What Spam Blocker is Best For You?

With the number of spam filtering solutions increasing each week it's getting tougher for consumers to make informed choices in their purchases.
There are 3 basic types of spam blocker:
1. Integrated
2. Standalone
3. Online

We'll look at each type of spam filter and at the end you should be able to decide what spam filter is right for you.
Integrated spam filters
This type of spam filtering software is the most common. Once installed it sits "on top" of your existing email software and installs a new set of buttons into your email software. In future when you collect
email you'll see options for marking email as Spam, marking the email as Not Spam, Bounce the email back to sender, etc. The description and position of these buttons varies from one product to the next but their purpose remains the same.


Most integrated spam filters automatically place suspected junk email into a separate folder on your PC for you to review or
delete later on.


The newer integrated spam filters are also "intelligent". They can basically learn the difference between what is
spam and what is not and delete the junk email you don't want.


The most popular integrated spam filters are:

iHate Spam
Spambully
Spam Inspector
Integrated spam filters are most popular amongst people who want a one click solution to collecting their personal email and filtering junk email at the same
time.
Advantages:
One click solution.
Disadvantages:
Software specific. Some work with Outlook and Outlook Express only.
Standalone spam filters
These are less common than their integarted counterparts but that doesn't make them any less useful. A standalone spam filter is basically a separate piece of software installed on your PC that you use to check your email for spam.
Standalone filters have the big advantage of being able to preview your email on the mail server before it's downloaded to your PC. This one single feature has the
huge benefit of allowing you to just download the email that you want as opposed to downloading all of your email, including the spam, and then sorting through it.
Using a standalone spam filter is a little more work simply because it's a separate piece of software that you have to run
before you open up your email software. Most standalone filters do allow you to configure them so that your standard email
application is opened once you've chosen what spam to filter. This suits some people and not others.
The most popular standalone spam filter is:
Mailwasher Pro
Advantages:
Doesn't rely on specific email applications to work properly.
Disadvantages:
Two step process. Load standalone filter and then your email application.
Online spam filters
There are really two types of online spam filters. One is for business use and one is for home use. A typical example of
a business type product is iHate Spam server edition where the software deletes junk email directly from the mail server before the end user even sees it. Large companies employ this type of technology.
Home users will be using Spam Arrest or similar. Spam Arrest offers an inventive solution to spam whereby any email sent to
the users account has a challenge request sent back to it which the sender must authenticate. The automatic junk email software used by spammers can't currently deal with this type of response.
Any failure to authenticate the challenge email results in the junk email being left to die in cyberspace. A user is authenticated with Spam Arrest only once for security just to make sure the software
doesn't become a nuisance.
The most popular online spam filter is:
Spam Arrest
Advantages:
Users are guaranteed to only receive the email that they want or requested.
Disadvantages:
Any techncial problems with the Spam Arrest server and you have no defense against spam.
Now you've seen what spam filtering options are available to you just ask yourself which one suits you most. If you're still not sure drop by www.spam-site.com and check out our product reviews - we have something for everyone.
About the author:
This article was provided courtesy of Spam-Site.com which reviews and tests spam blockers for the business and end user.

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Let The Email Wars Begin

Things just got a lot hotter in the hyper-competitive world
of online email providers.

In response to Google's announcement that their soon-to-be-
launched "Gmail" service will offer users 1 gigabyte of
email storage, Yahoo! announced an upgrade of their free
email service to allow users 100MB of free email storage
along with other enhancements.

Microsoft's Hotmail will surely also announce a free
upgrade in email storage space.

On the surface it might just appear like a simple case of
one-upmanship, but it actually represents major forces
digging in online and preparing to do battle.

It appears Yahoo! simply wanted to take the issue of email
storage space off the table as a consideration for users as
to which email service to choose.

Google enjoyed considerable media and public attention over
the past few weeks with the media marveling at how Google
intended to give hundreds of megabytes more space to its
users than Yahoo! or Hotmail.

With this move, Yahoo! made storage a "non-issue," but the
real war has only just begun.

Email ranks as the number one most popular online activity
according to virtually any survey you care to read.

When people go online, they spend the single biggest chunk
of their time sending, receiving, and reading email.

Online email providers understand that eyeballs on a page
looking at advertising and responding to offers is what
makes them money.

