Anti Spam - SpamUnit

It’s extremely difficult to eliminate spam entirely, but to get rid of spam is always a noble goal. Following a few spam prevention tips, you can get spam down to a manageable level.

The first key to avoiding spam is choosing your email provider. Most large-scale email providers use large server solutions; spam blocking features are in-built to most of these software packages and are updated with lists either from free sources or from professional suppliers. Most large ISPs have enterprise-scale spam protection solutions, so any large, reputable ISP can usually provide an effective email solution. Of course, some are better than others, so shop around in your local area. Alternatively, choose a webmail provider with good spam protection levels. Gmail has in-built anti-spam software, as well as anti-phishing routines; Hotmail, Yahoo email and others also have their own systems. However, with webmail it can be difficult or even impossible to configure your own antispam software and/or spam antivirus software, particularly if they don’t let you configure an external email client to access their service.

If you are able to use your own program to access your email, choosing an e-mail client is a very important and worthy step. Things to consider:

• Does your email software carry out a spam check when receiving messages? This is a very basic function that most mainstream email software clients carry out at least on a basic level. Those that do not often support spam blocker programs or plug-ins; even those that do offer this support often allow external checks.
• Have you tried spam prevention software that works alongside your email client? Spam blockers often work in conjunction with your email client to stop spam. There are several on the market, from freeware up to highly-priced professional solutions, so look for the package that is ideal for your needs.

There are other important considerations:

• Does your ISP block well-known spam IPs and domains? The Spamhaus spam list is a commonly-used spam blacklist for server administrators and ISPs. Ensure that your ISP uses a list similar to this one; that’ll stop a great deal of the organised spam. If they don’t, change ISP!
• Keep your email address hidden except when necessary. If you need to post it publically, try to “mask” it by writing it as “name at domain dot com” instead of “name@domain.com”; this makes it harder for spam robots to pick up on it.
• Always use antivirus software. While having virii on your computer is unlikely to cause much more spam to come to you, some email viruses cause your computer to send out large volumes of spam mail to other PCs. This, of course, must be avoided!

For the home user, regularly updating your email client’s spam blocker, or filing spam correctly in your webmail, is helpful and will save a lot of trouble in the long run. For small businesses or large enterprises, however, sometimes more drastic measures are called for.

• You can install your own serverside spam blocking software. While some consumer-targetted is ideal for client-side (i.e. user side) machines, sometimes a server side utility is needed. If you run your own email server, ensure that it is always loaded with the latest Spamhaus lists.
• Hardware solutions also exist. Barracuda Spam Firewall is just one type of antispam hardware; regularly updated with lists of IPs and addresses, it acts as a shield against spam and viruses. This is a powerful solution for larger organisations and is often used on networks with several machines.

Finally, you can find a silver lining even when you receive spam.

• If you use webmail, always use the Report Spam function if spam comes into your inbox. This allows the webmail administrators the chance to discover more about where spam originates from, how it works, and how it’s evading their filters. This allows them to upgrade and to help keep your inbox spam-free.
• Similarly, do the same with phishing attempts. Some banks and other institutions also allow you to report phishing to them; this can help in law enforcement, which can cut down on fraud and phishing spam, so it’s worth taking the time to do this in the hope that it’ll alleviate the problem in future.
• Maintain a blocked senders list if your email client supports it. Always add spammers to your block list upon receipt of email, and consider adding entire domains, too, if the spam seems to originate from a particular web address.

There are very few 100% proof spam solutions available, but a combination of common sense, some know-how, and the right software can help you get rid of spam to an acceptable degree. Remember, a lot of spam is illegal, and you have the right to control what you receive in your inbox, so always crack down hard on spam. Spam may be a fact of internet life, but it doesn’t have to be a fact of your internet life.