FaxFilter Blocks Unwanted Spam Faxes

Adonis device's filter technology stops unwanted faxes from flooding your phone line.

Frank Thorsberg, PCWorld.com

Many e-mail providers now routinely filter message traffic to purge junk e-mail from your in-box, but what can you do to stop spammers from flooding your home or small-business fax line?

Remy Fourre came up with an answer when he invented the FaxFilter, a wallet-size hardware device that blocks unwanted fax messages from your phone line.

It's available for $69 from Adonis Electronics, a small Boulder, Colorado, firm Fourre founded in March to manufacture and sell telephone privacy devices.

"I came up with the idea after receiving a lot of junk faxes myself," the former Frenchman says. "When you get a problem that aggravates you, you can be angry about it or try to solve it. I decided to try to solve it, so I made one for myself."

Spam faxing is not just an annoyance. It's been illegal since 1994, and every violation carries a potential $500 fine.

Uncomplicated Solution

The FaxFilter is not terribly complicated. None of the technology he used is patented, and Fourre says he is surprised no one has marketed the solution already.

When someone calls a FaxFilter-equipped machine's phone number, the caller is prompted to enter a customized two-digit code. Without the code, any would-be fax spammer is out of luck.

"It will just cut off. It will not give you any grace at all," Fourre says.

Since no caller can get through to your fax machine without the FaxFilter code, users of the device must distribute the code to anyone with a legitimate need to make a fax connection.

Small Companies Targeted

The hardware is not intended for the corporate market or for really high-volume fax traffic. It's aimed squarely at the home user or small company that's being plagued by unwanted faxes.

Admittedly, e-mail has replaced the need for some faxing. Many faxes are sent and received via PC, through programs like Winfax. Still, millions of fax machines are in use across the country.

"While some people have their faxes on computers, a lot also have them on regular fax machines," Fourre says. "It is difficult to know just how many fax machines are in use, but I still have a fax machine. It's very convenient and very simple to use."