By increasing loyalty among email users in order to
repeatedly draw them back to the same website (often
several times a day), email service providers like Yahoo!,
Hotmail and Google can keep people looking at revenue
generating ads.

Despite the best efforts of government regulators, private
organizations, software filters, ISP's and others, over
half of all email sent online rates as unsolicited
commercial email (SPAM).

Besides storage space, Google, Yahoo! and Hotmail will
start claiming that their spam filters rate better than the
rest.

These online powerhouses hope to attract users with the
promise of cutting down and even eliminating the avalanche
of get-rich-quick, pornography, and ink-jet cartridge
offers (among others) that bombard virtually anyone with an
email account more than 15 minutes old.

This will, however, lead to another problem that many of
them won't talk about, which involves filtering legitimate
email as spam.

Unfortunately, the sword cuts both ways on this issue.

So where does it all end? Never! Hotmail will enter the
fray with expanded storage capacity as well as the promise
of less spam and a more "friendly" interface to make your
email life even easier.

Yahoo! and Hotmail will most likely copy Google and start
serving context sensitive advertising based on the content
of each email message as it get viewed.

Privacy advocates will weigh in to claim that all of the
filtering and serving of ads based on an email message's
content violates our rights to privacy and heralds the
arrival of "Big Brother."

But all this jockeying for position and enticing users from
one email service to another actually represents a great
boon for the average Internet user.

It will force three of the Web's biggest players to wake up
and improve their services after 2 or 3 years of "business
as usual" and we can all expect a few valuable innovations
to result.


About the author:
Jim Edwards, a.k.a. TheNetReporter.com, is a syndicated newspaper
columnist, nationally recognized speaker, author, and web developer.
Owner of nine (9) successful e-businesses as well as a professional
consulting firm, Jim's writing comes straight off the front lines
of the Internet and e-commerce.

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
dime on advertising! ==>www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
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The Hidden Dangers of HTML Email

As a veteran Internet user, I can honestly say I remember a time when HTML email was not possible. Back then RTF wasn't available either and for that matter, email programs did not even wrap lines for you or allow file attachments.

Today however, I receive a steady and annoying stream of email in all shapes, colors and sizes. Almost all promotional advertisements and many newsletters come in Html format.

Now, Spam is annoying, Spam in droves even more so, but Spam with "twirlygigs" is intolerable -- and dangerous. HTML is for websites. I visit them all the time and enjoy their various amusements. Email however, is a tool. A communications method used for getting work done. I get plenty of regular email, hundreds of pieces a day usually, due to the support, consulting and writing services I provide. If all of those emails are in HTML format then I'm stuck looking at potentially hundreds of web pages and thousands of graphics.

HTML email takes extra time to download, and for me it takes extra time to read. You see I don't trust HTML email. I've coded many websites in my day and I know that scripts can be hidden in the pages. Now when you couple that fact with the daily news about viruses and worms being sent, well that's just downright scary, so I do not allow my email program to automatically open HTML formatted email. Now I rarely use Outlook and Express (sorry Microsoft but they feel just a bit too dangerous to me now days) however I'd rather be safe than sorry no matter which email program I use. So, I have my email software configured to show all HTML messages as attachments.

Having the email converted to an attachment allows me to immediately see if there are any other files included with the message. And let me tell you, this has saved my butt time after time! I've lost count of how many times I've gotten email with the HTML attached, and malicious code, worms and viruses attached right next to it. If my email program was configured to "conveniently" display HTML as a web page, then a lot of those attached files would have opened on their own and done who knows what to my system.

So, if you receive a lot of email yourself, be careful what you allow to come in. If you run a newsletter or Email update service of any kind, please be courteous and at least ASK before sending HTML formatted email. And when you do have permission to send HTML email, don't include heavy graphics, scripts or other file attachments.

Text may not be as glamorous, but it's a heck of a lot safer and much easier for your readers to glance through.


About the author:
(c) 2002 Kathy Burns.

Want a Fully Operational Web Site Business in Less than 15 Minutes? Check Out The TurnKey Niche Profit Sites! www.GuruGazette.com/TurnKey-Profits/

This article is provided courtesy of The Guru Gazette Niche Marketing Blog - www.GuruGazette.com- You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
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Email Marketing: Affordable Internet Marketing Technique

Email marketing is labeled as a killer method when it comes to effective low-cost Internet marketing endeavors. This is because it is the most widely-used and has the best reputation in bringing targeted traffic to websites. It is used to stay in touch with your customers or prospective customers, send out invitations, or make special offers.

