When most people think of Spam Protection, what comes to mind is usually basic information that’s not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there’s a lot more to Spam Protection than just the basics.

As spam filters get increasingly effective, spammers are changing their tactics to foil anti-spam software and get through to your inbox. Recently, this has involved a shift from the use of text-based spam to the use of embedded images and PDF file attachments as the preffered delivery method for their spammy intrusions.

Image Spam

The prevalence of this form of spam increased in 2006, primarily as a means for advertising penny stocks. It involved the use of a picture or graphic embedded in the body of the junk email. The junk email’s message is displayed as an image.

Because most anti-spam filters are text-based, image spam was relatively successful. This led to its use in advertising everything from sexual enhancement to fake pharmaceuticals.

One serious effect of image spam has had is to further clog up Internet bandwidth, and drive up costs to businesses. This is because the average size of each junk email almost doubled. In fact, this increased size and the sheer volume of image spam forced many businesses to block all emails that contained embedded or attached images.

By early 2007, image spam reached an all-time high, accounting for almost two-thirds of all junk email. However, as spam filter technology has adapted to detect image spam, its use has since declined to less than 15% of all junk email. Instead, spammers are turning to PDF spam

PDF Spam

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Spam Protection. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

Spammers are increasingly using PDF files to bear their spam messages. The practice begun in mid-2007, primarily as a scam to fool recipients into investing their money in the stock of a particular company.

With this type of spam, the junk email is sent out with a PDF file attachment, which most anti-spam filters cannot or do not read. These attachments range from rudimentary to professional-looking documents. The text in the body of the email is usually nonsensical gobbledygook that the spam-filter does not recognize as junk mail.

For the spammer, the use of PDF files is advantageous because PDF files are so commonly used in the business world. In fact, several companies allow or even require their business email systems to deliver these documents to the recipient. This makes it very likely that this PDF spam will reach the user’s inbox.

The use of junk mail with PDF attachments takes up even more Internet bandwidth. This is because PDF files are generally much larger than the embedded pictures and graphics used in image spam. Image spam is typically in GIF format; PDF files are upto 3 times the size of these files.

The upside to the use of image and PDF spam is that so far, there is no hard evidence that either one can be used to embed malicious software on the recipient’s computer. The only harm is done to those who do what the message says. Spammers have also begun to experiment with attachments in different file types such as excel and zip files.

The advent and decline of the different types of spam attest to the cat-and-mouse game that goes on between the spammers and the security experts. As anti-spam technology catches up to their techniques, they continue to innovate and change tactics to deliver their spam messages.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Spam was once just clutter in your inbox; now it is a commonly used vehicle for fraud, electronic crime and even corporate espionage. The 4 Ws of spam answer the most commonly asked questions about spam.

What is Spam?

Spam, also called junk email, is generally defined in the Internet industry as unsolicited commercial email (UCE). It is email that is sent out in bulk to a huge number of recipients who did not request it. The contents of spam range from benign advertising to malicious programs that can literally hijack your computer system do grave damage.

The most common commercial spam advertises pyramid schemes, pornographic web sites, mortgage loans, chain letters, credit repair, fraudulent pharmaceuticals and illegally pirated software. The more dangerous spam will often contain viruses that can infect your computer, Trojan horses that can hijack your email program and use it to send out spam to your friends and family, and phishing scams that attempt to get your personal and financial information.

Who Spams?

“Spammer” is the term used to refer to those responsible for spam. In the Spam world, there are two types of spammers. There are the honest spammers who comply with the anti-spam laws, and have the consent of the spam recipients. These willing recipients usually join the honest spammer’s “opt-in” mailing list by signing up at a website, for example to enter a lottery, or to be notified of future promotions.
Then there are the dishonest spammers, who will get your email addresses by any means possible. They use their spam for criminal or malicious purposes and have zero regard for the law.
Spammers range from the lone, home-based individual to multi-million dollar companies with several employees. Most of the spam companies are increasingly relocating to offshore locations to evade US laws and law enforcement.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Spam Protection is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Spam Protection.

Where do the Spammers Get your Email Address From?

Spammers get their victim’s email addresses from just about anywhere you can imagine. Primarily, they use Newsgroup harvesters and Spambots, which are automated programs designed to “harvest” (extract) email addresses from online sites. Newsgroup harvesters target newsgroup postings and other unprotected web-based forums, which tend to have low security. Spambots troll the Internet, scanning websites and “harvesting” (extracting) email addresses. It typically searches for the “@” sign that denotes an email address.

