|
|
CD Ripper Software
What it is CD ripper?
CD ripper software opens up a whole new world of opportunities in how you listen to music. With CD ripper software, you can take audio CD tracks and place them into audio files on your computer. These audio tracks can be...
Email Overload
Email overload is such a big problem that I believe your Site Pro News subscribers would love to read several practical tips for coping. If you wish to publish this article in Site Pro News, please feel free to include it entirely or edit as you...
How To Choose Accounting Software
Choosing accounting software can be confusing. The fact is you
are looking for accounting software because accounting is a
complex matter that you'd like to simplify. Choosing the right
accounting software will help you simplify your finances,...
IHRSA renews gomembers’ Preferred Support Agreement
IHRSA renews gomembers’ Preferred Support Agreement [Herndon, VA] --- gomembers, Inc. (http://www.gomembers.com) announced today that International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA: http://www.ihrsa.org) has elected to renew their...
WHAT IS ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE AND WHY DO I NEED IT?
Anti virus software is important for your computer's (and your) wellbeing and the Internet can help out with some free utilities. How long have you been on the Internet? And you don't have any Antivirus software? That's certainly a big risk....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spam Filters & Blockers: The solution to unsolicited email?
Spam is a term that, for the vast majority of us, has a very negative connotation. How could it be different when the average Internet user gets over 50 pieces of junk email per day? Moreover, research indicates that by 2006 the average internet user can expect to receive at least 5,000 pieces of spam per year. That sure is a giant amount of spam!
None of us want to waste our time, our bandwidth and our hard drive space to receive spam and then delete it. Because our day-to-day lives are delayed, interrupted and significantly disturbed by this large number of unsolicited email, software manufacturers have developed a number of products especially designed to fight spam. These products might be called ‘spam filters’, ‘anti spam filters’, ‘e-mail filters’, ‘spam blockers’ and even ‘spam killers’. Regardless of the name, their purpose remains the same: to eliminate the spam in your inbox. We have not yet seen a spam filter that achieves 100% accuracy but the latest products launched into the market as well as the newest versions of existing products are proving to be more and more successful. In case you are wondering specifically what these products do and how they do it, you should know that a spam filter is a program that - web based, server based or installed locally - prevents spam email from being downloaded to your PC. The spam filter itself operates on the basis of rules, which means that the spam fighting program will examine your incoming email and match it against a set of pre-defined criteria. If the email does not match those rules, then it is either: a) Deleted, or b) Quarantined for Review. There are three basic types of traditional anti-spam software: 1) Plug-ins for email clients - These anti spam programs run on your computer and require all received spam to be downloaded before they start sorting it. 2) Standalone applications - These spam blockers also run on your computer and communicate with the email server multiple times each hour to check your POP mailbox for spam and delete it. They constantly run in the background, using up resources and bandwidth. 3) Server-based email spam filters - Many ISPs and email servers (Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.) have installed email filtering software that scans email for certain triggers, which may include certain phrases, formatting, and aggressive writing styles. A server based spam filter is designed to examine the email being sent to your Internet Service Provider or local area network and to filter it effectively before the email is delivered to you. When this works, it works effectively, however it is not perfect. Unfortunately, many unfair marketers have learned to fool spam filters while a lot of legitimate emails are blocked by them. Of the spam filters that are on the market at the moment the vast majority of them need to be installed to your hard drive. However, there is a move towards spam filters that do all the work online before the email ever gets to your computer. Most of today’s email applications come with a basic spam filter that allows you to block email from specific addresses. Some more complicated email software allows you to configure rules just for that software itself. This can get pretty complex pretty quickly! But people who suffer from tons of spam want a simple solution to their problem - not more headaches. On this note, one of the most popular PC-based spam solutions on the market today is Mailwasher Pro, which has a really nice feature that allows you to send a reply to the spammer that mimics a ‘mailer daemon’ error message; that is, when the spammer gets this message from you he assumes your
email address no longer exists. Simple but effective. Other well-known spam blockers are iHate Spam, McAfee Spamkiller, Spam Inspector 4.0, Spam Arrest, Qurb, Choicemail One, among others. iHate Spam is an easy-to-use and effective spam filtering solution for Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Incredimail and Hotmail users. McAfee Spamkiller has several innovative features such as protection against Dictionary Attacks (made up names) and foreign language spam, and also supports Outlook, Outlook Express and other popular email programs. Based on personal and global learning networks, Spam Inspector 4.0 adapts itself to your email automatically, filtering out the junk mail with an impressive accuracy. A particular type of spam filters are the so-called ‘Bayesian spam filters’. These are considered intelligent filters, because they are capable of comparing two sets of information and acting on the result. This differentiating feature of Bayesian filters is in direct opposition with the vast majority of other spam filters which use pre-built rules to decide which email is spam and which is not. Bayesian spam filters take one group of legitimate email and another group of spam, and then compare the values and data of each. They look for obvious repeating patterns to form an ‘opinion’ on something. In spam filter terms that ‘opinion’ becomes a rule. The definition of legitimate email that they create at the end of this comparison session is what they use going forward to scan your inbox for spam. Yes indeed, these spam filters are capable of learning. For example, if the filter blocked an email because it was perceived as junk, then the user marked it as a valid email, then they will not to block that type of email in the future. Thus, in time, this type of spam filter learns enough to block spam far more effectively. Some of the Bayesian spam filtering options available today include AOL´s Communicator product, Eudora, and Spambully. Although the latter is a fairly new product, it is already making waves in the sea of spam fighting software. Spambully provides an integrated solution for users of both Outlook and Outlook Express, and its creators claim it can remove 99% of spam.
