My Internet Service & Online Email Server: 'SBC Yahoo DSL' provides an anti-spam feature called SPAM Guard+ which automatically detects suspected SPAM and routes it to the Bulk Email folder, and also learns (over time) what you consider to be Spam (or not), and filters future email from that sender to the appropriate folder. OK, this all seems to be working 97% of the time, but because 3% of the time, legitimate incoming email gets automatically misrouted to my bulk email folder, I end up having to spend 5-10 minutes every day having to review all bulk email entries (often up to 100) to make sure a legitimate email didn't accidentally arrive here. and If I forget to check the bulk email folder daily, it can (over a few days) contain 100, 200, 400, 500+ entries. In addition to this, there's always new SPAM (missed by the SPAM Guard program) arriving daily in my email server IN-BOX, which means having to review them individually, tagging SPAM entries. All this can sometimes take up 5-10 minutes a day. Curious "HOW MUCH time daily others here are having to spend reviewing your SPAM (Bulk Email) folder for "legitimate email" that gets misrouted there, as well as time spent tagging (deleting) SPAM which arrives in your INBOX. Thanks. Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 09-05-2005).]

Scott. When I get to receiving loads of junk mail I make another email address which keeps me clear for possibly 6 + months.

We went on AOL in May 05 and so far I do not receive any junk mail, but that just may be the time factory and the fact of having to have a new email address,only time will tell after 6 months +.

In the 5+ years I've had a mail address I have very rarely got any spam at all, maybe 5-10 a year! I don't know why, but this is true for all the different e-mail systems I've used, so it seems I'm just a lucky bastard .

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Robert.

Scott,

I no longer get spam. Haven't had any since my ISP went to a new system that includes a wonderful anti-spamming and anti-virus program that keeps the trash out of my mailbox.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

My ISP also has this BUT just as Scott has said, although my ISP introduces a "[SPAM]" note to incoming "known" spam, there have been times when, just by chance, I have seen that a genuine mail from a known poster has received this note. I therefore have to inspect each mail which is headed "[SPAM]"
In other words, I STILL have to look at the spam
I don't think there is a way round this.
P.S.
I love this word SPAM It always conjures up for me the vision of Eric Idle, John Cleese, Spike Milligan. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

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Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info



[This message has been edited by eddiefromrotherham (edited 09-05-2005).]

I don't doubt you, but without filters, I don't know how it is possible to have a valid address and only receive 5-10 a year. That's amazing.


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Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Scotty

I use Mailwasher, it's free. I see all the email that comes in and I only accept the ones I want. The other ones I mark for deletion which are spam, are remembered within the program as spam and I when come in again they're marked as spam. It works great for me.

Peter

Hi Peter, in addition to SPAM Guard+ (included with my online email server), I too have MailWasher, but as Eddie also concured above, this still REQUIRES having to continously check the SPAM folder for 'legitimate email' that may have automatically arrived there by mistake.

Because up to 100 emails a day get automataically routed to my SPAM email folder, this means having to go thru all the emails there to confirm that they all are indeed SPAM.

Occasionally, I still get people (including new SZ member friends) who had emailed me and wondered why I didn't reply. I later discovered that their email had been automatically re-routed to my SPAM folder by mistake, because I hadn't checked my SPAM folder contents carefully/throughly enough to catch & tag it as legitimate.

I'm curious how (if possible) Gary, Robert, and others are able to avoid having to time consumingly monitor their SPAM folder entries to prevent legitimate email from getting deleted by mistake. Anyone else experiencing this? More feedback appreicated. - Scott

I have asked this same question on other forums, Scott. I've yet to have anyone come up with a reply that solves it. My take on it was that email is becoming much less useful due to spam. Of course, if you are buddies with someone that's one thing but what about emails from others?

A solution for web visitor emails is to use a form. I just checked your site. I don't know how you're doing your email thing. You are using frames, I guess the code is hidden. However, maybe the spam robots can still pick up your email address from your page? It does plainly show it with mouseover. Although, I would assume it is truly hidden. I dunno.

Other thing is to maybe use a form for messages from your website. The formmail script might be more secure from spambots.

There are also email scrambling scripts (which I use). I dunno what method is more secure.

However, even the above might be moot if you have had your address awhile. It's already all over the internet. But, you could change your email. Just one letter change, it's "good as new."

Again, I have asked people for ways to solve it and nobody yet has been able to tell me. Sure, you can reduce spam to a trickle but missing legit emails is unacceptable. So, if it's really important, you have to call.


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Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Bill, glad to hear that we're on the SAME page & in agreement about the ongoing hassle of daily bulk email folder checking. Unfortunately, even the elaborate anti-spam programs won't save you from needing to check your bulk email folder daily for that 'one' piece of legitimate email which might have gotten routed there by mistake by the anti spam software program. - Scott

Eric Idle and John Cleese were part of Monty Python's Flying Circus...

Yeah, Scottyee, it's always a problem with those SPAMs but you've nailed it - anti-spam-systems don't really spare you time and money (okay, most are for free but this service from the ISP sometimes costs extra).

I'm getting up to 30 SPAMs a day but every time I'm searching through them I only spend 5-10 seconds for it. I'm only looking for the send address and if it's an unknown one then moving it as one block into the wastebasket. I would need the same time (or sometimes more) if I would use an extra system to do this work for me - especially if I have to control the system of correct working.

In many cases we don't really need new technologies!!!

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Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

You got it , Sheriff What a great series that was.
cheers
Eddie



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Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

Hi Scott,

It depends on how you receive your email from your POP3 service. If you use OutLook or OutLook express there are programs that will check your address book and allow only email from people that are already in your address book. That method works 100% of the time assuming you don't want emails from anyone other that those you already know.

There are several being advertised at the top of this page as I'm writing this but reguardless SPAM has basically ruined email just as worms and viruses have ruined the internet by making people turn off JAVA, and VBScript.

I use Spamihator and it has about 20 different filters I can add in. Still it seemed to work better when I first loaded it than it does now. I'm still looking for a better one.



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Heather- Leesburg, FL PR54

[This message has been edited by shcox (edited 09-12-2005).]