Sometimes technology seems more trouble than it’s worth (e.g., the spam clogging our email inboxes). You already know how to blacklist spammers, marking them as junk or creating a rule to send them straight to Deleted Items. But do you whitelist?

Set up a new email address dedicated to inbound messages from your work team and protect it with a whitelist.

1. While in the secret account, open your e-mail client’s Whitelist feature. You’ll usually find the Safe Senders option under Filters or Junk Mail settings.

2. Create your whitelist. Add ONLY the addresses of project teammates, your manager, key partners, and major clients who will use the “secret” email address.

3. Change the FROM field when responding. One click sets the From field back to your regular email address, so the coveted email address doesn’t get sent out to the universe.

Whitelisting may be the ultimate means of eliminating spam. There’s just one drawback: you’ll miss all those lists, jokes, and political tirades your co-workers circulate. Oh, wait—that’s not a drawback at all, is it?