Comments on: Please recommend a free spam filter for Outlook Express

Question: Please recommend a free spam filter for Outlook Express

pieoverdone — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:06:29 -0800

What is a decent, free spam filter for Outlook Express? Suggestions that I use another mail client are not necessary.

By: skwm

skwm — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:11:15 -0800

I use POPFile (http://popfile.sourceforge.net/), which will work with any POP based mail system.

By: luyon

luyon — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:20:04 -0800

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.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:31:24 -0800

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.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 14:04:50 -0800

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).

By: brool

brool — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 14:30:53 -0800

Another vote for POPFile. It's uncannily accurate, after being trained.

By: maurice

maurice — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 15:38:44 -0800

I've been using Spamihilator which seems to work okay and is trainable. Haven't compared it to anything else, though.

By: schnee

schnee — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 16:03:29 -0800

Another vote for POPfile. It always did a fabulous job blocking unwanted spam for me.

By: LairBob

LairBob — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 16:57:55 -0800

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.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:58:07 -0800

Ermm. yes. Popfile.
It rocks.

By: madman

madman — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 06:50:03 -0800

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)

By: ObscureReferenceMan

ObscureReferenceMan — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800

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.