It's as easy as writing an e-mail that may be in a form of a newsletter or a plain announcement, and sending that to as many targeted recipients as possible. However, there's an ideal way of going about it. Email marketing is not just about writing any email that you will be sending to anybody. To clarify that, here are some simple tips in doing email marketing the best way possible.

1. Join the "Can Spam" campaign.

Email marketing is not at any rate tantamount to spamming. You are not supposed to send information that your email list will not have any valuable use for.

2. Make your email list open it.

Your email might get lost together with the hundreds of emails that inbox owners are confronted with everyday. Improve your subject line by using extra white space creatively, adding text symbols, starting each word with a capital letter, asking compelling questions, not making any unbelievable claims, and not using the word FREE.

3. Keep it real.

Not including any too good to be true statements is not only applicable to your subject line. Your email content must never embody any promise your business can't keep. Make your offer genuinely of value to your recipients.

4. Don't go too low.

If you inform your customers regarding discounts, minimal discounts are not that effective compared with substantial discounts. But never offer discounts that are lower than your profit. It will defeat the purpose of this email marketing effort.

5. Make it eventful.

It's not about contradicting the advice that you should keep an email short and sweet. This tip is on including seminars, conferences and other events in your email. Businesses that require training benefit much from this method. With these RSVP-requiring emails, repetition is important. Just make sure that an ample interval is considered before sending out a reminder email.

6. Post news.

Sending newsletters and postcards provides useful information for your subscribers. These are the best forms of reaching out to your customers or prospects. You should keep the information short, simple and direct to the point for this feat to be effective.

With these simple ways of going about your email marketing endeavor, your business will prosper in no time.
About the author:
Little Known Minnesota Man Making Six Figures Per Year Online, From the Comfort of Home, Reveals His Top Internet Money-Makers. www.push-button-online-income.com
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Six Tips to Get Rid of Spam Email

1. Ignore Spam Email

Do not open an unsolicited email. Spammers are just playing a numbers game. They simply send out like a million emails and hope that at least a third of them stick.

Spammers try to gather as many email addresses as they can. They don’t even know if any of the addresses are active. It is when you answer them that they know whether or not it is an active account that is checked often.

2. Do NOT Click On the Unsubscribe Links

It is natural for you to want to click on the link at the bottom of the email that promises that you can be taken off of their email list, but do not think for a second that this is what happens.

When you click on the “click here if you wish to stop receiving these emails” link, the spammers simply change the name that sends it to you. All you have proven is that you are indeed opening and reading emails.

3. Use Various Email Addresses

Since it is unavoidable to receive spam, set up a “dummy” email address. You would use this address when you register for newsletters, order products, enter contests, and register your new software.

You would like to avoid using you primary email address, or the email address that you receive from your ISP for things like that. This is the email that you would give your contacts or “safe people”.

4. Don’t Post Your Address

If you have a web site, avoid posting your email address in your “contact me” section.
Since spammers scan through web sites and look for the @ symbol, write your email address with the word “at” instead.

That makes it a bit more difficult for spammers to find your email address because they use special software that searches for the symbol, and not just the words.

5. Do Not Purchase from Spam

The absolute worst thing that you could do is buy something from spam. Just imagine how perfect the world would be if everyone gathered together to refuse to buy things that were offered in an unsolicited email. Spammers would be out of business the moment that they realized that they weren’t getting anywhere.

6. Beware of Free Trial Software

For every legitimate download, there are plenty that are designed to get your personal information, which will eventually lead you to more spam. This is particularly popular from free trial software as well as free software.

Spammers use this method in a similar manner as they would use a gift promotion and contest sign in. That is one of the most beneficial ways for spammers to get you on their hook.

About the author:
Visit Stop Spam Center for the latest news and information about how to block spam. www.stopspamcenter.info
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Do You Get More Spam Than Real Email?

