Spam Blocker - Comments Page 1

Hey Bob - good points. On forwards though, I wouldn't just say don't send them, I'd train people to strip the headers off so the email addresses are not exposed. Not always easy though, I know.

If you're a large enough an organization, I've seen great reviews for this device. It uses IP addresses http://www.tyrnstone.com/emailfilter.asp

And finally, I think part of the blame for spams growth should be placed on ISP's. If they had blocked abusers, relaying servers and the like sooner, it would never have grown this bad.

What about chllenge-response systems? I recently started a trial subscription using one such system (spamarrest) and have been very happy with the results. It's particularly good once you've been using an email program for a year or two and so have built up a pretty comprehensive address book. I just pre-approved all those in my address book and the change has been seemless to nearly all my regular correspondents. And it stops spam dead because (1) spammers oftern spoof the return address so they never get the challenge email, and (2) most spam is sent by spambots, the response requires a real person - a machine can't do it. What's your take?

EDITOR'S NOTE: As someone who gets a lot of email, I find these systems annoying. I generally DON'T reply to the challenge messages, so people using them should be careful to maintain their whitelist carefully.

I have been using SpamSieve by Michael Tsai on my Mac for years. It uses Bayesian filtiering and works very well. Download link: www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9116
Includes user reviews. Worth every penny!

I'm now getting spam inviting me to subscribe to G-Mail, so I was amuzed to see it mentioned in an article about spam!

I love my MailWasher (http://www.firetrust.com/) which not only gives me control over spam, but allows me to also control those huge files people sometimes send with cutsy pictures. It was especially useful when I was on a dial-up connection. Thanks for the great Tour-bus!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Those are not spams from Gmail... Gmail has an "invite a friend" feature.

I find it interesting that when I click on compare spam filters and then go to the web site of Spam Shield I find that McAfee SiteAdvisor gives a negative rating on Spam Shield saying that entering your email address on Spam Shield site will result in spam from them.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Perhaps they are competitors? I'd be wary of McAfee's warning in that case.

I think I have read the stats on just about every anti-spam software there is. I have tried some of the most publicized ones. I have uninstalled all of them, because none of them lived up to their ads, and they suck up to much system resources.

I have found the best way to avoid spam is to delete the spam, working offline. You don't have to disconnect. Yes, it does take awhile to do this, especially when a person gets as much spam as you do, but with a little patience the spam keeps getting less and less. I use Outlook Express and Outlook.

I read somewhere that it can be quite expensive to send spam, and when the spam messages don't phone home, the spammer stops sending it. I don't know if this is true or not, but I do know that my method of stopping spam works, and it's free!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Lots of options, to be sure! I wonder how that will work long term...?

I use a combination of strategies for fighting spam. First and foremost don't give out your main email address. Second, use disposable addresses when filling out a form online and use a separate one for each site or shopping that you want to do. Mark in the notes exactly who it is. Also a good idea to check privacy policies before joining or shopping on any site.

For corporate accounts or email coming from a domain I have addresses on, I send them first to my spamCop account. This allows you to stop the spam in its tracks, so it never even reaches your email and at the same time report it. BlackLists can be chosen for use with SpamCop including the ever popular SpamAssassin which assigns a score to an email.

Then for those emails that do go directly to my main email, I have mailwasher, which works great with online accounts. With this I have eliminated about 99% of my Spam and I don't have wade through the garbage.

My provider supplies me with a spam filter which works quite well and I update it regularly but I spend a lot of time doing it. Is there a program that you can drag your spam messages into and no messages from that source will show in your inbox again?

Even better - is there a program that will return the spam to the sender and cannot be simply returned to you again? Maybe make it mandatory that an email address MUST accept returned emails. Maybe an internet address setup that takes reported spam source emails and makes sure they dont reach their "victim".

There must be something drastic we can do with the spam problem, after all, aren't computers for solving problems?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Spammers almost always use a bogus From address, so unfortunately it's pointless to return mail to the sending address, or to block further emails from that source.

I got Thunderbird email program because it has a Bayesian filter. I tried it out for about 6 weeks. At the end, I was only getting a 50% reduction in spam. I was getting good email in my spam and spam in my "good" email. I diligently "taught" the filters. I kept on getting spam that was the same exact spam except it was from a different send. Every time I would have to manually take it out. Does anyone know why it did not work for me? Anyone else have a similiar problem? Personally I had other problems with Thunderbird and now just use OE. I still get spam in OE but it is much quicker to just take it out than hassel with spam filters that do not work.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Depending on the TYPE of emails you generally get, Bayesian filters might not work well for you.

i hate teachers they dont let you have any fun they blocked myspace at my school so can you plz help

EDITOR'S NOTE: Those teachers... always trying to TEACH! Sigh... see http://www.askbobrankin.com/banning_myspace.html