Spam is here to stay. And whether you like it or not, you have to face spam squarely and do your share in mitigating its negative effects. Although spam can be a source of information, spam is taken negatively because it is unsolicited. Who would ever want to receive bulk of emails containing product advertisements and easy get ?rich-schemes information? Spam can slow down your server's bandwidth and can be a form of spy ware designed to steal confidential information from your computer.



One way to deal with spam or unsolicited emails is thru email filters or email filtering spam. Basically email filtering is a process which acts as a shield to inbound and even existing emails. Your emails should be screened out not only to unclog your email box and your mail server from spam but also to address possible threats of viruses and even spyware that may encroach into your computer and later hamper your productivity.

Email filtering spam can be classified into integrated, stand alone and online. All of these email filtering spam categories share one common objective geared towards ridding out spam and even viruses. They only differ on how email filtering process is employed and undertaken.

Email filtering spam under the integrated category is the most common among the three categories. Such email filtering spam integrates email filter as a feature of your existing email software. With this feature, you can mark emails as spam or not spam or you can bounce the email back to sender. Most integrated email filtering spam tools automatically segregate and place suspected spam into a folder for deletion or retention. Examples of integrated email filters are Spambully and Spam Inspector.

The stand alone email filtering spam is not a common email filter. However, it is as useful as the rest of commonly used email filtering spam. This is in the form of a separate application installed on your PC. One major advantage of using this email filtering spam is that it checks emails on the mail server before they are downloaded. The only drawback is that it requires technical configuration which may not be an easy task for a non technical user. One popular example of standalone email filter is MailwasherPro.

The third email filtering spam category is called online. Online spam filters are two types. One type is for commercial use while the second type is for home use. For the business type, this online email filtering spam directly deletes spam from the mail server without even reaching the recipients. On the other hand for the home use type, emails sent require authentication from the sender. Authentication failure means non acceptance of inbound email to user's inbox. Typical examples of business type and home use type are iHate and Spam Arrest respectively.

The email filtering spam tools presented above are available options in addressing spam. Still the effectiveness of any of the email spam filters above lies on how you optimally use these tools. Joining e-groups and forums on email filtering spam could provide you invaluable information and help you deal with spam better.