MSU e-mail users are receiving more junk in their boxes than ever before, leaving us to wonder if university computer experts can do anything to stop it. They should at least try.

According to the Computer Center, more than 1 million e-mails pass through MSU’s Pilot system every day and much of it, as many students will say, are junk messages - otherwise known as spam.

These messages are from businesses and organizations soliciting students with offers of free prizes, money, trips and other incentives to entice them to sign up for services.

They come from countless sources, and fill up mailboxes several times a day without warning.

Most e-mail users can vouch that receiving these messages in massive quantities can be much more of an annoyance than getting a call from telemarketers at dinner time.

There is no way around it, spam is a horrendous problem that is growing worse, clogging students’ e-mail accounts and causing frustration.

Students looking for messages from friends or professors are forced to wade through innumerable spam promoting diet plans, pornography and business opportunities - they are sometimes even fooled into opening a virus.

The worst part is that only so much that can be done to combat the problem.

In January, the Computer Center began offering a free download of Norton AntiVirus Professional Edition to students with Pilot accounts.

E-mail Filters can help get rid of unwanted messages. But some companies and distributors can still find ways around them and can to send their irritating messages to as many potential consumers as possible.

But that still doesn’t filter out all the spam. All most students can do is hit “delete” to get rid of unwanted messages.

Perhaps there is some hope as the junk e-mail problem extends beyond the universities and the federal government takes notice. Lawmakers are considering introducing bills to address the problem on a national level.

But it’s been shown that it is easier for legislators to pass laws regulating telemarketers than finding solutions for regulating junk e-mail senders.

The Internet is quickly becoming the Wild West of the 21st century.

There are so few ways to regulate the relatively new medium that continues expanding each day.

There needs to be some sort of universal restrictions established to keep everything in line and limit the “lawlessness” of this technological frontier.

More and more people are using the Internet and signing up for e-mail accounts.

It’s only a matter of time before every person’s account becomes as filled up with spam as mailboxes are cluttered with unwanted advertisements and promotions.

It seems the only thing we can hope for is that the computer experts working to filter spam out can work with the technology faster than the junk mail senders.

Something needs be done as soon as possible to permanently delete spam from all e-mail accounts.