you don't need aol to reject emails from people outside of your addressbook.
you can achieve this by using outlook or many other softwares.
for that matter... you don't need aol.
anyhow... seeing that this isn't anti-aol thread... i'll move right along.
there's no way to make your email spam proof.
for an example... let say that you have your account setup so that only the people in your address book can send you email....
that address book usually contains your address as well.
and anyone can send a message to look like it was actually coming from you.
to:
stockjock@aol.com
from:
stockjock@aol.com.
that filter wouldn't catch this.
of course there are ways to block same to-from email addys.
(which limits your capability of sending a message to yourself)
the best way to attack this issue is...
like others said... setup different email address for different purposes.
set up a junk email for yoru internet registration 's needs.
set up a personal email... and don't give that out to anyone that you don't know personally.
and make sure they only send direct emails. (no greeting cards)
and don't use hotmail / yahoo accounts... as they have dictionary spammers.
and they also seem to support spammers.
there are other interesting filters that you can set to minimize the spams.
for an example...
if the email contains 'copyright information'... chances are ... it's a spam.
if the email's from addy doesn't have first/last name... that's another flag.
if the email contains a javascript...
if the email contains a link ... another flag.
well the list goes on and on.. if there are enough flags... then the email gets treated as a spam.