First, no computer based filter or “rules based” spam filter is ever going to work as good as an eyeball. To try and devise a filter that says “Delete any messages with Viagra in the subject” isn't the solution. Guess what? Have you seen all the ways Viagra can be misspelled? It is a never ending battle. You can never write enough filters to filter out all the pills, potions, watches, purses, stocks and other scams out there. Rule base spam filters don’t work.

The only way you can definitively say that a piece of e-mail is spam is by looking at it. That’s where Cloudmark comes in. There is a community of over 2 million people using Cloudmark. When a new spam message starts making its way around the Internet, this army of users “votes” on whether the message is spam or not. Once a message has gotten enough “votes” then it is determined to be spam.

The one thing you don’t want to have happen is to have items end up in the spam folder (or worse, deleted) if it wasn’t really spam. Cloudmark has an excellent reputation for not allowing “false positives” (being told it’s spam when it isn’t).

If Cloudmark has to err, it would be best to err on the side of caution. Therefore, of the 1200 e-mails I mentioned earlier maybe a handful sneak through and don’t get caught. However, that’s better than having to wade through 1150 messages visually trying to pick out the legit ones. I can deal with 4 or 5, I can’t (and won’t) deal with 1150.

If you use e-mail, particularly with Outlook, Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird, and you have more spam than you care to deal with, then RUN, don’t walk and pick up a copy of Cloudmark Desktop. It’s not free, so it will run about $39 a year (yes, it’s a subscription service) but the $39 gets you the ability to run it on two machines (desktop and/or laptop). It is absolutely the best $39 you will ever spend if you want to get a handle on eliminating the spam in your inbox.

Click Here for a free 15-day trial

I will tell you that there are two very small down sides to Cloudmark. First it only works with the above mentioned e-mail clients (Outlook, Outlook Express and Mozilla Thunderbird). If you are using some other e-mail client you are out of luck.

Second, is that in order to eliminate the spam, Cloudmark still has to download it and then it puts all the spam it finds in the spam folder.

If you are on a limited bandwidth connection and want to eliminate the spam before it ever hits your Inbox then there is a product called MailWasher Pro that will delete the spam before it gets to Outlook. I use both. However, if I had to choose just one it would be Cloudmark.

Cloudmark Desktop is the simplest, most effective email protection for Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Thunderbird. Plus they have a free 15 day trial.

	More than 98% accurate against e-mail abuse
	Stop e-mail-borne viruses before they infect your computer
	faster than other virus-blocking services
	Avoid identity theft, fraud, and other phishing scams
	Automatically move spam from your Inbox into a separate folder
	Never miss a legitimate message
	Free 15-day trial
	Upgrades are always free

You'll receive complete protection from spam, viruses, and phishing scams for 15 days, free of charge. At the end of your free trial, you will be reminded to purchase a subscription.

If you choose not to purchase a subscription, you'll continue to receive free protection from phishing (but not from other e-mail threats, such as spam or viruses).

Cloudmark Desktop is the proven solution that automatically fights spam, fraud and all e-mail threats.

Click Here for a free 15-day trial

Cloudmark Desktop gets my highest 4 star rating