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Anti Spam software
mookaloid - 22/12/06 at 09:56 AM

I am getting rid of Norton Internet security on my laptop as it is a pain in the A**e

I will replace the antivirus with Kaspersky I think but does anyone have any recommendations for antispam software?

TIA

Cheers

Mark

UncleFista - 22/12/06 at 10:52 AM

Kiernet, K9 gets my vote.

joneh - 22/12/06 at 10:52 AM

I used spam fighter for a bit - till I realised the free version adds a footer to all your emails explaing that if I paid for spam fighter the message wouldn't appear on my outgoing emails!

Humbug - 22/12/06 at 10:55 AM

I found a number on Download.com (assuming you want locost, i.e. free!)

http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0-1-0.html?qt=anti-spam&author=&titlename=&desc=&dlcount=&daysback=&swlink=&gfilety pe=&os=128&li=49&dlsize=&ca=2001

Depending on what email client you have, it may already have some anti-spam features

britishtrident - 22/12/06 at 11:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
Kiernet, K9 gets my vote.



K9 is by far the best Bayesian spam filter -- it also can use internet blacklist such as Spamhaus and local white & black lists.
It sets itself up on MS Outlook/Outlook Express. For Thunderbird it needs thesettings altered by hand.

However Thunderbird already comes with decent Bayesian filltering built in and in the 2beta version I am using white listing and black listing built in.


If you want filtering only based on public balck lists try Spampal.

ab54666 - 22/12/06 at 11:16 AM

I would just use Thunderbird.

At first you have to train it (mark every email either spam or not spam) but after about a month it really works, only 2 emails in the last 9 months have got through, whereas it stopped about 700.

Also i use NILDRAM as my isp - they have their own spam filter as well which you can set the level off.

Of course the old addage of having more than one email addy helps.

I've got my Nildram one, plus a couple of googlemail one's - I use the googlemail one's on line, then if you start getting loads of spam bin it and get another.....

britishtrident - 22/12/06 at 11:32 AM

Spammers are starting to get very clever with methods getting through Bayesian spam filters eventually we may reach the point where Bayesian fillters no longer work.

[Edited on 22/12/06 by britishtrident]

the_fbi - 22/12/06 at 01:39 PM

I guess ideally you'd go for a service from somebody like MessageLabs, ( http://www.messagelabs.com ) but thats going to cost money.

If you can setup your own dedicated PC for filtering then do so and use MailCleaner ( http://www.mailcleaner.org/doku.php )which is free, based on Debian Linux and uses SpamAssassin along with DCC, Pyzor, Razor, FuzzyOCR, RBL's etc. It also looks after your email Anti-Virus needs. Its free, and very very good. If your a PC geek you'll love it.

Failing that, use SpamAware ( http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml )from Jam Software. Its free, uses the SpamAssassin engine, is configurable as much as the "proper" Linux SpamAssassin is (check out C: Program Files/JAM Software/SpamAware/rules) and trainable. I don't believe anything free could do a better job.

You'll need to read the SA manual if you want to start tweaking the rulesets ( http://spamassassin.apache.org/full/3.1.x/doc/Mail_SpamAssassin_Conf.html )

[Edited on 22/12/06 by the_fbi]

britishtrident - 22/12/06 at 02:17 PM

Most of the better ISPs now pass the mail through SpamAssassin anyway so Spamassain based local filltering usually dosen't catch much.

How much spam arrives in your depends a lot on your ISP some like Zen are very good at catching spam before it gets to you.

[Edited on 22/12/06 by britishtrident]

RichardK - 22/12/06 at 08:03 PM

I am finding alot more spammers are embedding there messages into images so the spam detection software needs to ocr as well, our isp at work is working fast to add ocr onto all of the spam filters and you can certainly tell the ones that don't have it and the ones that do.

Regards

Rich

britishtrident - 23/12/06 at 10:18 AM

The annoying recent trend is for "respectable" companies to spam. This week I took myself off Machine Marts mailing list because they were abusing my email address with several emails per week, and how Vans United got my wife email address I will never know but now they are filtered straight to junk.

[Edited on 23/12/06 by britishtrident]