The unsolicited junk or bulk email that you receive is known as Spam. Spam is a very serious problem the people have to deal with daily. Sometimes the junk emails exceed the regular email messages that we receive in our email account. Spam filter can be a solution for you to get freedom from Spam mails. There are different types of software to keep out the Spam emails from your inbox. Spam filters can monitor the emails that come in your inbox and prevent any Spam mail from entering in to your inbox.

The Spam email that you receive is due to the inappropriate usage of mailing list. The mailing list consists of email ids of different people and all of them can be flooded with bulk or junk emails. Many companies send out the Spam email massages to a large number of people who do not ask for such massages. Spamming is considered to be very bad netiquette as it amounts in violating a person’s privacy. Netiquette demand that no email id can be used without the user’s permission.

Many Spam filters are designed to help people who are constantly bombarded with junk or bulk mails. Spam filters make use of filtering technology to filter the contents of the incoming emails. Spam filters can effectively help a person by sorting out these types of incoming emails.

Different types of Spam filters can be helpful for controlling spam. Content based Spam filter is one type that can be used by you. The filter scans the content of the email, and searches for tell tale signs for Spam in the message. Content based Spam filters have however not been very effective in controlling the bulk or the junk messages. The main reason for this being that the spammers had devised ways and means by which they can communicate their message despite the presence of such filters.

Spam filters that are prepared these days are designed to give advanced protection against unsolicited emails and spammers. Bayesian filter technology is another effective way of controlling these mails. Bayesian technology is not like other filtering methods that search for Spam identifying words in the header and the subject line. The Bayesian filter uses the entire perspective of an email when it looks for characters or words for identifying a Spam. Another feature of Bayesian Spam filter is that the more it analyzes the incoming mails, the more it learns to identify Spam mails.

Spam mails can sometimes bombard you in such a manner that you may end up receiving more Spam than the regular emails. Most email service providers have Spam filter software enabled in their sites. All you need to do is select the options of setting the Spam filter for your emails according to your liking. You can mark the sites from which you want to receive or not receive mails in your inbox. Setting the options for blocking the bulk or the junk mails is entirely your prerogative.
About the author:
Author – MattGarrett www.free-spam-blockers.com
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5 Zero Cost Solutions to Spam

Spam is a daily nuisance for all of us. It doesn't matter whether you're employed or unemployed. It doesn't matter if you're a CEO of a multinational or if you're a work at home parent - spam affects us all.
There are dozens of porgams available for fighting spam. The major problem is that most of these programs cost money.
What I'm going to do is show you 5 different ways of combating spam - all free.
1. Don't give out your personal email address.
This is stating the obvious but it's the first big mistake people make. DO NOT use your personal email address for
sign up forms, competitions, surveys or any other nonsense that may result in you being spammed. It's much easier to prevent spam, by never giving out your personal email address, than it is to cure the problem once you're on 100's of junk email lists.
2. Use a free email account
Set yourself up with a Hotmail, Yahoo or any other free email account and use it as a spam holder account i.e. use it on all those popups or sign up forms that you *suspect* may try to spam you. You can then periodically check your free email account for both legitimate and spam email and
delete the rubbish you don't want. This single step can save you countless spam related headaches.
3. Use a disposable email address
You could also try a disposable e-mail address from www.spamgourmet.com. This is a brilliant idea. Once you've registered your forwarding email address (your personal
email address) with them you can then create
self-destructing email addresses that stop working after receiving a specific number of emails.
4. Use a free spam filter.
Unfortunately even when you follow all the correct steps you can still wind up getting junk email. There's only solution at that point - install a spam filter on your PC.
The best free spam filter I've come across so far is Mailwasher. An excellent
program that won't cost you a penny.
5. Newsgroups and forums
Spammers love newsgroups and forums. They especially love the way people post their personal email addresses there. It doesn't matter if it's a paid, private or free forum spammers have their harvester programs hunting for email addresses every minute of every day. If you have to post
your email address then use the following format:

username AT domain.com. If that doesn't make sense then what I mean is instead of posting as test@spam-site.com you'd
post as test AT spam-site.com.
Spammers can harvest 35,000 email addresses per hour from newsgroups and forums - don't let your email address become one of those.
There you have 5 simple, free solutions to drastically reduce the amount of spam you receive every single day. If you want to learn more about fighting spam then
drop by spam-site.com.
About the author:
Need a spam blocker? Check out Spam-Site.com for spam filter reviews and spam related information.
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