The average spambot can harvest over 30,000 email addresses in just one hour. And this goes on 24/7, year and year out.
There are also companies that sell CDs that are packed with valid email addresses. These can sell for as little as $25, and they are a goldmine for any spammer.

Why do Spammers Spam?

In a word? Money. Spammers literally make millions from their illicit trade. Studies show that for every million junk emails sent out, a spammer will average about 100 sales. Add to this the fact that they make $50-$100 in commission for each sale, and you can see how the numbers add up to incomes in excess of $100,000 a year! What’s more, spamming can cost next to nothing.

But why does spamming continue despite its cost in time, effort and money? Because there are people out there who respond to spam. Even with a minimal response rate of one sale from every 10,000 emails, it can be highly profitable. If no one responded to spam, the spammer’s cash cow would starve and the practice would end. It is these few who keep the spammers in business. They make the cost of spamming worthwhile.

There’s no doubt that the topic of Spam Protection can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about Spam Protection, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

The volume of spam that is sent out every minute of the day has reached pandemic proportions. The simple reason for this is because the cost to a spammer ranges from zero to negligible. In fact, anyone with a list of email addresses and Internet access can spam thousands, even millions of people with a single click of the mouse. The cost of spam, however, now runs in the millions.

Bandwidth

Spam takes up valuable Internet bandwidth that would otherwise be used for legitimate business and personal use. Bandwidth refers to rate at which data is transmitted; it is the amount of data that can be transmitted within a fixed amount of time. The lower the bandwidth, the slower the transmission.

When spam uses up valuable bandwidth, and clogs up the system, it causes costly delays in the transmission of important, legitimate information. It forces the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to increase bandwidth just to handle the increased volume. This costs money, and this cost is passed on to the consumer.

Viruses, Worms and Malware

It is becoming an increasingly common menace. Spammers will attach viruses to the email they send out for purely criminal or malicious purposes. Some viruses, for example, are programmed to self-install and give the spammer access to all the vital information stored on your computer. This information is often be used for identity theft purposes.

Other viruses simply do great harm to computers the world over. A Consuner Reports study estimates that the cost of repairs and replacement parts for damage done to computer systems by viruses was over 8 billion over the past two years. This does ot take into account the billions spent on anti-spam and anti-virus software.

The information about Spam Protection presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Spam Protection or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Productivity

Spam is not only annoying, it also takes up valuable time just to go through it and figure out sort out the spam from the valid mail. For businesses that receives hundreds of emails a day, the cost in time and productivity really adds up.
The “cost of spam calculator” that is available at cmsconnect.com estimates the that spam costs almost $1000 per employee each year, with over 50 hours of lost productivity for each one.

Lost Messages and Data

As we try to battle the spammers by installing spam filters and blockers, these programs often weed out legitimate businesss correspondence. Lost correspondence from a client or supplier can easily cost businesses money, clients and goodwill

Identity Theft

The phenomenon of phishing has become more prevalent as spammers think up new ways to make a buck at your expense. Phishing involves the use of email that is designed to look like a legitimate company has sent it. It is sent out to millions of people in the hope of scamming them into revealing personal information that the scammer can use for identity theft. The cost of Phishing and identity theft to their victims now also runs in the billions.

The cost of spam is a financial drain on the economy. We pay a high price for the spammer to scam his victims. The spammer pays nothing.

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about Spam Protection.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

You will inevitably receive some spam in your inbox – there is no getting around that fact of life. How you handle this unwanted junk mail will go a long way toward reducing or increasing the amount of spam you will receive in the future. It may also protect you from viruses, credit card fraud, identity theft and other forms of cyber-crime. Next time you log into your inbox, keep these 5 tips in mind to stop the spammers dead in their tracks.

Do not Preview

If you are able to preview your entire email messages in your inbox, you should disable the message preview pane. This is important because some spam email contains code that is specifically designed to compromise your computer and leave you vulnerable to viruses, Trojan horses or worse. Review the options offered in your email program and change the settings.

Do not Fall for the Phisher’s Hook

Many spam emails are cleverly designed hoaxes, which are intended to get you to unwittingly divulge private information. They claim to be from your credit card company, bank or other financial institution, and attempt to fool you into divulging personal information such as your social security number, bank account number, password or other private, identifiable information.

