SmallBizResource Blog -- Security

Inexpensive Antispam Software Can Save Billions of Dollars

Posted by Gayle Kesten Friday, Jul 25, 2008, 02:09 PM ET

The stories are all over cyberspace: "Spam King" Edward Davidson, who escaped from a minimum-security federal prison last weekend -- barely two months into his 21-month sentence for tax evasion and falsifying e-mail headers -- allegedly killed himself, though not before murdering his wife and young daughter.

More from bMighty.com: "According to the United States Attorney's Office in Colorado, from 2005 to 2006, Davidson, along with subcontractors, sent out hundreds of thousands unsolicited e-mail containing false header information worldwide, encouraging recipients to invest in penny stocks. For three years prior, his spamming activities involved the promotion of watches, perfume, and other items. Davidson's bank deposits from 2003 to 2006 totaled $3.5 million, plus prosecutors said he also stashed away $380,000 in a girlfriend's bank account and purchased $418,000 worth from a company that sells gold, platinum, palladium and silver coins."

Clearly, going to jail can't be good for one's state of mind. It also sounds like Davidson might have had some other issues on his plate, as well. According to a Fox News article, the judge who sentenced him in May noted he had been diagnosed with ADD and mandated counseling. "He obviously has some unresolved issues with regard to his childhood and how he was raised that he believes impair his ability to make good decisions in the future," the judge said.

That last paragraph was just for additional background, not to excuse his criminal behavior or launch into a discussion about his possible lack of impulse control.

My purpose with this blog is to point you to antispam products that can save you from wasting your precious time (read: billions of dollars) reading/deleting/dealing with unsolicited e-mail messages. A comprehensive review of said products from PC Magazine starts off by saying: "While your choice should block as much spam as possible, it's critical that an antispam product keep false positives (good mail marked as spam) to a bare minimum. And, of course, it should do both without slowing or interfering with your usual e-mail habits."

The article goes on to explain three main approaches to filtering out spam, then gives the thumbs-up to the following products:

CA Anti-Spam ($49.99): Praised most for its stability, this program works with Outlook and only accept email from addresses on your approved list. All other messages are quarantined until you're ready to review them.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. The good news is that if you haven't already put antispam software to work for you, it's a negligible expense to do so. And if you already have the application up and running, let me know what you're using, how well it works and how much is costs.

Security

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