Computing Center

Home Office: Spam Blocking Tools for Outlook and MSN

Block more spam, and waste time with our favorite helicopter game.

Steve Bass

Battling spam shouldn't be a full-time job. In fact, it shouldn't even be on your radar. That's why I've been giving you spam fighting tools for the past two weeks. If you're new to this newsletter (where've you been?), you can read about them here:

In this week's missive, I have a spam fighting tool exclusively for Outlook and Outlook Express, and a slick spam blocking trick for MSN and Hotmail users.

My Second-Favorite Spam Program

I don't use Outlook or Outlook Express; I consider both programs testing grounds for viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. I use Eudora because, as buggy as it is, it's almost immune to infected e-mail.

But the vast majority of netizens use one of the Outlook programs. So for you, ladies and gentlemen, I present Sunbelt Software's iHateSpam. (Yes, it's spelled that way, getting our copy editor's knickers into a twist.)

The first neat part about iHateSpam is that unlike MailWasher, it works within the e-mail program. So there's no need to load and use an additional program. IHateSpam adds a toolbar to both versions of Outlook that lets you bounce e-mail, mark messages as spam (or not spam), and add senders to either an enemies or a friends list.

But what won me over to iHateSpam is that it really, truly blasts spam to smithereens. My wife, Judy, and I used iHateSpam for more than a month. Judy's daily use filtered about 98 percent of the spam she received; my experience setting up dummy accounts on Hotmail and CompuServe gave me an even better hit rate. I don't know what sort of algorithmic magic the program uses, but it seems to grow smarter the longer I use it.

About the only downside to iHateSpam is that it works with Outlook and Outlook Express only, though an AOL version is in progress. (Personal note to the iHateSpam developers: Think Eudora. And hurry up.) You can grab a trial copy of the $30 utility from PCWorld.com's Downloads site; there's a $20 promotional price in effect until September 15.

Dig this: If you want to get a little dizzy, take a look at the Spamdemic Map, a detailed analysis of how spammers share your e-mail address.

Take a break: I have another way you can reduce junk e-mail. Read Scott Spanbauer's "Internet Tips: The Junk Mail Hater's Guide to Opting Out."

Using MSN? Read This

George Siegel, a friend of mine--and my personal networking guru--was helping a client deal with enormous amounts of spam. His client said that all MSN had was a simplistic "block sender" filter and not much else. George started digging into the MSN site (he gets paid by the hour) until he found what he calls "the greatest feature ever--the 'Inbox Protector.'" George describes it as an optional set of filters that work in reverse. Instead of passing through all but the blocked e-mail, it does just the opposite: It blocks all but the trusted e-mail.

The feature's not suitable if you get lots of e-mail from lots of different folks, says George, but it's perfect for all those home users who trade e-mail with 10 or 20 close friends and family members.

Here's how it works: MSN's Hotmail has three settings for limiting incoming e-mail to messages that come from people in your address book, plus any additional addresses that you can easily add to a list. From the Options link (next to the Contacts tab), choose Safe List. Add friends' e-mail addresses and whole domains--for instance, pcworld.com. Then choose Mailing Lists, adding the addresses of the lists you belong to. Finally, choose the Junk Mail Filter and set it to Exclusive.

Dig this: It's these simple little Flash games that drive me nuts. I spent an hour futzing with Fly the Copter and got about 700 feet past the start. Try it--I'll bet you don't do much better. [Bass, did you really do 700? I got to 342, but had to get some work done today. Totally addictive, better than last week's Battleship.--Editor]