We don't have to tell you that unsolicited commercial email, or spam, is completely out of control. Most of us receive hundreds of messages a day pimping porn, Nigerian largesse, get-rich-quick schemes, and the enlargement of body parts — it's killing productivity all over the country. Nucleus Research reported in June that spam cost U.S. enterprises an average of $1,934 per employee in lost productivity over the past 10 months, versus $874 per employee for the same period in 2003.
Looking for a solution? Here are some of the hottest spam filters currently available, each of which brings to the table a different collection of tools for attacking and eliminating unwanted email.
Mailshell
The fundamental challenge in stopping spam is that the spammers themselves are highly motivated and pretty darn clever. As fast as the techheads find ways to block the stuff, spam authors find ways to sneak their stuff through. Thus, the most effective filters appear to be those that employ a range of blocking techniques.
Take for instance Mailshell, which at $29.99 per user throws a whole panoply of checks at each incoming message. The bulk check: Was this message sent as part of a bulk mailing? The repute check: Do most people want this message? Content check: Would most people find the content offensive? The "spam tricks" check: Is the message formatted or sent in a manner typically intended to bypass anti-spam rules or to be economical for spammers?
Moreover, Mailshell recognizes spam as a moving target and is constantly adjusting its algorithms accordingly. The system continuously collects and analyzes millions of new spam and legitimate messages, and also relies on user feedback to fine-tune the rules and databases.
Mailshell offers integration with both Outlook and Outlook Express via mail client-specific editions, although the OE version consistently crashed our mail client each time we attempted to shut Outlook Express down. Mailshell also offers a universal POP support edition that works with most other desktop email applications as well, including Netscape and Eudora.
