Security - Spam Solutions

When it comes to the computer world, nobody likes spam. That is of course, except for the people who create and send it out by the millions. End users who have to wade through hundreds of unsolicited advertisements each time they check their email are all too familiar with the headaches and hassle that spam creates. Besides spending hours each day deleting spam, there are things you can do to prevent it in the first place.

The best method of preventing spam is to have your ISP filter it, if they provide this service. They add a small charge to your monthly bill, and do all the spam filtering on their end before the email reaches you. This means no software to load on your computer. Unfortunately, not all ISPs offer this service. Some ISPs instead will try and sell you a software program that loads on your computer to filter out spam. We have found that some of the computer based software spam filters they offer can conflict with many of the commercial antivirus and anti-spyware programs customers have installed on their computers. If your ISP doesn't offer spam filtering at their location, then you may need to purchase a separate anti-spam software program for you PC. There are software spam filters on the market that seem to do a good job and don't conflict with most commercial antivirus and antispyware products. We have received positive feedback from our customers on some of these anti-spam software products. There are many products available and they generally offer features like:

* Filter by Sender- allows you to filter incoming messages by sender. Preset filters include many known spam domains.
* Filter by Recipient- allows you to filter incoming messages by recipient. This allows you to reject e-mails that do not contain your e-mail address in the recipient field.
* Filter by Subject- allows you to filter incoming messages by its subject.
* Filter by Body- allows you to filter incoming messages by text in its body and header.
* Special filters- include attachment filtering, filtering if no subject is present, filtering if sender equals recipient, and filtering if the incoming message is a forward.
* Friends- the friends list allows you to specify e-mail addresses that you ALWAYS accept e-mail from, regardless of the content.


Besides software-based anti-spam products, there are hardware spam filters available for businesses and networks. These devices usually run a Linux-based operating system and filter all emails for spam. They generally require an annual subscription to obtain the latest spam filters. These hardware based solutions are significantly more money and generally used in business environments with many users.

There are many anti-spam products on the market. Call us or fill out our inquiry form to discuss your options for blocking spam from your computer. Like viruses and spyware, spam seems destined to continue. There is no reason for you to waste your valuable time dealing with it. Contact Madison Computer Works and we can help make your spam problems disappear.