In the race to provide the best anti-spam system to fight the ever-growing threat of spam email, there are a few which stand out among the for-pay software systems. Some are software programs, while others are web-based systems that function by sending your email through their service before it gets to you. The web-based filter has the added benefit of not permitting spam to get through to your system, in the first place; on the other hand, if valid email is filtered out and isn’t spam, its difficult to recover it.

Here are reviews of top-rated spam filters

Mailwasher:

The Mailwasher spam filter is a very efficient and secure spam filtering tool. It combines a number of different techniques to detect and delete spam before it gets to your inbox, as well as protecting your computer from viruses. These techniques include: using statistics, blacklisting and white-listing, databases and advanced learning filtration.
Mail Washer supports IMAP and POP accounts, as well as MSN, AOL and Hotmail. However, it does not offer IMAP or POP proxy filtering.
This spam filter takes a bit of time to “learn” what you think is spam, and in time will be highly efficient in its spam filtration.

Only My Email:

Is on an online web based filtration system, so there is no software to download or install. Because it is not downloaded to your computer itself, the spam filtering operations will never affect your computer’s performance. Your email is filtered prior to coming to your computer and the spam will never be downloaded to your personal machine. You also get a daily spam report.

Only My Email is an extremely accurate anti-spam filter. It is capable of filtering up to three IMAP or POP email accounts.

Cloudmark Desktop:

This is a great, easy to use anti-spam filter. It is a plug-in for Outlook and Outlook Express. This software is highly accurate, with a great spam detection rate and relatively low false positives.

Cloudmark Desktop uses a database of spammers to identify and filter out spam. This database is updated by the community of over a million Cloudmark users. For example, when you identify a message as spam, it is automatically deleted from other Cloudmark users’ inboxes as well. Phishing spam faces the same fate. This spam filter deletes spam immediately or moves it into a dedicated folder for further action from you or later deletion.
Cloudmark Desktop is a subscription service that needs to be renewed annually. There are still some areas in which improvement is needed such as in the case of false positive spam removal, but all in all, it is a great spam and phishing email solution.

CA Anti-spam

Previously known as eTrust Anti-Spam, this software is a whitelist spam filter. This means that it will only permit mail from those you have added to your whitelist and will quarantine all other emails. Once approved, messages from a previously quarantined sender will be moved to your inbox. It also updates your whitelist by scanning you outgoing email.

While CA Anti-spam works well for those who receive only mail from those they know, but may not be practical for those who receive large volumes of email from several legitimate but unknown sources.

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A spam blocker is one way you can effectively cope with the deluge of spam that is targeted at your inbox each day. This type of anti-spam software works by blocking any unsolicited email from getting to your inbox. It is generally about 90% effective in blocking this spam, along with any viruses and other malicious code that may come with it.

The spam blocker differs from a spam filter in that its function is specifically to block most of the incoming spam. The spam filter works by organizing email that it identifies as spam into folders, and leaves it to you to take further action on. The spam blocker, on the other hand, is specifically programmed to prevent spam from getting through. With a spam blocker, you do not have to deal with the spam it detects and blocks.

So How Does a Spam Blocker Work?

The spam blocker will log into your mail server email account every 10 minutes, inspecting it for spam email. It immediately destroys any viruses, and gets rid of any obvious spam such as email that contains adult or pornographic material. Undesirable email is flagged and then redirected to a folder specifically for spam. You will have an opportunity to sort through this spam folder to verify that no legitimate email is mistakenly diverted there. Any email that it is on your white-list or which it determines as legit will be left on the server to be downloaded as normal.

If an email is from an unknown source and the spam blocker cannot clearly categorize it as either legitimate or spam, it is quarantined in a specific folder until you either move it or delete it. The quarantined spam is usually held in this folder for up to 30 days, or until you take action on it. The spam blocker keeps track of the particular action you take on each quarantined email e.g. if you delete the email. It will “remember” this action and use it to create a new filtering rule that it will apply to future incoming email.

What are the Benefits of a Spam Blocker?

- A spam blocker frees up storage space. Most mailboxes have a very limited capacity to store email. Spam takes up space, and a spam blocker generally prevents large files from making it into your main folder.

- By blocking spam rather than just filtering it, the spam blocker helps minimize the amount of time you have to personally sort through your spam email.

- Because this anti-spam software deletes spam, it drastically lowers the risk of a computer virus infecting your system.

- Many spam blockers are available online for immediate download, are usually very easy to install and generally do not require further configuration..

Many email services offer spam blocker software. If, however, you choose to buy your own, make sure you get one that is compatible with your service. Also take into account the level of blockage it offers as well as flexibility it offers in letting you customize the settings to your own preferences.

