For an in-depth discussion of spam, we recommend CAUCE - the Coalition Against Unsolicted Commercial Email

To reduce the spam you receive, the best bet is an ISP that does if for you. If your using Outlook, there are filters you can install. If you're not locked into Outlook, you might want to consider an alternate email program.

Thunderbird
Thunderbird is an open source email program that is simply outstanding. Thunderbird makes emailing safer, faster, and easier than ever before with the industry's best implementations of features such as intelligent spam filters, a built-in spell checker, extension support, and much more.
ThunderBird Home Page
 
Mailwasher Free
Mailwasher Free is a handy tool that checks the email on your server, and lets you select which ones to download and which ones to bounce. The bounced email makes it look like your address is a bad one, encouraging the spammers to delete it.
Mailwasher Free (at PCWORLD)
 
SpamPal
SpamPal takes a different tack. They use a variety of open DNSBL lists which contain a large number of the domains that create spam. You can select which list to use, and email from that source just stops. Easy way to block 95% of all spam.
SpamPal
 
SpamBayes
SpamBayes is a very sophisticated solution that only works with Outlook. SpamBayes will attempt to classify incoming email messages as 'spam', 'ham' (good, non-spam email) or 'unsure'. This means you can have spam or unsure messages automatically filed away in a different mail folder, where it won't interrupt your email reading. First SpamBayes must be trained by each user to identify spam and ham. Essentially, you show SpamBayes a pile of email that you like (ham) and a pile you don't like (spam). SpamBayes will then analyze the piles for clues as to what makes the spam and ham different.
SpamBayes at SourceForge
 

Password Protection
We have so many needs for passwords, we are tempted to use easy ones, write them down, never change them, and use the same one for all of our needs. DANGER! This make you very vulnerable to attack. Do what we do, use a Password Wallet, a simple program that holds all your passwords for you. You just need to remember the one password for the wallet. Be careful though, the spyware people are happy to give you a free password wallet, and then flood your machine with spyware. Windows is happy to remember your login name and password, but hackers know this and can easily hack your passwords if they can get into your system through a back-door. We have a few, free and secure solutions listed here. Again, we use these ourselves and recommend them wholeheartedly.
 
Password Safe
Another Open Source solution, password safe is easy to install, effective and easy to use. The tool we personally use at Family Citadel.
Password Safe
 
Key Wallet
A nice looking password protector, Key Wallet is skinnable, allowing you to change the look, and it uses a different way of learning username/passwords. You put it in learning mode and drag the pointer to your login window. It sees what you type and creates an entry. Pretty neat.
Key Wallet
 
AceRose Password Vault
Very strong password creation, very secure, and powerful protection of your passwords make this solution, the securist, if not the most easy to use. If other people have ready access to your machine, you may want to try AceRose Password Vault.
Password Vault
 

Popup Ads
Popup ads can be very annoying, and many of them are spyware. If you've taken our advice and cleaned your machine of spyware, you are most of the way there. Most up-to-date browsers now have integrated pop-up blocking. In case yours doesn't, or if you're looking for a better answer, here are a couple of free solutions that can virtually eliminate all unwanted popups.
 
Pop-up Stopper Free
Install this simple solution, and most of your popups are a thing of the past.
Pop-up Stopper Free
 
Google Toolbar
What a deal. Install the Google Toolbar for free. You'll have instant access to the webs most powerful search engine from your browser, and it'll block those pesky popups, too!
Google Toolbar