Finally we would like to point out two free spam blockers that provide good filtering capabilities. They are prime examples of Bayesian spam filters and perfect examples that freeware does not necessarily mean low quality. The first of these products is called Popfile and the second one is called Spampal. Both are Windows only software products. In conclusion, although no spam blocking product can currently guarantee 100% accuracy, one thing is for sure: the more positive, affirmative action you take against spammers by deleting, blocking and/or blacklisting them, the less spam you will receive. Spam filters and spam blockers can really help us along the fierce battle against spam. The more action we take, the smaller the spam problem will become. Wouldn’t that make us happier?
If you want to learn more about this and other related topics, check out www.Anti-Spam-League.org. This organization offers free membership and the chance to access a wide amount of relevant information on privacy, spam, email abuse, Internet fraud, responsible marketing and several other topics.
About the Author
The purpose of the Anti SPAM League is to help consumers and business owners reduce the amount of SPAM they receive. In addition, our Anti SPAM organization believes that educating site owners in the area of SPAM prevention and ways to successfully and responsibly market their sites, is key in making a difference.
|
|
|
|
|
Tucows Downloads - Download Freeware and Shareware Software |
Download freeware, shareware, and demos. Maintains over 45000 software titles that are tested, rated, reviewed and ready to download. |
www.tucows.com |
  |
Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com |
Download shareware, freeware and Demo software for PC, Mac, Linux, and Handhelds categorized into categories, plus software reviews. |
www.download.com |
  |
Computer software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a ... Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Shareware.com - Search for shareware programs and free software ... |
Search for shareware programs from more than a dozen downloadable software directories. |
www.shareware.com |
  |
Jumbo: Free & Shareware MP3 files, Games, Screen Savers & Computer ... |
Source of free and shareware computer programs and utilities for PC and Mac. Evaluate software and read product reviews. Download games and screen savers. |
www.jumbo.com |
  |
Computer Software in the Yahoo! Directory |
Browse categories featuring sites devoted to computer software, including shareware and freeware download sites, operating systems, desktop customization, ... |
dir.yahoo.com |
  |
IEEE Software |
IEEE Computer Society's magazine covering all aspects of software, including software engineering. |
www.computer.org |
  |
Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software |
ZDNet's Software Directory is the Web's largest library of software downloads. Covering software for Windows, Mac, and Mobile systems, ZDNet's Software ... |
downloads.zdnet.com |
  |
FSF - The Free Software Foundation |
Free software is a matter of liberty not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech". |
www.fsf.org |
  |
Apple - Software |
Software products for your digital life. ... The perfect addition for professional review. QuickTime Broadcaster. Encoding software for live events. ... |
www.apple.com |
  |
Open Directory - Computers: Software |
In Partnership with AOL Search. about dmoz | report abuse/spam | help. the entire directory, only in Computers/Software. Top: Computers: Software (38471) ... |
dmoz.org |
  |
freshmeat.net: Welcome to freshmeat.net |
About: The Web browser is probably the most frequently used software today, ... Web professionals can use the software for functional testing and regression ... |
freshmeat.net |
  |
Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
Listing of the GNU software packages. |
www.gnu.org |
  |
Sun Software |
Get enterprise-class software--Solaris 10 OS, the Java Enterprise System, ... Sun Java StorageTek Software reduces cost and complexity with a single, ... |
www.sun.com |
  |
Internet Real Estate.com -- owns and operates a portfolio of the ... |
SOFTWARE.COM · SWEEPSTAKES.COM · PHONE.COM PODCAST.COM ... Software.com | Sweepstakes.com | Phone.com | Podcast.com | Shop.com | Safety.com ... |
www.internetrealestate.com |
  |
Joel on Software |
A weblog by Joel Spolsky, a programmer working in New York City, about software and software companies. |
www.joelonsoftware.com |
  |
Amazon.com Software: Computer & video games, business, accounting ... |
Online shopping for computer & video games, business & office productivity software, software from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe & more; accounting, antivirus, ... |
www.amazon.com |
  |
IBM Software - Home Page |
IBM home page for all of its software products, including Lotus and Tivoli, with keyword search, category browse and AZ product names. |
www.ibm.com |
  |
Opera web browser: Homepage |
Copyright © 2006 Opera Software ASA. All rights reserved. Skip navigation. Opera Software ... Copyright Opera Software ASA . All rights reserved. ... |
www.opera.com |
  |
Google Directory - Computers > Software |
Search only in Software Search the Web ... Software Categorized by Letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ... |
www.google.com |
  |
|