Software Spam Filters

Best computer-based spam filters

Computer-based spam filters need to be installed on your system before they can filter your email. Cloudmark Desktop (*Est. $40 per year) is available in separate versions for Outlook, Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. The program uses a community-based filter; its network of more than a million subscribers reports spam that makes it into their inboxes. As Cloudmark notes on its website, "When a user clicks the Block Spam or Block Phish buttons, Cloudmark compares this feedback with feedback from other users. If other users in the network also consider the message to be spam or fraud, then similar messages are automatically blocked in the future, for all users in the network." The drawback to Cloudmark Desktop is that you need to renew your subscription each year, so you'll have an ongoing expense for controlling spam. Otherwise, you'll lose access to the ever-growing database of known spammers.

According to About.com's Heinz Tschabitscher, "Cloudmark Desktop is a great and easy to use junk and phishing mail solution with an excellent spam detection rate and an even better record of avoiding false positives." Scott Colvey, writing for Web User, gives Cloudmark a Silver Award, particularly praising the program's ease of use. PCMag.com's Neil Rubenking is also highly impressed with Cloudmark's filter accuracy and performance impact, naming it an Editors' Choice. He says the community-based spam-catching "virtually never blocks a valid mail in error," and that though spam is still "guaranteed to get through, the percentage overall is far below that of most other products."

The only downside Rubenking cites with Cloudmark Desktop is the cost, suggesting that Outlook users try the similarly effective iHateSpam (*Est. $30), which uses the same spam-fighting network. However, the price has risen considerably since Rubenking's review, and though it's still a little cheaper that Cloudmark Desktop it's not nearly the bargain it once was. Still, Rubenking says iHateSpam is as accurate as Cloudmark Desktop, and if you use Outlook, iHateSpam is certainly worth a look. Interestingly, editors at TopTenReviews.com don't agree with Rubenking's assessment -- they give iHateSpam only 2 stars out of 5, docking points for lackluster performance and a limited feature set.

MailWasher Pro (*Est. $40) works with any email program, including web-based email services. A fully functioning version of MailWasher Pro can be downloaded from the publisher (see Useful Links) or download sites like Download.com and used for up to 30 days. MailWasher takes a kitchen-sink approach to filtering, using whitelist, blacklist, database and Bayesian filters. In theory, the aggressive combination of methods should do an excellent job of filtering spam, but with a relatively high percentage of false positives.

Reviewers generally agree that MailWasher has a useful and powerful feature set, but that it could use improvements in its user-friendliness. It comes in both Pro and Free versions. Because the program filters email before it reaches a user's inbox, it must be run along with your email application. Web User publishes overall ratings and subcategory ratings for features, performance, ease of use and value. MailWasher is rated 4 out of 5 stars across the board. Reviewer Robin Nixon says, "It's not quite as easy to use as some of the other programs, although it almost achieved a 100 percent success rate."

About.com's Heinz Tschabitscher gives MailWasher a good recommendation, but rates a handful of other programs more highly. He says, "MailWasher Pro is a highly competent, usable, secure and time-saving spam filtering tool." MailWasher gets a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars from users posting at Download.com.