Stop today's spam Page 2 of 2

As junk e-mailers get more resourceful, so must you

3 iChat tips

Here are some tricks that will make your life easier when you’re using Apple’s chat program.

1. Stalkers Begone Find yourself leaving iChat turned off just to avoid a certain someone who sends you 100 messages a day? You don’t need to hide or get a new AIM or .Mac address. Instead, go to iChat: Preferences and click on the Security tab. Select the Block Specific People option and then click on Edit List. Enter as many addresses as you like, and click on OK. Poof! The people you’ve blocked will see you go offline in their Buddy Lists—forever.

2. Break Up Your Prose If you’ve tried to send a friend a list in iChat, you may have been vexed by your inability to make line breaks. Instead, when you press return your text is sent. There’s an easy fix. To create a line break, press option-return.

3. Choose Text Chats If you always prefer text chats, it probably annoys you to see the How Would You Like To Chat dialog box every time you start a chat by selecting a buddy’s name from the iChat menu in your menu bar. This box appears if you’ve selected a video- or audio-capable buddy, but by default you can’t use your keyboard to pick your chat method. To change that, go to the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane, click on Keyboard Shortcuts, and choose the All Controls option under Full Keyboard Access. Now when the dialog box appears, the text-chat icon is selected by default. (Press tab to select audio or video.) Press the spacebar, and your chat window opens—no mouse required. —Scholle Sawyer McFarland

Report the rascals

Figuring out where and how to send spam complaints can be challenging. To make the process easier, consider using Hendrickson Software Components’ EmilCRX ($30). This spam filter, which works with most common Mac e-mail programs, not only reduces junk mail in your inbox but also gives you the option of automatically sending information about spammers to their ISPs. When you do, it also updates a central database that assists authorities in tracking down illegal spamming activity.

[ Joe Kissell is the senior editor of TidBits and the author of Real World Mac Maintenance and Backups (Peachpit Press, 2006). ]