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You will inevitably receive some spam in your inbox – there is no getting around that fact of life. How you handle this unwanted junk mail will go a long way toward reducing or increasing the amount of spam you will receive in the future. It may also protect you from viruses, credit card fraud, identity theft and other forms of cyber-crime. Next time you log into your inbox, keep these 5 tips in mind to stop the spammers dead in their tracks.

Do not Preview

If you are able to preview your entire email messages in your inbox, you should disable the message preview pane. This is important because some spam email contains code that is specifically designed to compromise your computer and leave you vulnerable to viruses, Trojan horses or worse. Review the options offered in your email program and change the settings.

Do not Fall for the Phisher’s Hook

Many spam emails are cleverly designed hoaxes, which are intended to get you to unwittingly divulge private information. They claim to be from your credit card company, bank or other financial institution, and attempt to fool you into divulging personal information such as your social security number, bank account number, password or other private, identifiable information.

This fraudulent practice is called phishing. Responding to this form of spam would leave you vulnerable to identity theft, credit card fraud and other financial cyber-crime.

Friend or Foe?

Just because an email has been sent to you by a friend, do not assume that it safe for you to open any attachment that comes with it. Contact your friend and verify that they did indeed send it.
Very often, spammers will attach a virus to their spam, which, if opened, will hijack your email program and mail itself out to every email address in your address book. This fraudulent email will appear to the recipients to have been sent by you. If they in turn, open this email attachment, the same malicious cycle is repeated.

Read your Email in Plain Text

Spammers often use Javascript to embed malicious code in their spam. It may, for example, be designed to infect your system with a virus that can install itself in your computer, and give a hacker or other scammer access to your private and financial information – without your ever knowing it. You can protect yourself against this by changing the settings to display the email messages in plain text. This effectively disables many harmful scripting features

Never Respond

Do not click on any banner advertising or send a reply to a spam message. Doing this lets the spammer that yours is a “real, live” address, which will only result in a deluge of even more spam. Unless you have specifically subscribed, do not click on any unsubscribe messages contained in junk mail. Most of these are only intended to fool you into confirming your address as valid. Also, do not forward any junk chain letters you may receive.

Above all else, common sense is the most important form of spam protection you can have. Be vigilant when you check your mail – even the most advanced anti-spam filter available today cannot keep 100% of all spam out of you inbox.

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Today, the Internet is reminiscent of the wildest days of the Wild, Wild, West. Your stagecoach through the World Wide Web can be hijacked at any instant if you have no knight in firewall armor to ward off any viral intruders. When your computer is connected to the internet with no firewall running, it is vulnerable to attack from spammers, hackers and phishers.

Much like human viruses, computer viruses run the gamut from the benign to the fatally destructive to the computers they infect. And just as with human viruses, prevention is better than cure. Prevention begins by stopping them in their tracks at the portals of contact. This is where a firewall can come in handy.

An anti-spam firewall application will, to an extent, help in keeping viruses at bay. There is, however, no firewall that is 100% hacker proof – there are too many ways in which viruses can be embedded in a software download or regular data, for a firewall to detect and catch them all. However there are some relatively effective firewall programs available on the market, and some of them are actually free for your personal use.

At the bare minimum a home personal computer that is connected to a cable modem or a full time connection needs to have and run a personal firewall software program, as well as anti-spyware and some type of anti-viral program.

The ideal firewall will hide the ports that a hacker might use to gain access to your PC and protect your home PC from attacks, as well as track those attempted entries and prohibit unauthorized access or output from your computer. Two-way firewalls are the best as they block the threats that are incoming OR outgoing, to prevent things such s virus, Trojans or malware from being installed without you knowing it.

Windows XP, as well as the new Vista have a personal firewall built into the operating system that is by default turned on. Because it monitors and offers popup warnings many people turn it off, and leave themselves remarkably vulnerable to attack. The Windows firewall default of “on” should be maintained until and unless you find another software or hardware firewall to protect your system.

Some good freeware anti-viral and firewall software programs are available, such as Zone Alarm and Zone Alarm Pro. AVG also comes in a free as well as a pro version.Neither of these programs comes with adware attached and they are very good solutions to begin to address your internet security.

You will need good anti-virus programs to go after any viruses that may inevitably bypass your firewall. It should be programmed to either quarantine or, preferably, destroy them. Last but certainly not least, it is essential to always keep your anti-viral and firewall programs up to date with the newest patches and security updates. Most viruses target your C: drive, so scan it daily. And never, ever open any unsolicited emails or the attachments that come with them.

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Spam is commercial email that is sent out in bulk to millions of people without their consent. It is may contain advertising messages for regular products and services but increasingly, it is email of an inappropriate, offensive or malicious nature.

