There are many downloadable anti-spam programs (filters and blockers) on the Web that can stop spam for free. For instance, there are filtering services that can filter or block spam from a PC user's email account. Another way to handle spam is with an anti-spam utility. How does it work? Whenever new mail arrives, it will automatically be scanned by the anti-spam program. There are many freeware anti-spam programs that are suitable for getting rid of or taking care of spam, but here are some of the better products that can be downloaded:
Removing Spam with Freeware
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- MailWasher Free is an award-winning product that is reliable. It provides a personal anti-spam solution for PC users. It is the leader in spam filter software. Also available from MailWasher is the Pro edition that costs $39.95.
- SpamFighter is one popular anti-spam/phishing tool for Outlook/Express and Windows Mail. Available for downloading are SpamFighter Standard (Size: 1484 K) and Pro (Size: 1387 K).
- Easy Email Spam Filter 1.21 is a simple spam blocker that will stop email spam from entering Outlook. File Size: 1049 K.
- eXpurgate is a free spam (and virus) filtering service. It works efficiently and accurately, but it cannot fetch mail from a POP or IMAP account without being forwarded.
- Spamato filters POP and IMAP accounts for spam. It works great, but is a bit complicated for some users to install and configure.
- Other free software include: SpamAware 4.3, SpamPal 1.73, and SpamBayes 1.0.4.
Tip: Find an anti-spam program, a filtering service, or blocker that works better with your PC's operating system.
Removing Spam with the Help of a Corporate Email System
The SpamCop Email System, for example, offers to get rid of spam for PC users by registering and setting up an account. The service is not free, but it is inexpensive – costing only $30 (US Dollars) per year – a great alternative to having to worry about taking care of spam yourself. How it works? It requires the user's e-mail to pass through SpamCop's Email System.
How to Avoid Spam
- Have a separate email account for different purposes (e.g., one for family and friends and another to publicize).
- Hide or encrypt your email address from spam harvester bots. Use a free script to encode your email address, such as the one offered at http://www.hide-email-script.com/.
- Block spam e‑mail addresses by adding them to the Blocked Senders list. To do this, in Outlook Express, users can go to the "Tools" menu on the top menu bar, select "Message Rules" then select "Blocked Senders List."
The best advice to give PC users is not to publicize or disclose their e-mail address on a public forum or website as spammers or spambots are on the lookout for ordinary people to identify themselves in order to capture their email and add it to a database of millions of harvested addresses. (Note: Spammers use the whois database to obtain a list of most of the domain names of registered users or assignees of an Internet resource.)
Other Solutions to Stop Spam
For Microsoft Outlook users: Try Spam Reader 3.0. This is a free anti-spam add-on that can detect spam messages.