This fraudulent practice is called phishing. Responding to this form of spam would leave you vulnerable to identity theft, credit card fraud and other financial cyber-crime.

If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole Spam Protection story from informed sources.

Friend or Foe?

Just because an email has been sent to you by a friend, do not assume that it safe for you to open any attachment that comes with it. Contact your friend and verify that they did indeed send it.
Very often, spammers will attach a virus to their spam, which, if opened, will hijack your email program and mail itself out to every email address in your address book. This fraudulent email will appear to the recipients to have been sent by you. If they in turn, open this email attachment, the same malicious cycle is repeated.

Read your Email in Plain Text

Spammers often use Javascript to embed malicious code in their spam. It may, for example, be designed to infect your system with a virus that can install itself in your computer, and give a hacker or other scammer access to your private and financial information – without your ever knowing it. You can protect yourself against this by changing the settings to display the email messages in plain text. This effectively disables many harmful scripting features

Never Respond

Do not click on any banner advertising or send a reply to a spam message. Doing this lets the spammer that yours is a “real, live” address, which will only result in a deluge of even more spam. Unless you have specifically subscribed, do not click on any unsubscribe messages contained in junk mail. Most of these are only intended to fool you into confirming your address as valid. Also, do not forward any junk chain letters you may receive.

Above all else, common sense is the most important form of spam protection you can have. Be vigilant when you check your mail – even the most advanced anti-spam filter available today cannot keep 100% of all spam out of you inbox.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Spam Protection that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, the Cheap Web Hosting Guy!

It is virtually impossible to avoid having your email address end up on a spammer’s mailing list. You can, however, take steps to minimize the amount of spam that you receive. Here are to top five:

Address Munging

Never, ever post your permanent email address publicly online. Posting it on a website, on USENET, or in a guest book, for example, virtually guarantees that it will end up on a spammer’s emailing list.

If you absolutely have to supply an address, or regularly participate in online forums but do not want further communication, camouflage your address in some way. You can, for example, disguise your address by writing it in such a way that humans can read it, but the spammers automated programs cannot.

Example: instead of JaneDoe@ISP.com, add a blank space before and after the “@” sign, or use characters e.g. JaneDoe at ISP dot com.

This is reffered to as “address munging”. While address munging does not allow for a regular, clickable email link, anyone who really wants to contact you will figure it out the proper address.

If you have a website, provide a feedback form instead of giving your email address.

Sign up for an Alternative Email Addresses

Do not use your primary email address when placing an online order, getting a free download, or want to sign up for a newsletter or free service Get a secondary email address that you can use in these instances. You can open a free email account for this purpose. Email providers such as GMail and yahoo offer this free email service.

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Spam Protection, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Reserve this email address specifically for this online activity – do not offer it to people from whom you want to receive email, as this will likely be lost in the deluge of junk mail.

Also, be sure to log into this account on a regular basis to delete the junk mail and avoid having the account closed. If you get over-spammed, just close this account and open a new one.

Choose an email address that cannot be easily guessed at. One method used by spammers to get email address is to generate a list of likely email addresses based on a combination of first names, last names and commonly used words. They may, for example build an emailing list that has variations of an address like JoelDoe1@hotmail.com, JoelDoe2@hotmail.com etc.
You can foil this spammer’s tactic by using a relatively long email address, for example 8 or more characters long. You should also avoid choosing email addresses that include either of your names. Use your initials instead, in combination with numbers, e.g. jtd1509@yahoo.com.

Beware the Phisher Spam

Phishing is a tactic used by spammers to scam you into giving up vital personal and financial information. Its sole purpose is identity theft.

Never divulge any personal or financial information that is requested in an email. Your bank or credit card company would never ask you to confirm or update your personal information via an email or a link in an email. Any such emails should be reported to the bank or credit card company. Never, ever click on any links in this type of spam.

Get a spam filter or spam blocker

Stop the spam dead in its tracks before it ever makes it into your inbox. Well, most of it at least. Though they are not 100% effective, anti-spam software will keep most of it out. Even if you only use the internet a spam filter will help protect you from spam.

Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in Spam Protection. When people start looking for more information about Spam Protection, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

There are several myths and misconceptions that abound when it comes to Phishing. These are the top 5 most common ones:

Myth #1

Anti-spam software can detect phishing email

While anti-phishing and spam filters can decrease the number of phising emails that get into your inbox, they are not 100% effective. Whenever anti-phishing technology keeps improving, the phishers are always devising ways to get around them. It truly is a cat-and-mouse game.

