Please recommend a free spam filter for Outlook Express

February 5, 2005 1:06 PM

What is a decent, free spam filter for Outlook Express? Suggestions that I use another mail client are not necessary.
posted by pieoverdone to computers & internet (11 comments total)

I use POPFile (http://popfile.sourceforge.net/), which will work with any POP based mail system.
posted by skwm at 1:11 PM on February 5, 2005

I've found that SpamBayes works wonders. Errr, and after writing this I see it only works with Outlook, not Outlook Express. Well the related projects page lists alternatives, including POPFile.
posted by luyon at 1:20 PM on February 5, 2005

SpamBayes is excellent, but only has a plug-in for Outlook (not Outlook Express, which is an entirely different application with a confusingly similar name).

But SpamBayes can work with any mail client if it's run as a proxy server. Of course, you need to make sure you have the proxy server running (or else you get no mail, and wonder, "why am I getting no mail") and you have to change your account settings in Outlook Express to use the proxy server, and give the proxy server your actual mail server's address.
posted by orthogonality at 1:31 PM on February 5, 2005

I used to use Mailwasher. It is a separate program, not a plug-in, but it does a good job and is free. Since I stopped using OE, I no longer need it (sorry).
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:04 PM on February 5, 2005

Another vote for POPFile. It's uncannily accurate, after being trained.
posted by brool at 2:30 PM on February 5, 2005

I've been using Spamihilator which seems to work okay and is trainable. Haven't compared it to anything else, though.
posted by maurice at 3:38 PM on February 5, 2005

Another vote for POPfile. It always did a fabulous job blocking unwanted spam for me.
posted by schnee at 4:03 PM on February 5, 2005

I use POPFile, too. It's really great--the only real caveat is that it's not actually integrated into the client. It's a separate process that you manage through a browser interface, so it's a bit more cumbersome than an integrated solution would be.

That being said, all the "integrated" spam-protection options like SpamBayes seem to be Outlook-only, so if you want to stick with OE, it looks like you're almost certainly going to have to go with some kind of external solution like POPFile, MailWasher, KnowSpam, etc.
posted by LairBob at 4:57 PM on February 5, 2005

Ermm. yes. Popfile.
It rocks.
posted by seanyboy at 5:58 PM on February 5, 2005

POPFile all the way, baby! I use Eudora and I've evaluated a whole lot of desktop spam filters, and POPFile is the only one that's lasted more than a couple of weeks without annoying the crap out of me. Also, the more you train it, the more delightfully accurate it gets. :)

A combination of SpamAssasin on the server and POPFile on my desktop keeps the spam safely away.

Ah, I see others have voted for it too. Goodie!

(The only downside: It hogs 30-40 MB of RAM)
posted by madman at 6:50 AM on February 6, 2005

I'll second MailWasher. I use the free version, and it's easy, unobtrusive, and seems to learn well. There's also an upgrade that you pay for, but I haven't tried it.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 2:37 PM on February 6, 2005