Anti-Spam Software

What people generally expect from anti-spam software and filters is that they will completely eliminate spam from their inboxes. Unfortunately, because spammers seem to be working harder at getting around blocks and filters faster than the programmers of those blocks and filters can stop them, getting rid of spam entirely will likely never happen.

Don't get discouraged though, because there are things you can do to at least reduce the spam you receive, or change your email settings so that you won't have to look at the spam. It will also keep messages that you actually do want from being lost in the shuffle and routed to your junk folder or worse, your trash.

Anti-spam software, while it can't realistically block all unwanted emails, does have a number of benefits. The first of which, as you may expect, is that it will block spam to some degree. Most software is customizable and you can tell it to scan the titles and content of an email to look for certain keywords, and can block specific email addresses altogether.

Because the software is likely to already have a comprehensive list of "bad" words that it uses to filter out spam, it will need to be updated. Most anti-spam programs will offer free updates, similar to those of anti-virus programs, wherein the program will connect to the developer's website and download updated lists of keywords for its built-in filter component.

Many anti-spam programs either default or can be customized to whisk away unwanted emails so that you never actually see them. This is typically referred to as quarantining. So that you don't have to worry about welcome emails being automatically deleted, the emails caught by this filtering system are stored for a period of time so that you can make sure that nothing important gets deleted.

It is always a good idea to keep a whitelist filter. This filter is where you input the email addresses of people and websites that you want to receive email from. Each time you receive a personal email from someone not already in your protected list, add their email to the list. This is also applicable for any mailing lists you put yourself on, such as product updates from retailers, newsletters about topics you ar interested in and so on.

Spam Videos

Anti Spam Filter News

Be careful: Phishing attacks get personal (Courier-Post)

You know to watch for phishing attacks, which use e-mail messages purporting to be from legitimate businesses to trick you into divulging private information. You're cautious and use a good spam filter, but phishing messages still get through.

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Phishing attacks get personal (Tucson Citizen)

You know to watch for phishing attacks, which use e-mail messages purporting to be from legitimate businesses to trick you into divulging private information. You're cautious and use a good spam filter, but phishing messages still get through. And these messages are more dangerous than ever.

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Phishing attacks get personal (The Shreveport Times)

Most computer users can spot phishing messages. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have become more sophisticated, too. Targeted phishing attacks account for 0.4 percent of spam. That may seem minor, but it's 800 million messages a day.

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Real Web 2.0: Battling Web Spam (OSNews)

IBM takes a two part march through the attack vectors of spam on "web 2.0" sites. 'Real Web 2.0 means harnessing the power of social groups to improve information systems. This will invariably attract nasty people who look for the cracks to take advantage of you and me. Spam on the Web is one of the biggest threats to a modern Web developer.' Part 1 of this series shows you how to assess visitor ...

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Ways to fight 'commercial harassment' (The Longview News-Journal)

QUESTION: I got on a no-call list, and I am still being bombarded with calls about lowering credit card rates and car warranties. How do I get these people to quit harassing me? The car warranty people harass me online, on the telephone and in the U.S. mail. People talk about road rage; I am about to go into harassment rage. What can I do?

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