Thread: No Spam

If your Web-based e-mail provides spam filtering, or if your office's Microsoft Exchange server does it, you may not need a spam filter. But if you do need antispam, make sure the suite's filter is compatible with your e-mail client and with your e-mail account type.

Almost every filter works with Micro¬soft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Win¬dows Mail as well as with standard POP3 e-mail accounts. If you use a different cli¬ent, though, such as Eudora or The Bat!, or if your account is based on IMAP or Exchange, consider carefully whether the suite will meet your needs.

Of course it's important to keep spam out of the inbox, but it's even more impor¬tant that the spam filter not trash your valid mail. Most filters will whitelist the contacts from your address book, so mail from those addresses is never blocked. The smarter ones will also whitelist addresses you send mail to along with senders of messages that you mark as "not spam." When I test for accuracy, however, I make spam filters do without the whitelist-you don't want valid mail from brand-new contacts thrown in with the spam, after all.



It's a tough job: The otherwise impressive Norton Internet Security 2008 blocked 40 percent of valid per¬sonal mail, and BullGuard Internet Security 8.0 blocked more than half. Still, stopping the junk without trap¬ping valid messages can be done. Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2008 blocked just 2 percent of valid mail, including difficult-to-categorize valid nonpersonal mail (newsletters). ZoneAlarm Internet Security 7 blocked absolutely no valid personal mail and just 3 percent of valid nonpersonal mail.