SPAM

Clarifications

Outlook (at least 2003) has a junk mail filter that Microsoft updates about once a month.

You just need to enable the filter and adjust the settings.

For your SBC account, log onto the Yahoo web mail porthole to your account, enable the SPAM filter. For at least the first month, check the SPAM folder at least once a day to train the filter.

I don't use Hotmail, but, check the web page and see if there is a SPAM or junk mail tool. All of the web mail accounts I have have SPAM filters.

Remember, the best defense against SPAM is to guard your email address. Your address gets onto SPAM lists when you sign up for many free services.

I use a couple of my web mail accounts specifically for times when I want something, but suspect that the site may place me on a SPAM list.

Chas

Over 25 years ago I had a real problem with magazines that I subscribed to selling my name and address to others. I began subscribing to them using different combinations of name and initial, initials only, different spelling etc. so I could track who was selling my info to who. I carried that over to my e-mail accounts too. I have a main account, that I use only for important contacts and others, like yahoo, g-mail, hot mail etc, to track where that spam is coming from. Comcast has a very good spam blocker, but it is only as good as the parameters that you set. Thw worst you can do is go to a porn site and leave an e-mail address, unless it's an enemy. MMMMM, that gives me an Idea. Most of the spam is routed through bots that have loaded themselves into unsuspecting target machines and the owners are unaware their units are being used to send out these spam emails.

The unfortunate fact is spam and other junk have made it really expensive to run mailbox service. The so-called "free" (advertiser supported) providers just can't do an adequate job any more. This goes for the mailbox service they throw in with the bargain "broadband" from the phone or cable company. You can try every filtering product out there and none of them can do anything about the real problem, the spam in your consumer-grade mailbox.

Quality email service providers block most of the junk before it ever gets into their reception queue, long before it would reach your mailbox. They use techniques that are not available to you, because they have to be done while the sender (probably a spammer) is still connected. They use public blocklists like zen.spamhaus.org. They firewall the big zombie farms so they can't even connect to the email port. They use services like Distributed Checksum Clearinghouse and Pyzor.

You don't have to settle for the crummy service you get from Hotmail or SBC. Use their bargain Internet connection, but buy your mailbox service from some other company. Consider buying professional quality email service as part of a professional grade Web hosting account. Sign up for web hosting but just use the email that comes with it, just talk to the company first and make sure serious (expensive) spam defense is part of what they're offering. (You can get your own domain that way.) Consider the "Premium" account at Mail.com. Consider boutiques like Mailshell.com. Expect to pay $3-$10 per month. Serious tools aren't cheap, they're an investment in productivity.

hotmail have an option under junk mail to allow only mail from people in your address book. thats what I do so I don't get any spam at all, the problem is that anyone new who is not in your address list wont be able to email you :)