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Spam Filter - a spam filter analyzes your incoming email
messages, recognizes common spam elements, and filters the junk mail
into a special spam folder within your email program.
Spam Blocker - a spam blocker acts in much the same way as a
spam filter with one major difference - it blocks spam.
Recognizable spam is bounced back to the sender as undeliverable,
which theoretically means less spam in the future.
Spam Stopper - a spam stopper is an
application with a collaborative framework. Users forward spam
(headers included) to a central archive where a list of offending
senders and IP addresses is maintained. Messages from these sources
are then blocked. SpamAssassin is a prime example of this
group-based spam stopper approach.
Spam Appliance - a spam appliance is a
hardware device attached to a network. An evolving rules
database blocks spam for all the users of that network. Bounced spam
messages are usually archived for a short time for retrieval of any
false bounces. Rules also allow the whitelisting of senders by user,
domain, etc.
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Spam Prevention - Home User Do's & Don'ts
by Greg Reynolds
If you want to avoid spam, here are some simple rules to live by:
1 - Don't post your email address online
2 - Don't open spam
3 - Don't buy anything from spam messages
4 - Don't use spam "remove me" links
5 - Do use an anti-spam filter
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1) Posting your address online starts a quick
journey to spam
hell. Spammers rely on programs that scour the web for usable
email addresses. Those harvested addresses are resold to
other spammers who in turn bombard you with their own
unsolicited messages.
Advice: Don't post your primary email address online. Use
a free email account for any online postings, contest entries,
etc. If you absolutely must use your email address, disguise
it. One simple way is to add the phrase "No Spam" to it.
ex: johndoeNoSpam@xyzisp.com
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2) Never open spam. Many HTML email messages return a
"valid
email address" signal to the spam senders. They know you've
opened their message and now you are fair game for more
spam.
Advice: Set your email client to display unread messages
without the message view enabled. Simply drag the unopened
spam to the trash.
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3) Don't buy anything promoted by spam. Doing so just creates
more spam. Spammers are only in it for the money. If the
money dries up due to zero sales, they'll be out of business.
Advice: Before you succumb to a spammer's marketing pitch,
ask yourself if you truly need another penis enlargement
patch or whatever. Remember: No sale means no spam!
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4) Clicking the "remove me" link in a spam message only
confirms that your address is a live one. Your email address
is now upgraded to the spammer's valid delivery list.
Advice: Just like not opening spam and not buying a spammers
product, not using the remove link is a smart move. No reply
in response to spam is always your best bet.
Note: Always use the unsubscribe link to remove your address
from any legitimate opt-in mailing list to which you have
previously subscribed and no longer wish to receive.
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5) Using a spam filter is one of the best anti-spam solutions.
While no spam blocker can ever be 100% accurate, a good one
will block 90-95% of all incoming spam. Instead of dealing with
ten or twenty spam messages in your inbox, now you are
annoyed by only one or two.
Advice: Anti-spam filters are a no-brainer. Many solutions
have a free trial period that allows you to try it before you
buy it.
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Solution:
One of the simplest spam blockers to use is
CloudMark's SpamNet
filter. Simply download the file,
click once to install, and you are instantly blocking 90% of
all incoming spam.
Simply tag the ones that escape the filtering process and
you are now part of a collaborative effort that updates the
group spam filter for everyone.
Other useful resources include
Microsoft's anti-spam advice
page.
A comprehensive list of other effective anti-spam blockers,
primarily shareware, is available on the
TuCows site.
Spam is a time-wasting nuisance. Take action today by adding
a spam blocker to your email client. You won't regret it.
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Greg Reynolds is a 20-year computer industry veteran and President
of Net Sense, an IT consulting firm. http://netsense.info
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