Web-Based Spam Filters

Web-based filters snag spam before it hits your computer

A big advantage of web-based spam filters is that they don't need to be installed on your local machine, meaning they don't contribute to system drag. Incoming email is filtered by the service and deposited in your inbox when you go online. As with any spam-blocking technology, web-based filters will slow down your email delivery.

ClearMyMail (*est. $3.50 per month or $25 per year) is a U.K. company offering service to U.S. customers. According to the developers, ClearMyMail is filtered in 18 different ways before being resent to the subscriber. Because it protects the email subscription rather than an individual computer, ClearMyMail works with any operating system including Windows, Mac, Linux, smartphones and BlackBerry devices. It also works with any POP3 email client (but not webmail accounts unless they offer POP3 support). PC Advisor gives ClearMyMail its Gold award in the anti-spam category. John Dunn says it "stops spam in its tracks and, from our experience, does so without causing the almost as worrisome headache of rejecting valid emails without good cause." Web User's Robin Nixon gives ClearMyMail a perfect five-star score, saying it's slightly more complicated to set up but "relatively easy to use...once you are up and running."

Spam Arrest (*est. $6 per month or $50 per year) is a similar service. About.com's Heinz Tschabitscher calls Spam Arrest "an effective albeit a bit aggressive spam filtering service that, in the ideal case, requires little maintenance." It uses whitelist and challenge/response filtering and will work with up to five existing email accounts. Spam Arrest was accused of sending its own spam several years ago, but news accounts indicate the company has changed the ethical and public relations practices that tarnished its image then.

Both of these services offer free trials. All will slightly delay delivery of your email. If you have more than one email account, your messages from each email account will not be separated. They will arrive all together.