Question - Many years ago, when I found Playboy fascinating, I saw a cartoon. Two women were sitting at a bar. One said, "Sometimes I feel like moving and starting over as a virgin." My question to you: Is it possible to start over as an Internet virgin? I'm tired of all the junk mail I get due to sites I've visited. Is there a way to wipe the slate clean and start afresh? I'm not looking to become a secret agent. But I would like to preserve some anonymity.

Kim's answer - Well, that's an interesting way to put it! The woman in the cartoon probably has no hope. But you might!

There are two things that people in Internet-land know about you: your e-mail address and whatever your cookies tell them. The first is the bigger problem, by far.

Once you get on the spam lists, you really can't break free. But there are things you can do. For instance, establish an e-mail account on the Internet. Use that when you sign up for something online. Let it attract the spam. Don't use it for anything else.

Of course, you already are receiving spam in your personal account. For that, I recommend that you change your address. That's what we do here at the Komando Intergalactic Laboratories. That stops spam in its tracks.

However, that's not always handy. People won't know how to reach you. At the least, send an e-mail to everyone in your address book. Let them know your new address.

If you don't want to do that, set up an approved senders list. In Outlook, for instance, click Tools>>Junk E-mail. On the Options tab, select "Safe Lists Only: Only mail from people or domains on your Safe Senders List or Safe Recipients List will be delivered to your Inbox."

Click the Safe Senders tab. Click the Add button to insert addresses. If you have several addresses from the same domain, just add the domain. That would be in this form: @komando.com.

When you finish, click OK>>OK. Mail that is not on that list will go to the Junk folder. Keep an eye on that, at least for awhile. You might need to add people to your Safe Senders List.

These lists work best for home setups. Businesses often get e-mail from new customers. You don't want to lose those people in the Junk folder.

A filter might be the better way to go in that case. Outlook has a junk filter with two settings: high and low. To find it, click Tools>>Options. Click Junk E-mail. On the Options tab, make your selections and click OK>>OK.

No all e-mail programs include spam filters. For them, there are numerous filters online. Check my downloads for several possibilities. Also, see my site for more suggestions on stopping spam.

Let's move on to cookies. These guys have a bad reputation, but it is not deserved. I have a tip that covers that. You can also stop receiving cookies altogether. I don't recommend that, because most cookies are helpful. For instance, you can avoid having to sign in on many sites.

However, you can block all cookies, if you like. In Firefox, click Tools>>Options. Select the Privacy tab. Clear the box next to "Accept cookies from sites." Click OK.

In Internet Explorer, click Tools>>Internet Options. Select the Privacy tab. Move the slider to the top. Click Apply>>OK.

Other traces of browsing also reside on your computer. I have another tip that will help you erase them.

You also could use a proxy server to surf on the Internet. This is a remote server. When you surf, it uses its address, not yours. You don't have to pay for this service. Free ones include Tor, Privoxy and Jap.

A proxy server will not block cookies. Your browser will still save them, unless you tell it otherwise. However, the sender will think the proxy server got them. Anyone else watching will only see the proxy server, not your computer.

Finally, you could erase everything on your hard drive and re-format. You'd have to reinstall Windows, along with all of your programs. I wouldn't go this far. But if you're really serious, this will clear the nooks and crannies.

Personally, I'd just change my e-mail address to get rid of spam. The rest of it isn't that big a deal. Of course, I'm not paranoid. Except for those little spacemen. I know for a fact that they're following me. That's why I wear this aluminum-foil hat...

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