there are various ways spam merchants 'harvest' your email address...they write programs to look thru newsgroups, they have spy programs in various software, they pick up addresses from places where you sing 'guestbooks...and a dozen other ways I haven't named...they even create innocent looking sites to lure folks to click on some URL, and re-route you to their sites.....depending on the email program you use, there ARE ways filter 'most' of this stuff out, but it does take a bit of time to read about how to do it...At the VERY least, you should have an anti-virus program running, and next on the list is a firewall..(there are FREE versions of both...list on request)

one thing you CAN do...when you go anywhere on the WWW or internet that lists your default email address, enter that address in a format that does not allow automated programs to harvest it..

example: joeschmoe@widget.com can be changed to joeschmoe(at)widget.com ...or joeschmoeSPAM@widget.com etc...with a note to 'remove SPAM' for reply or replace 'at' with @.....

various firewall programs will stop java & javascript & cookies from messing with you except where YOU allow it..(like your Mudcat cookie)

lots to learn, but just a few things will help a lot