Besides the inconvenience of unwanted messages bulking in the inbox, spam poses other threats too, such as viruses and malware. Anti-viruses and firewalls eliminate the risk of computer infection, but with a spam blocker you can make things a lot easier and safer. For maximum of protection and minimum of investment, you should choose the anti-spam tool very carefully. Before the installation of a program, find out whether you want the blocker or the filter installed on the server or on the computer. A server-based anti spam tool is most suitable for large companies that try to prevent the spam inconvenience before reaching the employees’ computers.
When the anti-spam tool is installed directly on a personal computer, the control over the email remains while the program recognizes and filters the spam messages according to a set of pre-determined features. Personal users and small businesses are other common beneficiaries of on-computer spam blockers and filters. As for the rest of the issues that require attention, we should mention: the customization possibility, the compatibility with the filter, the stability and the usage easiness. When all these criteria are met, an optimal efficiency can be achieved.
By compatibility we refer to the possibility of using the anti-spam tool according to the Internet mail provider. There are certain programs that make a match only with Outlook Express and Outlook but are incompatible with Eudora or Mozilla Thunderbird. Then, the anti-spam tool requires navigation options that are very easy to access; without user friendly features, the installation and control of the program are hard to get. Furthermore, a good anti-spam tool should allow customization of the functions according to the user’s needs. The PC operator ought to be able to create the settings that will enable the spam blocker to delete the mails after filtering them.
There are several other features that one should check before choosing an anti-spam tool, but the best solution possible is to get professional assistance. Talk to someone who is good at computers or who can make a basic comparison between different spam blockers. It would be very unpleasant to pay for a program and then realize that you can’t use it or that its efficiency is impaired by some system problems. Check reviews, talk to software companies and ask about the most stable product releases in order to identify a good anti spam tools.