virutally no way to stop 100% of the spam from reaching your inbox - and this leaves you vulnerable to not only offensive spam including porn, etc., but also unscrupulous individuals who send spam in an attempt to spread a virus, trojan, etc.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are asked/prompted for a valid e-mail address, never, ever provide the address to your POP3 account. Once the address of your POP3 account is out there, there's no getting it back - it's like trying to un-ring a bell.

Instead, create a free web-based email account (such as provided by Yahoo!), and use then when on the Net, etc. Keep your POP3 private, for close family, friends, etc., and make sure they understand that they are never to share it with anyone.

[discostu]

Actually I've been having some pretty good success with the unsub links. A lot of it depends on the "legitimacy" of the spam you're getting, anything smutty forget about it the unsub link is a trap if it does anything at all. Most of the spam I was getting was finance related (the curse of Monster.com, they sell your address so fast it's frightening) and a couple of days of hitting those unsub links has dropped my spam by about 75%.