Anti-Spam for Mac, Linux

Anti-spam software for Mac and Linux

Web-based services like ClearMyMail and Spam Arrest are compatible with any operating system. As there is nothing to download, users can set up an account and have mail filtered and sent to their email application.

Some standalone software is Windows-only, but separate versions of MailWasher Pro are available for Macintosh and Unix/Linux. The cross-platform version of the free program POPFile will work with any operating system.

Apple Mail and Entourage, two of Apple's desktop mail utilities, include anti-spam filters that users may customize. Both are content-based filters that need to learn what users consider to be spam. SpamSieve 2.7 (*est. $30) is a stand-alone Bayesian spam filter available for the Mac.

For Linux users who prefer to stick with open-source software, SpamAssassin is a popular download, although critics -- and test results -- suggest it doesn't match commercial versions for effectiveness and ease of use.