Off topic: The never-ending torrent of spam Thread poster: Robert Forstag
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Robert Forstag 
United States
Local time: 18:44
Spanish to English
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Is there any mail system out there that provides a button that directs future mails from the sender in question to be delivered to the "Trash" folder? This would seem the most simple and elegant way of assuring that the receiver never has to again see the message lines of offending males from that particular sender.
In my "Yahoo-Plus" account, I can filter mail to trash, but this requires creating a separate filter for each sender or string of words in a message, and I also have fou... See more Is there any mail system out there that provides a button that directs future mails from the sender in question to be delivered to the "Trash" folder? This would seem the most simple and elegant way of assuring that the receiver never has to again see the message lines of offending males from that particular sender.
In my "Yahoo-Plus" account, I can filter mail to trash, but this requires creating a separate filter for each sender or string of words in a message, and I also have found that such filters don't always work. Even worse, I have found that some of the junk even winds up in my Inbox.
The issue arises for me because I have set things up so that I do receive mails of secondary interest in my Spam folder (e.g., notices re Kudoz questions). However there are definitely items (offers for Viagra, hair restoration programs, spurious notifications of lottery winnings, phishing messages) that I would prefer not to see at all.
Does anyone else experience these same problems? Are there good solutions out there? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | If such a system exists | May 20, 2012 |
I'll be one of the first on line to buy it. My inbox is crammed daily with products to enhance 'maleness', prescription drugs w/o a prescription and rip-off watches, to name but a few. I frequently wonder, does this practice actually generate sales for the perpetrators?
I also receive quite a lot of spam containing jibberish. Is this someone getting their rocks off?
[Edited at 2012-05-20 12:26 GMT]
| | | | | Don't publish your email address on the web | May 20, 2012 |
Spam definitely is the plague of email, but there is only so much one can do to fight it.
That said, the most effective way to protect yourself would be to never have your email address written out on any webpage (instead, upload it as a graphic file or simply don't use the '@' symbol). This way spammers will not get a hold of your address in the first place. I put your name into Google to see if your email address comes up (I hope you don't mind), and one of the top results was yo... See more Spam definitely is the plague of email, but there is only so much one can do to fight it.
That said, the most effective way to protect yourself would be to never have your email address written out on any webpage (instead, upload it as a graphic file or simply don't use the '@' symbol). This way spammers will not get a hold of your address in the first place. I put your name into Google to see if your email address comes up (I hope you don't mind), and one of the top results was your details on cmrg.com, where your Yahoo address is written out in its entirety in characters. Pages like this are scanned by spammers, and having your address there is likely to produce unwanted traffic to your email account.
Once your email is known to them, or if they are generating random recipient addresses, the filter settings that you mention are probably your best bet. Additionally, if you are getting unwanted messages from legitimate senders who ignore your 'unsubscribe' requests, you can block their addresses in the settings or use Yahoo's Unsubscriber app. Unfortunately, these will be of little help with the Canadian pharmacy, etc. type emails as they are always sent form ad hoc addresses.
In the most severe of cases, getting a new address may be the only solution. Which is not necessarily as frustrating as it used to be, given that you can now manage various addresses from the same account, import and forward between different providers, etc.
Oh, and it helps Yahoo to filter out future junk if you select and mark it as spam before deleting from inbox. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 18:44
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | @TransLithuanian | May 20, 2012 |
Thanks for the feedback. In a sense, I've dug my own grave.
I use the "spam button on Yahoo all the time but, as I noted in my e-mail, what I want is for the junk to go directly to trash, since I also receive e-mails of some interest in my Spam folder.
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| There are tools for that... | May 20, 2012 |
There are quite a few tools to do that and much more, but I don't know of any free e-mail providers offering it.
I've been careful with my e-mail address, to the stream of spam is very thin, maybe one message a day on the average, but I intend to use these tools to sort my mail for me, do some automatic answering, forward the most urgent messages to SMS when I'm away, etc., so I am setting up my own mail server shortly. Whoever is interested, please feel free to contact me - once it's up ... See more There are quite a few tools to do that and much more, but I don't know of any free e-mail providers offering it.
I've been careful with my e-mail address, to the stream of spam is very thin, maybe one message a day on the average, but I intend to use these tools to sort my mail for me, do some automatic answering, forward the most urgent messages to SMS when I'm away, etc., so I am setting up my own mail server shortly. Whoever is interested, please feel free to contact me - once it's up and running, I will be able to share my experience or, if there is a demand, put up a bigger server and offer an inexpensive solution to fellow professionals. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alison Sparks (X)
Local time: 00:44
French to English
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I find it very good for filtering things automatically. So far it has taken out all the real junk without it ever appearing in my inbox. Likewise, if some does go through to the inbox I can just hit the spam button and all future mail from that sender goes to spam.
