How to Stop Spam Using Antispam Software
Michalis "BIG Mike" Kotzakolios
Kotzakoliou, SSA

Finding automated solutions to controlling spam is big business, and there are two main methods manufacturers of antispam software use to filter your mail:

1) You could use antispam software that requires the sender of the email message to confirm that they are indeed the originator of the email. This type of antispam software checks each email sent to you; if the person has not confirmed they are the originator, their email is held in a special folder and they are sent a special message asking them to click a link confirming they sent the message in the first place. Messages coming from people who have already confirmed previously are sent straight into your inbox.

The main disadvantage to this type of antispam software is that if you subscribe to a newsletter, most newsletter publishers use what is known as a double opt-in system. This means they will send you an email which contains a link you have to click before your newsletter subscription will be activated. This confirmation message will be intercepted by your software and an email is sent to the newsletter publisher, who is highly unlikely to click the verification link in the email sent to them by the software.

Another disadvantage is that a spammer may click on the confirmation link, and you will still receive unwanted email. It also means the first message from your friends and family will be held by the software until you put their details into the software's whitelist or they click the link in the email sent to them.

2) You could use antispam software that checks each email against a set of conditions or rules to determine whether the email is spam or not. In this case the antispam software will check:

* If the sender's email address is on any spam blacklist. There are a number of blacklists on the internet which contain the email details of known spammers.

* The words in each email received against a set of words you or a third party has previously prepared. If any of the words or phrases are contained in the email, the email is either deleted, marked as potential spam, or sent to a separate bulk mail folder.

Many of the antispam software solutions that fit into this category also incorporate a preview screen. This allows you to preview each email prior to accepting it or deleting. Mailwasher is a very popular program that fits into this category. It is available as a limited free version, or an unlimited paid version.

There are more powerful antispam software solutions designed to filter mail being received by businesses. These typically use complex algorithms for filtering spam. This complex programing also makes this type of software solution very costly, however most would feel it is well worth whatever the cost.