The battle between those who send unsolicited e-mail advertisements--commonly known as spam--and those trying to thwart them has become an arms race. On one side are hordes of spammers who find ways, through technology and guile, to penetrate consumers' in-boxes (for example, by misspelling words like "V1agra" for Viagra or "D E B T" for debt). On the other side are Internet providers with industrial-strength spam-blocking software, vigilante organizations that blacklist spammers, and consumers armed with retail spam-blocking programs.
WHAT'S AVAILABLE
Add-on software designed to be used in conjunction with an e-mail program to recognize and filter spam is available from Blue Squirrel, FireTrust, Intermute, MailFrontier, Mailshell, McAfee, Stata Labs, Sunbelt Software, and Symantec.
E-mail applications that can recognize and filter spam without additional software are often bundled with newer computers. Apple Mac OS X Mail and Microsoft Outlook come with such filters.
Price range for add-ons: free to $70, plus yearly fees of $5 to $25.
Price range for e-mail programs: free to $90.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
In addition to identifying spam, the best filtering software should be able to correctly identify almost all valid e-mail, i.e., mail that isn't spam. Some programs can also learn--after initial training with sample e-mail, the software can improve by statistically analyzing new spam and valid e-mail messages. This is a big plus given spammers' changing tactics. Look for a program that performs an online database check of spammers or spam identifiers. A tagging feature tags spam by adding a recognizable label in the Subject field, which can help you quickly locate and delete unwanted e-mail. Also look for software that offers easy inspection of quarantined e-mails within your program so you can find and retrieve misidentified, valid e-mails.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Performance differences. All spam-blocking software Consumer Reports tested works, but to varying degrees. All products recognized at least 40 percent of the junk; the best identified 90 percent or more.
Recommendations. Your first defense against spam should be whatever your Internet provider offers. If your e-mail program filters spam, that's your second defense. If those aren't enough, consider the software described above. Then assess how important ease of use and installation are to you, since some of the cheaper (and free) software can be a challenge for those who aren't computer savvy or who are put off by detailed instructions.
Consumer Reports 