The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is preparing to tighten up the rules for telemarketers and researchers. This will affect how they are allowed to interact with you over the phone - in a good way. Here are the proposed changes that you need to know about.

So this is the statistical proof that telemarketing companies should give up now: two-thirds of Australian households with a landline are on the Do Not Call Register, and the numbers continue to rise. According to the Australian Communications and Marketing Authority (ACMA), almost nine million numbers are now listed on the register, with one million of those signing up within the last 12 months.

If you're embarking on a start-up that sells products or services to consumers, an infomercial can be your express ticket to success. Sure, we've all laughed scornfully at these terrible late-night pseudo-adverts before, but the industry currently turns over $150 billion per year and has been known to make people fabulously wealthy overnight. Here are 10 of the best-selling infomercial products of all time.

Dear Lifehacker, I received an alarmist message about telemarketing with an urgent call to click the included link. What do you make of it?

We've often suggested simply hanging up as the best way to deal with dodgy telemarketers. That strategy has just got some serious backing, with the ACCC and ACMA joining forces to recommend hanging up whenever you suspect something dodgy on the other end of the line.

Yesterday, we looked at two tactics for dissuading telemarketers from calling again: giving them a fake name so you can detect them next time, or hanging up without another word. If neither of those appeal, here's some more options.

It's not nice to lie, but it's also not nice to get repeatedly called at dinner time by someone trying to flog you a mobile phone or pretending that you're a Telstra customer when you're not. If the Do Not Call list isn't quite cutting it for you, giving a false name is one way of potentially scaring off telemarketers -- or at least making them easier to detect.

It's a familiar phrase when you're stuck on the phone to a call centre: "This call may be recorded for quality or training purposes." But what happens if you decide to turn the tables and record the call yourself?

Plans to extend the national Do Not Call Register to business might seem a good way to cut down on telephone spam, but telemarketing businesses are already planning to fight the move.

You already know you've got more than a few options when it comes to halting junk mail and

AOL is launching a do-not-track list—a web privacy effort that allows users to opt out of targeted marketing (similar to the more familiar National Do Not Call Registry)—later this year. Expect to see more of these opt-out lists soon.

US-centric: Tired of all those unwanted catalogs jamming your mailbox? Try Catalog Choice, a free service that you can use to opt out of junk mail. Signup is free; once you've created a simple profile you can go in and find the company that's sending you stuff you don't want and request to be taken off the list (this can take up to ten weeks, so be patient). Worth a try for anyone who's looking to wean off the junk mail.

Catalog Choice