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Thread ID: 32627 2003-04-24 04:48:00 Most Efficient way of blocking spam? caffy (2665) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
138416 2003-04-24 04:48:00 Hi,

My parents have a big problem with receiving up to...25+ spam every day. Simply blocking the particular email address doesnt solve the problem.

They are happy to invest in anti-spam software, but I would like to know which are the most efficient ones? And how do they work?

Cheers,
caffy
caffy (2665)
138417 2003-04-24 04:52:00 Absolutely straight-foward is MailWasher (http://www.mailwasher.com). Simple to use, all you have to do is tick the messages which are spam and the software bounces the emails back to the senders (though the sender may be faked) and also has blacklists.

I just hope that you haven't been entering your email address in the "Unsubscribe" boxes/links usually found at the bottom of spam emails - they only confirm that your email address is valid.
agent (30)
138418 2003-04-24 04:53:00 Sorry, that should be http://www.mailwasher.net agent (30)
138419 2003-04-24 04:54:00 They've already got that program! caffy (2665)
138420 2003-04-24 05:00:00 Oh. Well, that's different.

I believe Norton Internet Security has an anti-spam feature, but I'm not sure how good it is.

Do you know how many services they're subscribed to? Or whether their email address is publicly available anywhere?

If the worst comes to the worst, most ISPs allow you to have more than one email address on the same account, so they could create a new email address and only tell it to people who need it. If you do that, I'd advise regularly checking the old account in case important emails are still sent there.
agent (30)
138421 2003-04-25 13:04:00 Mail washer does not really work because spammers alwys change there adresses and they are never valid ,so the bounce feature does doent cut it, delete cookies and history folders use a different e mail address for filling out any forms in websits , use and configure filters in Email account settings , dont click on spam that says to click here to remove you from there lists at the bottom of spam . Ragey_kiwi (3667)
138422 2003-04-25 21:56:00 Once spammers have your email address, spam grows and grows.
If settings are such that e-mail message images can be loaded from an exteranal source, all that wonderful spam is loading images. The server logs confirm that your email does indeed get read.
Spammers are clever bastards, they also have little if any morals.
I now get ALOT of spam at my oldest disposible address pugwash@eudoramail.com Why? Because i do thats why. Spammers have it now, there is no hope.

1-Change your email address.

2-Get a disposable email address as well.

3-Use the disposible email address for anything "public" or for people who dont know what BCC is.

4-Use your personal address only for those you trust not to hand the address around with forwarded emails and the likes.

5-Adding something like this to your emails as a signiture helps give people the hint:

"------This is my personal email address, please do not broadcast it by including it in the TO: or CC: feilds of any bulk email." (expect to be asked how else bulk email can be sent).

6-Do not forward email, or bulk send email unless all the adresses are in the "BCC" feild, and all original senders adresses have been removed. Lead by example, if you broadcast addresses, people will do it to you.

7-DO NOT PUT YOUR PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE WEB

.Clueless
Clueless (181)
138423 2003-04-25 22:38:00 If they have mailwasher, why are they still having problems? Are they not running it before they run their email program? wotz (335)
138424 2003-04-25 23:18:00 wots..

I am yet to see a filter that can tell the difference between this:

to: recipiant

from: somedude unknown to your filter

subject: glad to have been given your email address

message: Hi recipiant. It's me (long lost freind) Harry gave me your address and i hope you dont mind me getting in touch. So is it true your living in the mainland now? blah blah blah.........

and this

to: recipiant

from: somedude unknown to your filter

subject: glad to have been given your email address

message: Wanna buy a vaccuum cleaner? Its really great, only fifty american dollars. Please buy it, my children have an incurible disease, but don't worry, the vaccuum cleaner was made in france.........


While there are ways of guessing what is/isn't spam, the only filter that blocks all spam does it by blocking all email from persons unknown. Tis much better to avoid spam alltogether now than to recruit a robot to guard the doors for you later

.Clueless
Clueless (181)
138425 2003-04-25 23:26:00 Try Spampal. www.spampal.org. It's free. It's easy to set up. Theres a bit of tweaking/changing you have to do to the email accounts. It has a blackilist / friends list. It'll scan incoming emails, and if you say delete it from server, in the message rules, it'll do just that! Delete it. Just follow the instructions on the site on how to set it up, and it does its things. You can update it thru the program itself. You can d/l either the beta or release version off the site. You can blackilist a whole isp if you believe most of ya spams come from an isp. Spacemannz (808)
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