Free Spam Blockers You Can Download

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The internet is rife with spam to the extent that using email is losing its efficacy and people are losing confidence in it but there is also a growing concern over the growing incidences of computer virus through unsolicited mail. With the signing of the Can Spam bill by President Bush in December 2003, the first standard was set against bulk unsolicited email which are of commercial in nature. Approved and voted by the Senate by 97 to 0 this bill basically forbids senders of bulk unsolicited commercial emails by using dictionaries to generate the mailer and providing incorrect return addresses to hide their identities. Over and above this, these emails can not start with a subject line which deceives the recipient and must have some opt out option. The law bars senders from gathering addresses from sites and any violation is considered as a punitive criminal offence with imprisonment of up to one year.

A major point to ponder is that these days the there are various countries of origin for spam and they are larger in numbers. Because of their country of origin, these emails are difficult to fight. Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem. So what do you do about this? Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.

Number 1: Whatever you do, make sure that your email address is never there on the net. There are products called 'spam spiders' that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to. If you are one of those who wish to go deeper about the subject of 'spam spider' do a search with those words on the net - the results would leave you awe-struck. There is an interesting counter attack site called WebPoison.org which is an open source project which fights 'spambots' and 'spam spiders' effectively because it simply sends them false web pages containing rubbish email addresses.

Number 2: Take the help of an effective spam blocking software and there are several programs to get you started if you visit www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net. It is likely that you might want the professional series of this software but whatever you do, get the software as it could save you hours. The software is not foolproof, but they really do help although you will usually have to carry out some manual set up to block certain types of email.

Number 3: Take the approach of having many email addresses. Getting a free and new email address should not be a problem and each one can be used for varying communication needs and keep the other ones as back ups. Imagine giving your private mobile number to your friends and your business number to all others.

Number 4: One of the biggest problems with spam is the attachment which is an usual feature and these attachments could carry the viruses. But large companies use filters which sieve through spam and never allow them to reach you. Firewall vendors offer this type of services.

Number 5: Did you know that email service providers are now offering 'bulk mail' baskets? If your current vendor can not provide you with this service, change the vendor. Upon receipt of emails from strangers just put them in the bulk pile and then let them in to your circle. Any spam blocking software would also run with the same principles but there is nothing like having a couple of extra precautions - so it is worth looking into.
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