Secondly, because spam email and phishing email are different (phishing email spoofs a legitimate business), a different set of rules and criteria are required to detect the phisher.

Myth #2

As long as I don’t give my password and user-name, I won’t be Phished

Phishers are getting increasingly sophisticated. They now employ several variations on the original spoofed email that once requested your password and user-name.

They will, for example, instruct you to click on a link so as to update your information at a website. If you do click on the link, malware such as a keylogger or syware wil be downloaded to your computer.
The link may take you to a spoofed website, but it may also link you to the actual website of the legitimate business. Once there, a pop-up or overlay is activated, directing you to log in. You will probably be unaware that your access information has been compromised.

Myth #3

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

Most Phishing attacks originate from outside

With all the time and effort that has been poured into the Nigerian 419 spam scams, it is commonly assumed that phishing originates from emerging countries outside America. However, a study by Symantec shows that the majority of phishing attacks actually originate within the U.S.

Myth #4

Phishing is a problem that we can solve by educating users

This is not true. There are various ways the phisher can camouflage an IP address. In fact, a large proportion of phishing attacks are enabled through common misconfigurations in a web application. Phishers can manipulate internet technology to redirect you from a real and legitimate website, in such a way that although the original web address points to this real web site you are taken to the phisher’s web site.

As the incidents of phishing and identity theft have increased, people have become more aware, and better able to identify phishing emails. The percentage of phishing victims has gone down. However, even though users are getting better educated and informed about phishing, there is always still a chance that someone will mistake a well-crafted phishing email for the real thing.

Myth #5

I will know one when I see one

This is another misconception regarding phishing, and a potentially dangerous one at that, especially in our digital world. With all the time, talent and technology available to them, these cyber crooks have more than ample resources to create and execute increasingly realistic email spam, web site spoofs or other electronic means by which to scam you out of your confidential financial data and wreak havoc on your financial affairs.

Vigilance is, in fact, your number one protection against the phisher’s hook. Underestimating the phishers may cost you.

That’s the latest from the Spam Protection authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Spam Protection. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about Spam Protection.

Phishing Scams:

“Phishing” is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or any other kind of confidential personal information. Identity theft is the goal of this scam.

The phisher sends you a fraudulent email that is designed to look like it was sent from a reputable company. The email directs you to a website that looks like it belongs to the reputable company, but is actually a spoof. You are asked to “update” your information here, and if you do, all that personal information goes straight to the phisher. uses this information for identity theft purposes such as making withdrawals from your bank and credit card accounts, ordering new credit cards which they promptly max out, etc.

Some of the most recent phishing attacks have spoofed the email and websites of well known companies, including eBa, Paypal, Yahoo, Pfizer, Bank of America, among others.

Work-At-Home Scams:

These are some of the more tempting spam scams. They offer those who need to make extra money the opportunity to do so, and invariably the email will state: “no experience necessary.” The scammer often claims to have “inside information,” and tries to bait you with the lure of quick money for next to no effort. More often than not, you are asked to pay anywhere from $35 to several hundred dollars to purchase the kits or materials that will not earn you a dime.

This scam often offers opportunities involving handicrafts, stuffing envelopes or medical billing on your home PC. If you fall for this scam, pay the fees for the handicraft or envelop-stuffing “kit,” and complete the assembly of the crafts as instructed, you will be informed that your work is of poor quality and not worth paying for.

If you sign up for the medical billing “opportunity,” you will be asked to purchase a list of doctors. These doctors are either fictional or do not want or need your services and never did.

Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to Spam Protection than you may have first thought.

Credit Repair Scams:

These scams tell promise to erase real and usually correct negative information that has been added to you credit report, so that you can qualify for loans, mortgages, unsecured credit cards, etc.

These services rarely deliver on their promise, and more often than not, will create a great many more problems in the long run. They have even been know to suggest that you commit fraud e.g. falsifying your social security number.

Guaranteed loans on easy terms:

Some email scams offer guaranteed, unsecured credit, such as a home-equity loans that does not require equity in your home, or credit cards regardless of your credit history.
This offer of credit is often extended by an off-shore bank.

