Spam Filters
By Andrew Symonds
Though previously not acknowledged as a serious threat, spamming has now reached about 60% to 70% of all e-mail traffic all over the world. Different institutions and organizations, including government agencies, recognize the threat spam brings with it. Thus anti-spamming efforts have been on the rise in the past years.

Spam software is one of the most commonly employed tools against spam. There are many available spam software in the market today. They make use of a variety of methods and techniques. In choosing the right spam software for your company, you should at least know the concept behind them. This will help you choose the most suitable spam software to meet your needs.

Spam software usually makes use of spam filters. A spam filter basically identifies specific items – keywords or IP addresses for example – that are either allowed to go through or are blocked. One technique that some spam software make use of is the RBL or Real Time Black Hole List. In this method, the spam filter takes note of IP addresses, which are known to send spam. All communication from these IP addresses is then blocked.

Another technique used by spam software is keyword based filtering.

In this method, the spam software is configured by the user by inputting specific keywords and key phrases, which are to be banned. All communication with these keywords and phrases are then blocked by the spam filter.

Other spam software makes use of permission-based filtering. E-mail addresses are supposed to be authorized, otherwise they are blocked. Spam filters, which are permission-based, also make use of tags embedded in the e-mails to determine whether to give authorization or not. The absence of these tags would then prompt the spam filter to block the e-mail.

Another technique used by spam software is concept-based filtering. This method scans the text and detects its concept. If the concept does not meet the requirements of the spam filter, the e-mail is then blocked.

These are some of the most commonly used techniques in combating spam through spam software. Determine which method would suit your needs best. Then you can look into different spam software that you can use.

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