Unwanted email messages--often referred to as junk email, or, more commonly, spam--have long been a fact of business life. Spam is more than just an annoyance, however: many junk email messages are sent as a deliberate attempt to mine your personal information, access your computer infrastructure, or unleash a virus across your company's network. Unfortunately, unsuspecting employees are receiving more and more spam every day.

In fact, security software vendor Symantec reported in 2009 that approximately 90 percent of all electronic messages sent via the Internet are unwanted and potentially dangerous spam. The costs of failing to have adequate anti-spam protections in place can be staggering. Writing in the November 2009 issue of the Central Illinois Business Magazine, Area-Wide CEO Jeff Facer noted that "[a] small business with 15 employees, each of whom spends an average of 30 minutes a day sorting and replying to email messages, stands to lose more than 33 hours each week in employee work time to junk email and its associated perils." (Read the entire article.)