Avoiding spam...
26 May 2003, 05:09 PM
#31
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. All well and good but
1. I'm used to it.
2. It works - I used pegasus for a while, and have used other clients (Poco, etc.) but just don't get on with 'em. I like OXP.
3. It might have security holes, but none that I've ever seen. I've never had a virus, and never had any other security issues.
1. I'm used to it.
2. It works - I used pegasus for a while, and have used other clients (Poco, etc.) but just don't get on with 'em. I like OXP.
3. It might have security holes, but none that I've ever seen. I've never had a virus, and never had any other security issues.
11 June 2003, 01:05 PM
#32
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Just an update to this thread....
Having got on pretty well with SpamNet, I was pointed at SAProxy (SpamAssassin Proxy) which goes with the Bloomba email client on the same site.
I've downloaded it, had a trial for a couple of days, and I have to say I'm very impressed. So much so that I've now ditched SpamNet altogether in favour of SAProxy.
SAProxy basically sets up a local proxy POP service through which you access your email. It has several features which puts it above SpamNet (for me, anyway):
o It can check email languages - so by setting it to class any mails other than English ones as spam, I've instantly got rid of the particularly annoying Korean/Chinese/Japanese character-based spams.
o It uses a points system to grade spam, and adds headers to incoming emails, allowing me to set up rules to grade particular emails according to the SAProxy's estimate of the likelihood that they're spam. So, for example, anything with a header containing an X-Spam-Level: tag with 5 stars or more ('*****') I class as definite spam, anything with 2 or more stars as 'suspected' spam.
o It's faster than SpamNet.
o You can configure each separate email account to use or not use the mail proxy. So for accounts which I know haven't been compromised (and therefore don't get any spam) I can just let them run normally.
So far, in the past 2 days, it's had a 100% record, catching all spam as I'd expect, and with no false-positives. I'm impressed.
Having got on pretty well with SpamNet, I was pointed at SAProxy (SpamAssassin Proxy) which goes with the Bloomba email client on the same site.
I've downloaded it, had a trial for a couple of days, and I have to say I'm very impressed. So much so that I've now ditched SpamNet altogether in favour of SAProxy.
SAProxy basically sets up a local proxy POP service through which you access your email. It has several features which puts it above SpamNet (for me, anyway):
o It can check email languages - so by setting it to class any mails other than English ones as spam, I've instantly got rid of the particularly annoying Korean/Chinese/Japanese character-based spams.
o It uses a points system to grade spam, and adds headers to incoming emails, allowing me to set up rules to grade particular emails according to the SAProxy's estimate of the likelihood that they're spam. So, for example, anything with a header containing an X-Spam-Level: tag with 5 stars or more ('*****') I class as definite spam, anything with 2 or more stars as 'suspected' spam.
o It's faster than SpamNet.
o You can configure each separate email account to use or not use the mail proxy. So for accounts which I know haven't been compromised (and therefore don't get any spam) I can just let them run normally.
So far, in the past 2 days, it's had a 100% record, catching all spam as I'd expect, and with no false-positives. I'm impressed.
.
...
11 June 2003, 04:57 PM
#34
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Block sender is a total waste of time. Out of the 1,000-or-so spams I get per week, I should think that 975 of the sender addresses are distinct.
Keyword filters are okay, but now most spammers use 'v1agra', 's3x' etc., so it doesn't really work.
Do you use any anti-spam tools (SpamNet, SAProxy, etc), south-star? If not, I'd highly recommend them.
Keyword filters are okay, but now most spammers use 'v1agra', 's3x' etc., so it doesn't really work.
Do you use any anti-spam tools (SpamNet, SAProxy, etc), south-star? If not, I'd highly recommend them.
11 June 2003, 10:12 PM
#35
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Marko.....i agree about the block sender bit,pretty useless i find.As for the word filter it does work to an extent,it depends on what sort of spam you were getting.
An anti spam prog is my next step.
An anti spam prog is my next step.
12 June 2003, 08:56 AM
#37
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My pleasure. I hate spam, so anything I can do to help other people get rid of it is worth the time spent, IMO.
By the way, I mentioned it in another thread, but I put together this page to outline how my rules are set up, to help people work out a good way to do it. Obviously, this is for outlook, but the principal's the same for any email client.
By the way, I mentioned it in another thread, but I put together this page to outline how my rules are set up, to help people work out a good way to do it. Obviously, this is for outlook, but the principal's the same for any email client.
12 June 2003, 09:02 AM
#38
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Is the email address itself important in receiving spam. My hotmail account which I have had for around three years now has never received any spam. Not that I want to start!!!!! Well, probably a total of 10 spam emails not including the tripe that MSN sends. It has an underscore in the title.
12 June 2003, 09:11 AM
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hello,
I use mailwasher and find in reasonably effective. You don't have to download the spam or view the spam message content (images are automatically ignored even if you decide to preview the message). It takes only a few seconds to view the mail waiting on the server with mailwasher, and tick off everything you want to bounce. My ISP were talking about automatically bouncing any mail that came in without a valid return address, which I thought was a pretty good idea, but for some reason they don't seem to have taken it any further. Does anyone know of ISPs that are doing this?
I use mailwasher and find in reasonably effective. You don't have to download the spam or view the spam message content (images are automatically ignored even if you decide to preview the message). It takes only a few seconds to view the mail waiting on the server with mailwasher, and tick off everything you want to bounce. My ISP were talking about automatically bouncing any mail that came in without a valid return address, which I thought was a pretty good idea, but for some reason they don't seem to have taken it any further. Does anyone know of ISPs that are doing this?
12 June 2003, 09:14 AM
#40
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Guess you're just lucky. Having a couple of underscores will make it harder for a random name generator to stumble across your account. But quite often email addresses are harvested from BBSes etc, so you're doing well not to have been 'found' yet!
12 June 2003, 09:19 AM
#41
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ProperCharlie, if you try SpamNet or SAProxy, the filtering is done automatically, without any need for interation by you.
My ISP (Titan) tried that 'auto bounce' thing, but unfortunately because many of the big ISPs (BT, etc) haven't got their servers configured correctly, they ended up bouncing too many legit mails.
My ISP (Titan) tried that 'auto bounce' thing, but unfortunately because many of the big ISPs (BT, etc) haven't got their servers configured correctly, they ended up bouncing too many legit mails.
22 August 2003, 11:13 PM
#43
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Spamgourmet allows you to set up "disposable" e-mail addresses to give out when applying for things online, giving out your e-mail address etc, as these are ways that spammers get your address. I've used it when entering online competitions or signing up for newsletters where i don't (yet) trust the site. Read the FAQ on the site to see how it works.
(edited to add details)
[Edited by Father Jack Hackett - 8/23/2003 12:44:37 PM]
(edited to add details)
[Edited by Father Jack Hackett - 8/23/2003 12:44:37 PM]
26 October 2003, 02:24 PM
#44
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Have had SAproxy for a week now and have decided to purchase.
I'd say its doing a pretty good job,very easy to set up and i just direct all spam straight to my deleted items folder.
There are a few junk mails still getting through,i only have the standard settings so maybe it needs a bit of tinkering.
I'd say its doing a pretty good job,very easy to set up and i just direct all spam straight to my deleted items folder.
There are a few junk mails still getting through,i only have the standard settings so maybe it needs a bit of tinkering.
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