You can also check your spam folder, and if something is in there which you do want, can then say it's not spam. I suppose most providers offer the same type of options, but gmail is the only one I've found which filte... See more I find it very good for filtering things automatically. So far it has taken out all the real junk without it ever appearing in my inbox. Likewise, if some does go through to the inbox I can just hit the spam button and all future mail from that sender goes to spam.
You can also check your spam folder, and if something is in there which you do want, can then say it's not spam. I suppose most providers offer the same type of options, but gmail is the only one I've found which filters stuff directly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:44
Portuguese to English
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| Gmail seconded | May 20, 2012 |
No problems at all with spam.
| | | | | My internet provider does that | May 20, 2012 |
They delete 98% of incoming spam, after introduction of some keywords (such as Viagra, lottery, etc.). Only some fund-raising mails pass the filter, they are difficult to detect.
But I do not have a free account, I pay for it, and the antispam-option costs 1 €/month.
As for published addresses, I seldomly have problems with the one I publish, only with the malbox I use for years and which is published in the translator's association diaries: mails for dictionaries, for translation... See more They delete 98% of incoming spam, after introduction of some keywords (such as Viagra, lottery, etc.). Only some fund-raising mails pass the filter, they are difficult to detect.
But I do not have a free account, I pay for it, and the antispam-option costs 1 €/month.
As for published addresses, I seldomly have problems with the one I publish, only with the malbox I use for years and which is published in the translator's association diaries: mails for dictionaries, for translation courses, etc., with clickable links I NEVER click upon.
I never receive spam from proz. ▲ Collapse
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S E (X)
Italy
Local time: 00:44
Italian to English
| another vote for gmail | May 20, 2012 |
Hi Robert,
I use gmail, too, and have no problems with spam. I actually have Google Apps for Business, which comes with lots of perks and service guarantees that so far - two years running - I find absolutely worth the annual fee.
Ciao!
Sarah
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I have no problems with spam in my gmail account and highly recommend it for your important e-mails.
I also have a yahoo account, which I use for things things of secondary interest (such as Kudoz and any mailing lists I belong to). I publish the yahoo address on my website and use it to correspond with potential clients. If the contact is trustworthy, I transfer our correspondence to my gmail account. So far, this system is working out really well for me.
| | | | Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 01:44
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| Depends on your server | May 21, 2012 |
I never get the usual spam, because my provider filters it automatically. The spam that comes through is recognised by my Thunderbird software and ends in the trash-folder automatically. Sometimes though also non-spam is recognised as spam, so I think there is no 100% proof system. But even though my e-mail address is known to spammers, I do not get more than a few spams per week, no problem really.
| | | | inkweaver
Germany
Local time: 00:44
French to German
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I was very happy with gmail for a couple of years since I got no spam mails whatsoever. That changed when apparently someone uploaded their address book containing my email address on Facebook. I don't have a FB account but that doesn't seem to stop them using email addresses in any way they please. However, the amount of spam mails I receive is limited to about one or two per day, so it's not too bad.
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Tom Tyson
Local time: 23:44
Member
German to English
| Another yes for gmail | May 21, 2012 |
No problems with spam at all. My hotmail account isn't bad either, though some things get through and it's worth checking the junk box to make sure they haven't filtered out something you want. But my vote is for gmail: it's a good service.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Safety in numbers | May 21, 2012 |
In the early days of internet use, I set up several email accounts for different purposes. For example, many website signup pages ask for an email address when you register so they can send you a password. They will then send spam to these addresses; so I find the best thing is to have some dedicated "dump" email accounts that I don't use for anything else except signing up to other websites. That way, the spam from these sources is kept to a minimum.
I have at least one other ema... See more In the early days of internet use, I set up several email accounts for different purposes. For example, many website signup pages ask for an email address when you register so they can send you a password. They will then send spam to these addresses; so I find the best thing is to have some dedicated "dump" email accounts that I don't use for anything else except signing up to other websites. That way, the spam from these sources is kept to a minimum.
I have at least one other email for "fun" type things - sending and receiving jokey things among friends and family, etc - and these end up attracting spam too.
I tend to use one or two main address for "business" and work contacts, which I try to keep separate from eveything else.
For example, all my kudoz responses and other proz notifications go into a dedicated free (yahoo) account. Otherwise, my regular accounts would be clogged with messages. It used to bother me because approaches from outsourcers or other colleagues would end up there and sometimes lie unseen for days or weeks (when busy, I tend to forget about that account) but at the end of the day it's preferable to being deluged.
PS: I agree that gmail is good spamwise, but I tend not to use it much because I don't like the default interface. It always takes me ages to find where the attachments are. I wish they would make it a bit more colorful (although perhaps you can change the appearance, I haven't actually looked).
[Edited at 2012-05-21 08:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 18:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks to all for your comments!
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