Knock on wood, unlike the majority of Americans out there, we don’t get much SPAM.
That can be attributed largely to the fact that we:
1. Simply don’t share our e-mail addresses with many people.
2. Stop the e-mail chain the second we receive a forwarded e-mail by informing the sender (nicely) by informing them that we no longer wish to receive anything other than personal e-mails. No more forwards… ever!
3. Use a SPAM-blocking program.
Why You Need A SPAM-Blocking Program
Odds are, if you have an e-mail account, then you probably have tons of SPAM.
It’s just a fact of life that you have to deal with once you enter the Information Superhighway.
But, you don’t have to look at all that SPAM!
Our recommendation for the best SPAM-fighting program: Cloudmark (formerly SpamNet)
Why Cloudmark Is So Great
Cloudmark (SpamNet) is an e-mail filtering program that stops SPAM from reaching your inbox.
Like most software programs, there are literally hundreds that you could choose from to fight your spam for you. However, according to PC World, this program has a catch rate of 98% and an uncanny ability NOT to block legitimate mail.
In addition, within every e-mail program you can set filters to route your incoming mail to different folders within your e-mail program. For example, here’s a good how-to for setting up e-mail message filters.
How Cloudmark Works
After you open up your email program and download the day’s mail, you simply click on the individual emails that you think are SPAM — those messages then get automatically forwarded to Cloudmark.
At Cloudmark central, there are people who look at what their users are calling spam, and they block those “senders” so no more Cloudmark subscribers will ever receive email from those spammers again.
It’s based on a rating system of sorts. However, just because you think it’s spam, doesn’t mean it is spam. If you’re the only Cloudmark subscriber that has reported this particular sender as a spammer, then it’s not likely to be identified as SPAM and thus not blocked from entering other subscribers’ e-mailboxes.
But if a certain percentage of all Cloudmark subscribers have reported a message or a sender to be SPAM, then Cloudmark blocks it from ever entering into your mailbox again.
So it’s kinda like a “we’re all in this together” philosophy. In effect, Cloudmark blocks viruses before they’re even named (and thus able to be blocked by anti-virus programs).
I’ve found that Cloudmark is really on top of things.
I especially like how all those thinning hair ads, pharmaceutical order forms, and weight-loss programs are now blocked from my computer before they even hit my inbox. It’s not perfect, but it has helped us a lot!
I got my first computer in 1986 and immediately started writing, saving documents, and organizing my entire life on it. Thus began my love affair with gadgets and all things tech. I built my first website in 1998 in old-school HTML code — before websites were "a thing". Blogs weren't invented yet. It was the same year that Google was born. My husband and I created TheFunTimesGuide.com in 2004 — before YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, and Mashable were launched. That was the year Facebook started and 'blog' was the Word of the Year according Merriam-Webster. Ever since then, anytime a new electronic gadget hits the market… I have to have it. (My husband's impulsive nature to try out every new tech gadget invented is even worse than mine!) When I'm not trying out fun new tech gadgets, you'll find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
