What is Anti-Spam?

The term anti-spam refers to any software, hardware, application or process that is used to prevent spam elements from entering an e-mail network. It can be implemented either at the level of end users or administrators or both.

To fight the increasing hazard of junk and bulk mails, e-mail hosting providers today provide a broad spectrum of anti-spam technologies that include filters, scanners and other types of applications. Specialized anti-spam services employ a statistical method, while others use heuristics or predictive algorithms. To sort email in sophisticated ways, anti-spam service providers may monitor email signatures, IP addresses or other data, which reduces spam.

The most profound method of filtering out spam is content filtering. The anti-spam program examines the content with a vast internal database containing terms, slangs that are likely to be used by spammers. ‘Free, Get Cash, Sale’ are words that are on the hit list of every anti-spam program.

Another more sophisticated method of filtering spam is Bayesian filtering. The anti-spam filter will rate the email based on certain pre-defined factors. Emails that exceed a certain threshold are then marked as spam, and a precautionary message is displayed to the user. As long as the score is below the ‘limit’, the email is likely to not be reported as suspicious or as spam.

It is imperative to choose a reliable email host. Choosing a MediaWiki hosting might make you more vulnerable to spams. A reliable host will always have an anti-spam deployed at its end. For added security, it is recommended to use another (anti-spam) at the client end.