Of all the things that can be done with a personal computer, email is probably the biggest application for the average PC user. Unfortunately, it is a sad but undeniable fact that email is no longer as simple to use as it once was. Between the spammers and the malware writers, the life of the email user has been greatly complicated. There is even talk that email as we know it is doomed. The writers of malware such as viruses and worms have made email the primary choice for spreading their malicious work. Be that as it may, there are steps that all users of email can and should take to defend their computers against this onslaught.