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In 1998, nearly 10% of
all email traffic on the internet was SPAM. By 2003 that number had
climbed to 50%, and the problem had gotten so bad that Congress passed
the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act)
The specific
requirements and penalties of that law, (which took effect in 2004) have
done little to stem the tide of junk email we all receive. Today, in
2005, the percentage of unsolicited email is at an all time high of 87%!
How can we even stand to
check our email? Well I can�t. That�s why I pay $15 a month to protect
my entire domain name from spam with Securence, (and I'd be happy to
speak with you about it, since I'm a reseller). Securence is a great
solution for a business, but just too expensive for a home user. How
then can you protect yourself economically?
First, there are
filtering options in Outlook and Outlook Express, and I encourage you to
investigate them further. More details on this are in my article from
May of 2000 called �Managing your E-mail II� here
http://pdxtc.com/200005-managingemail2.htm
After trying about 6
other programs, I found a free version of some software that I used for
a long time called Mailwasher. This program was easily trained and
configured to learn all of my preferences, and for free, there�s nothing
better. However, you still basically have to check mail twice, once in
a clunky web-interface to sift through all the blocked SPAM. I prefer to
just check my mail normally, not worrying about a missed message.
In 2003, a friend
recommended a service called Knowspam. That was a great solution that
blocked 100% of all SPAM through a �permission based� system. A
permission based system means that all new senders not on your list,
will get a �verification� email, asking them �Are you human?� Well, if
they are really human, then they take the simple instructed action, and
you�ll get their email, as well as all future mail from them, unless you
choose to block them later.
Many readers of my
column tried Knowspam, and I got dozens of positive comments. That
wasn�t enough for Knowspam though, because they still went out of
business.
Well the good news is
that there�s a replacement for Knowspam. It�s called Spam Arrest, and
it�s wonderful. It costs as little as $2.29 a month, and it does everything that Knowspam used to do, and then
some. I�ve now set myself up with an affiliate account and arranged for
you try it for free for 30 days.
First, you easily upload
all of your contacts, and then follow their easy directions to change
your system mail settings, and anyone on your list or anyone you ever
send mail to is automatically approved.
The great news is that
this works for up to 5 email accounts, and even works for AOL mail! If
you want to see 100% of your spam get blocked, and not be embarrassed to
let your kids see your inbox, then visit
http://www.pdxtc.com/spamarrest and sign up for your free 30 day
trial. |
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