Today, many children have an email address that they use to email their friends, submit homework, etc. It is a fun, inexpensive and instant way to keep in touch. However, as the volume of spam keeps rising, the need to protect children from the dangers of spam is a growing concern.

Like all other Internet users, children are just as susceptible to receiving spam as are adults. And because spam is an equal opportunity menace, kids are just as likely to receive spam that contains adult and pornographic material. While there is really no way to totally eliminate the possibility of your kids receiving spam, there are steps you can take to minimize it. Here are a few:

Here are a few tips to help protect your kids from spam

Email Filters

Your email service comes with email filters built in. You can use these to filter your child’s email into specific folders, and filter spam into the trash folder. This involves setting up rules that your email program will follow in determining what action to take on incoming messages: to let it through to the inbox, send it to trash or to block the sender.

Your email spam filter program will apply these rules based on certain words in the subject line or body of the email. For example, if an email contains the word “viagra,” it will be sent directly to the trash and the sender blocked.

Spam Blocker

Your email service may also come with a spam blocker. If it does not, it may be worth your while to invest in one for your child’s computer. Where-as your email filter filters incoming email into folders, the spam blocker blocks spam from going through the system. It checks your mail server every 10 minutes, where it deletes the spam and destroys any viruses it finds. Legitimate email is let on the server and downloads to the inbox when you log in.

Whitelists

Set up an email account for your child that “whitelists” only specific email addresses. A whitelist is just a list of trusted and approved email addresses. For example, you can have the addresses of your child’s grandparents, aunts and uncles whitelisted. Whenever email is received from any of the whitelisted addresses, it goes directly to your child’s inbox. All other email addresses are blocked.

Monitor, Monitor, Monitor

Be sure to log into your child’s email account on a regular basis to monitor the incoming and outgoing messages, and to ensure that the spam filter and spam block are working appropriately.
Using your email spam filter, you can set up a rule that will ensure that a copy of every email that is sent and received on your child’s account is forwarded to your own email address

It is very important to educate your children on the dangers of spam and how to handle it if they do receive any in their inbox.

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Nowadays, spam is more than just an irritating flood unwanted email. It is also a means by which spammers can transmit viruses, spyware and adware to your computer. An anti-spam filter is essential to minimizing this potential risk. It will also stem the flow of spam into your inbox.

What is an anti-spam filter?

An anti-spam filter is a program designed to detect and block unsolicited bulk email. It works by scanning any incoming email for words, phrases, html code and other spammer tactics to determine whether an email is spam or not. It does this based on probability formulas that calculate the likelihood that an email that has certain words is spam.

It will also create black lists and white lists. The blacklist will store email from unknown ISP and email addresses or ISP addresses; the whitelist will hold email that is sent from pre-approved sources. The filter software will also keep these lists up to date. Whenever the filter detects that an incoming email is spam, its address is added to the blacklist. Whenever the sender or recipient confirms an email as trusted and legitimate, it will be added to the white list. Most of the “sporm” (spam pornography) will be filtered out as well as any email that it detects has adult content.

What Should You Look for in Anti-spam Filter Software?

Here are other important features you should take into consideration:

- Make sure the anti-spam filter software is compatible with your particular email service. Do not take it for granted that it will work with what you have.

- It is important that the software program is easy for you to use and navigate. Anti-spam software is worthless if you can’t figure out how to use it or if it has features you do not understand.

- The features and tools the software offers should enable you to customize the program to suit your own needs. It should be flexible in letting you set your own rules regarding which email to permit into your inbox and what you want to filter out or block.

- Ideally, it should enable you to set up whitelist, which will indicate particular email and ISP addresses that should always be delivered to the inbox. This will ensure that legitimate email from trusted sources will never be filtered out or accidentally deleted.

- The software should install with ease, with zero or minimal errors encountered during set up. Some anti-spam software requires registration, additional downloads or other steps to be taken before it can be used.

- The software you choose should be stable in its release and workings. One way to check this is to look at the release package and view what the programmers or company states is the last stable release. It is probably not in your interests to buy software that is still in the beta phase, particularly if you are not familiar with the program.

Spam is irritating at best, and maliciously destructive at worst. Buying the right anti-spam software will go a long way toward protecting you from the spammers of the world.

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Anyone who has an email address needs no introduction to this pesky phenomenon of electronic communication. Spam is unwanted, unsolicited commercial email that is mailed in bulk to thousands, even millions of recipients simultaneously.

Much of the confusion regarding spam comes from a lack of understanding the everyday email user may have regarding the ways and motivations of the spammers.

