A united front in the war on spam.(have you heard?)

Post a "No Solicitors" sign on your home and door-to-door salespeople shouldn't date to knock of ring. It's illegal to send unsolicited ads to your fax machine. And thanks to the National Do Not Call Registry, many unwanted telephone sales calls are verboten. So how is it that spammers get to fill your e-mall In box with junk, though you never asked for it and don't want it?

"Protect Yourself Online," a CR Investigates special report starting on page 12, alerts you to this and other ways in which you're under electronic attack. Equally important, we tested protective software and explain what else you can do about spam, viruses, spyware, hackers, and identity thieves.

In our survey of more than 2,000 Internet users, for example, 65 percent said that at least half their e-mail is spam. Spam-blocking software remains the most common defense, but it has drawbacks: A big one--it doesn't block a lot of spam; and it can mistakenly block e mail you actually want to receive. On page 17, we rate your software options and note those best at not trashing legitimate communications.

Consumers are trying to be vigilant in fighting spam. In our survey, most people said they rarely of never open spam; they use spam filters; and they often try to get off mailing lists by clicking on a link or replying with an e-mail "opt out" message (which we don't recommend, since in most cases you'll either hit a phony dead link or confirm to the spammer that your address is a live target ...