Kron.com: Tired of all that spam filling up your E-mail Inbox? Maybe it's time to get anti-spam software. Most Internet service providers have some kind of spam-blocking tool built-in and free E-mail websites like Yahoo! offer free spam blockers as well. But paying a premium will get you more accuracy and more protection. As much as 70 percent of E-mail -- 12 billion messages a day -- are spam. It's really annoying. But how dangerous is it?
"They can download software into your computer that records your keystroke, and they can take personal information from you such as account number, credit card number, even your social security number," says PC World editor Narasu Rebapragada. She says anyone who uses E-mail these days faces some real threats. The danger often isn't in the E-mail itself, but rather in the website the E-mail will try to send you to.
"They are giving you possibly a free iPod. You are giving them sensitive information."
So-called "phishing" E-mails are even more dangerous, leading you to websites that will steal your identity. Bottom line: you need protection, and there are several good anti-spam products available. PC World recommends the following software for blocking suspicious email:
"I hate spam" is put out by sunbelt software and costs $19.95 for a year's subscription.
Cloudmark's "Safety bar" for $39.95 is also rated tops by PC World, along with Trend Micro's Pc-cillin Internet security suite for $49.95. All three programs have a very high accuracy rate and a very low "false positive" rate, meaning they rarely block "legitimate" email. And if you do get errors , you can customize.
"You can add enemies, add friends, bounce people." You can also adjust filtering levels. "There's a slider so you can do exclusive." Cloudmark also has a really handy safety bar feature that automatically installs on your browser and flags suspicious websites. Whatever spam blocker you're using, you should re-subscribe every year to make sure you get automatic updates. "Software vendors are very good at finding threats quickly and developing patches to address them."
Copyright 2005, KRON 4. All rights reserved
"They can download software into your computer that records your keystroke, and they can take personal information from you such as account number, credit card number, even your social security number," says PC World editor Narasu Rebapragada. She says anyone who uses E-mail these days faces some real threats. The danger often isn't in the E-mail itself, but rather in the website the E-mail will try to send you to.
"They are giving you possibly a free iPod. You are giving them sensitive information."
So-called "phishing" E-mails are even more dangerous, leading you to websites that will steal your identity. Bottom line: you need protection, and there are several good anti-spam products available. PC World recommends the following software for blocking suspicious email:
"I hate spam" is put out by sunbelt software and costs $19.95 for a year's subscription.
Cloudmark's "Safety bar" for $39.95 is also rated tops by PC World, along with Trend Micro's Pc-cillin Internet security suite for $49.95. All three programs have a very high accuracy rate and a very low "false positive" rate, meaning they rarely block "legitimate" email. And if you do get errors , you can customize.
"You can add enemies, add friends, bounce people." You can also adjust filtering levels. "There's a slider so you can do exclusive." Cloudmark also has a really handy safety bar feature that automatically installs on your browser and flags suspicious websites. Whatever spam blocker you're using, you should re-subscribe every year to make sure you get automatic updates. "Software vendors are very good at finding threats quickly and developing patches to address them."
Copyright 2005, KRON 4. All rights reserved
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