Whether a given email is spam or not spam can be said to be in the eye of the beholder. There are legitimate email marketers out there, who comply with all applicable laws when they do their bulk emailing. They will, for example, only send their advertising to recipients who have subscribed to their emailing list. In fact, in formal studies have shown that currently, only about half of all spam is deceptive or fraudulent; roughly half of all spam contains genuine marketing messages. Thanks to spammers, all email marketing is tainted with a bad name.

The nature of spam has less to do with its commercial content than with the fact that it is unsolicited and sent out in bulk. There are two categories of spam: unsolicited bulk email and unsolicited commercial email.

Unsolicited bulk email is mass-mailed to recipients who have not given their consent to receive it. This category of spam encompasses jokes, chain letters, virus alerts, etc. unsolicited commercial email targets your wallet. This subset of spam includes get-rich- quick and pyramid schemes, stock offerings for pennystocks, spamming software and fake pharmaceuticals.

While most spam is generally mailed out to advertise a product or service, some is malicious in content and intent. It runs the gamut from jokes and ads, to stock-market scams and virus-laden emails. Spammers, those obnoxious folks who send you spam, will target you because:

- They want you to buy something

- They defraud you out of your hard-earned money

- They want to confirm that your email address is a real live one (and then add you to a spam mailing list)

- They just want to shock and offend

The huge volume of spam has created big problems. While it is free for the spammer to send out his millions of spam emails, the cost of the bandwidth that this junk mail takes up borne by the internet service provider (ISP). The ISP, not one to bear this expensive burden on its own, will pass on some of the cost to you in the form of price increases.
You also pay the price for spam in the time wasted sorting through and deleting junk mail, the loss in productivity and the pure aggravation of having to deal with it. It also raises security issues because it may contain viruses that are harmful to your computer.

How do you spot spam when it lands in your inbox?

Here are a few things you can look for that are a dead give-away

- Email from someone you do not know
- Nonsensical subject lines
- Outlandish promises of money, exotic cruises and lonely housewives
- Adult or pornographic content
- Unsubscribe links in unsolicited email
- Very brief emails – a line or two

You should be aware that spammers often send you email that is designed to look like it came from an acquaintance of yours, a reputable company or a reply to an email from you.

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Spam has become an ever-increasing problem in recent years, costing legitimate businesses a great deal in both time and money.

In response to the growing threat from spam, new legislation was enacted in 2003. it was called: Controlling the Assault of Non Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM act). This act created some requirements for all companies who are sending bulk commercial email, as well as those companies whose products are offered for sale in the spam emails. It also instituted penalties for violators, as well as giving the client or consumer the right and the means to request that the emailers cease the spam efforts.

CAN-SPAM was enacted in January, 2004. The act covers any email which have as its purpose advertising or promotional efforts for any service or product, including those whose contents reside solely on a web site.

The legislation also covers “transactional or relationship messages,” meaning those emails which help a web site to deal with any transaction, even those which are agreed on, or make updates to any customer whether new or exisiting. None of these may contain false or spoofed routing information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the United States agency for consumer protection, was granted the authority to enforce the act and the DOJ, or Department of Justice is additionally charged with the enforcement of the CAN SPAM act. It also provides that Internet Service Providers who are hurt by the spam may in fact sue the violators of the legislation to recoup losses to their own business.

Other Major Provisions of the Law

-It bans any attempt to falsify the information in the header or subject line.

These must correctly identify what the message is about, and accurately display routing information as well as “To” and “from” information. The email must accurately indicate the identity of the sender and recipient. It must accurately portray the domain from which the email originates as well as the senders real email address.

- It bans misleading subject lines

The subject line must not mislead the recipient to open the email under false pretenses. It should clearly indicate the actual subject matter of the email.

- Emails sent in this fashion must offer the recipient a legitimate means to get out of receiving the commercial email in the future. Any such requests to opt-out must be honored by the spamming company, and the email address deleted from its sending list. The commercial emailer will have 10 days to after the request to cease sending messages to that address

- Commercial bulk email should easily be identified as an advertisement or solicitation. It must also include the sender’s actual physical postal address

- The recipient must be fore-warned of any sexually explicit information the email may contain. This warning must be displayed in the email’s subject line.

Each and every violation of this law or the aspects of the law subjects the sender to strict fines that can go as high as $10,000 per incident and, for certain violations, the commercial emailer will face possible jail time.

Another legal initiative aimed at fighting spam is the “Digital PhishNet” (DPN), which was established in 2004. It is a collaborative effort between the Internet industry and criminal law enforcement. Its purpose is to identify and to prosecute spammers who break the law through phishing. Online auction sites, financial institutions, ISPs and other groups within the industry are all involved in this imitative. Important data and information is forwarded in real time to law enforcement.

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