This scam is often executed in conjunction with a pyramid scheme, which will encourage you to make earn money by signing up friends and family to participate in the scheme.

The promised offer of a home equity loans turns out to be a useless list of
lenders who will turn you down if you don’t meet their qualifications. The promised credit cards never come through, and the pyramid money-making schemes invariably collapse.

Chain letters:

The spam email directs you to send a small amount of money to each of 4 or 5 names on a list, add your name to the top of the list and remove the last name on it, and then forward the updated list via bulk mail. Typically, the letter will claim the scheme is legal, and may refer to sections of US law as supporting proof of this. Not true.

These chain letters are almost always illegal, and nearly all those who participate in them lose their money.

So now you know a little bit about Spam Protection. Even if you don’t know everything, you’ve done something worthwhile: you’ve expanded your knowledge.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

The following article presents the very latest information on Spam Protection. If you have a particular interest in Spam Protection, then this informative article is required reading.

Anyone who has an email address needs no introduction to this pesky phenomenon of electronic communication. Spam is unwanted, unsolicited commercial email that is mailed in bulk to thousands, even millions of recipients simultaneously.

Much of the confusion regarding spam comes from a lack of understanding the everyday email user may have regarding the ways and motivations of the spammers.

Whether a given email is spam or not spam can be said to be in the eye of the beholder. There are legitimate email marketers out there, who comply with all applicable laws when they do their bulk emailing. They will, for example, only send their advertising to recipients who have subscribed to their emailing list. In fact, in formal studies have shown that currently, only about half of all spam is deceptive or fraudulent; roughly half of all spam contains genuine marketing messages. Thanks to spammers, all email marketing is tainted with a bad name.

The nature of spam has less to do with its commercial content than with the fact that it is unsolicited and sent out in bulk. There are two categories of spam: unsolicited bulk email and unsolicited commercial email.

Unsolicited bulk email is mass-mailed to recipients who have not given their consent to receive it. This category of spam encompasses jokes, chain letters, virus alerts, etc. unsolicited commercial email targets your wallet. This subset of spam includes get-rich- quick and pyramid schemes, stock offerings for pennystocks, spamming software and fake pharmaceuticals.

While most spam is generally mailed out to advertise a product or service, some is malicious in content and intent. It runs the gamut from jokes and ads, to stock-market scams and virus-laden emails. Spammers, those obnoxious folks who send you spam, will target you because:

- They want you to buy something

The best time to learn about Spam Protection is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable Spam Protection experience while it’s still free.

- They defraud you out of your hard-earned money

- They want to confirm that your email address is a real live one (and then add you to a spam mailing list)

- They just want to shock and offend

The huge volume of spam has created big problems. While it is free for the spammer to send out his millions of spam emails, the cost of the bandwidth that this junk mail takes up borne by the internet service provider (ISP). The ISP, not one to bear this expensive burden on its own, will pass on some of the cost to you in the form of price increases.
You also pay the price for spam in the time wasted sorting through and deleting junk mail, the loss in productivity and the pure aggravation of having to deal with it. It also raises security issues because it may contain viruses that are harmful to your computer.

How do you spot spam when it lands in your inbox?

Here are a few things you can look for that are a dead give-away

- Email from someone you do not know
- Nonsensical subject lines
- Outlandish promises of money, exotic cruises and lonely housewives
- Adult or pornographic content
- Unsubscribe links in unsolicited email
- Very brief emails – a line or two

You should be aware that spammers often send you email that is designed to look like it came from an acquaintance of yours, a reputable company or a reply to an email from you.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

The threats posed by spam are always evolving, and phishing is one of the most recent scams the spammers have come up with.
Your most important protection against phishing is vigilance and a healthy skepticism. You can, however, supplement this with Anti-phishing software programs

Anti-phishing software works by detecting phishing content that may be contained in an email. It is genrallly used in conjunction with your email service as a toolbar. This tool bar will display the real name of any website you visit, and expose any spoofed websites that phishers may attempt to use.

This software is offers a second line of defense to for blocking phishing attacks and sites that might have foiled and bypassed by your browser’s built-in protection. Here are a few of them:

Earthlink Toolbar Scamblocker
Offers a check towards a phishing blacklist of sites
Checks the owner and location of the web site
Prevention against phishing and pop ups

Earthlink offers a free browser toolbar that includes ScamBlocker, an application that protects you against phishing scams and phishing pop ups. It will, for example, warn you when you attempt to connect to a website that is on Earthlink’s balcklist of fraudulent sites. It will analie each web page hat you visit and display a security rating of the webpage on its toolbar.

