This is a neat program that helps to eliminate spam from your inbox.

Simply set up your email account(s) in MailWasher and hit the 'Check Mail' button. MailWasher then downloads all new message headers and displays message details alongside each one (priority, subject, from, to, etc.).

Any email that MailWasher considers to be spam is highlighted as such, for easy sorting.

Two checkboxes are located next to each message header, labelled 'Delete' and 'Bounce'. Check 'Delete' and the email will be marked to be deleted; check 'Bounce' to have MailWasher mark the email to be bounced.

This latter option sends a fake 'address not found' email to the sender.

You should receive less spam using this method, as the spammer will think your email address is invalid and may remove you from future mailings.

Once you have decided what to bounce and delete, hit 'Process Mail' to have your actions processed and your mail client launched for downloading all accepted emails.

A 'blacklist' and a 'friends list' are provided for you to enter good and bad email addresses into. Addresses in the blacklist are marked for deletion, and addresses in the friends list will be marked as legitimate.

Filters can be set to increase MailWasher's effectiveness. You can have email addressed to 'undisclosed recipients' automatically deleted and bounced, for example.

Note: The program is free but limited to one email account, and doesn't include Hotmail support. Upgrade to MailWasher Pro ($29.95) for more features.