Bonnie,

What's wrong with the delete key?

I don't use any Mail filtering or rules for spam (just to sort friendly incoming mail). I get lots of spam but I just click it away. It's safest and best - in case there was something you did need/want to read.

You're right that the 'address book-only' option should really be avoided (some fear that it's increasing societal isolationism). I've been trying to reach some long lost friends recently. I only have their email, and I just know I'm being filtered out because I'm not already in their address book. It used to be a REAL pain when gig-hunting too.

Any actually nasty spam I forward to my ISP's reporting system. Most ISPs have one. It tots up the source addresses, and then blacklists. They also blacklist anything unpleasant.

You really shouldn't need a firewall on a Mac. I check with Apple every year or so, and they remain confident that the OS is robust. Yes, Macs do get viruses, but so do PC with firewalls, and far more frequently.

Tom