Earthlink’s Scamblocker can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.earthlink.net/software/free/toolbar/

Netcraft Anti-phishing Toolbar
When a one recipient of a phishing email reports it, the relevant URL is blocked for the rest of the Netcraft community members.

It will display for you the website’s hosting location, which will help expose fraudulent urls. Say, for example, you are on the bankofamerica.com website, the hosting location is unlikely to be in Poland.
The toolbar will also detect any web addresses that contain letters or characters that are only used in the URL to deceive.

Most of this information comes straight from the Spam Protection pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

The Netcraft Anti-phishing Toolbar can be downloaded at this link:

http://toolbar.netcraft.com/

TrustWatch Toolbar
This free toolbar is also designed to protect against phishing, identity theft and internet fraud. It does real-time checks to let you know if a web site you are visiting has been verified by a legitimate third party organization, and if it is therefore safe to transmit your confidential personal information. It is the internet equivalent of a credit check.

The TrustWatch Toolbar can be downloaded at this link:

http://toolbar.trustwatch.com/

Stopzilla Anti-Spyware 5.0
STOPzilla works by detwecting and blocking Phishing Attacks, Popup Ads, Spyware, Adware and other malicious applications. It also provides hijack protection.

Stopzilla can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.stopzilla.com/

Spybot – Search and Destroy
This is a free Anti-Spyware application. An important feature of this application is that it will Write-protect your computer’s HOSTS file, which is a primary target of phishers’spyware.

Spybot can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.safer-networking.org

Webroot’s Phish net
Phish Net employs a dynamic blacklist to protect against phishing. The application stores your personal data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. When you visit a site and attempt to enter this information, a pop-up will alert you that it is not on your list of trusted sites, and will expose any redirects that the may be involved in the transmission of your data. It will also verify that the site has an encrypted connection before it transmits the data.

Webroot’s Phish net can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Spam Protection. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about Spam Protection.

A spam blocker is one way you can effectively cope with the deluge of spam that is targeted at your inbox each day. This type of anti-spam software works by blocking any unsolicited email from getting to your inbox. It is generally about 90% effective in blocking this spam, along with any viruses and other malicious code that may come with it.

The spam blocker differs from a spam filter in that its function is specifically to block most of the incoming spam. The spam filter works by organizing email that it identifies as spam into folders, and leaves it to you to take further action on. The spam blocker, on the other hand, is specifically programmed to prevent spam from getting through. With a spam blocker, you do not have to deal with the spam it detects and blocks.

So How Does a Spam Blocker Work?

The spam blocker will log into your mail server email account every 10 minutes, inspecting it for spam email. It immediately destroys any viruses, and gets rid of any obvious spam such as email that contains adult or pornographic material. Undesirable email is flagged and then redirected to a folder specifically for spam. You will have an opportunity to sort through this spam folder to verify that no legitimate email is mistakenly diverted there. Any email that it is on your white-list or which it determines as legit will be left on the server to be downloaded as normal.

If an email is from an unknown source and the spam blocker cannot clearly categorize it as either legitimate or spam, it is quarantined in a specific folder until you either move it or delete it. The quarantined spam is usually held in this folder for up to 30 days, or until you take action on it. The spam blocker keeps track of the particular action you take on each quarantined email e.g. if you delete the email. It will “remember” this action and use it to create a new filtering rule that it will apply to future incoming email.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Spam Protection is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Spam Protection.

What are the Benefits of a Spam Blocker?

- A spam blocker frees up storage space. Most mailboxes have a very limited capacity to store email. Spam takes up space, and a spam blocker generally prevents large files from making it into your main folder.

- By blocking spam rather than just filtering it, the spam blocker helps minimize the amount of time you have to personally sort through your spam email.

- Because this anti-spam software deletes spam, it drastically lowers the risk of a computer virus infecting your system.

- Many spam blockers are available online for immediate download, are usually very easy to install and generally do not require further configuration..

Many email services offer spam blocker software. If, however, you choose to buy your own, make sure you get one that is compatible with your service. Also take into account the level of blockage it offers as well as flexibility it offers in letting you customize the settings to your own preferences.

You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Spam Protection will come in handy. If you learned anything new about Spam Protection in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)