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cop1152
Asked: 2009-06-02 04:15:50 +0800 CST

End-user SPAM solution for Outlook users

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We have almost 100 Outlook 2003 and 2007 users and we do not yet run our own exchange server. All of us have SPAM problems, but a lot of users have very serious SPAM problems, sometimes receiving over 1000 or more SPAM messages per day.

Our provider does label suspected SPAM with a number rating and I have created custom filters to direct these to the Junk folder, but this isnt enough.

Is there an Outlook feature or an opensource plugin that will take care of SPAM for me?

Ideally I would love an opensource solution that would "pre-check" mail and delete SPAM before the user even sees it.

Thanks.

EDIT - I guess I should have been more clear from the beginning....apologies....Ideally I would love an opensource solution that would "pre-check" mail and delete SPAM before the user even sees it.

spam outlook

8 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Spambayes is a bit long in the tooth, but it's very good at picking out spam. spambayes.sourceforge.net/windows.html

    However you can't centrally manage spambayes and each client will have to have it's own install, which can cause you several problems.

    Another cheap (money not time) and opensource is to get a linux box (fedora, ubuntu) to pull all your emails in and then run them through clam antivirus and spamassassin. It works surpisingly well and an average server or VM should be able to handle a couple of hundred users.

    J

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  2. I'd look at an outsourced solution, as they work really well, and provide you with a quasi-DR capability in case your mail relay goes down.

    Suggested places to start:

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  3. I'd suggest moving your domain to Google Apps. Google is great at spam filtering.

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  4. Let me google that for you ;-)

    http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

    And if you want a big list of (not necessarily opensource) plugins: http://email.about.com/od/outlookspamfilters/tp/anti-spam_ol.htm

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  5. Spambayes is great at identifying spam, but it requires an investment of time. In addition to installing and configuring it, you'd need to provide some training so that the people using it know what to do with the messages it identifies as "might be spam."

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  6. Symantec has either a bolt on SPAM filter for you SMTP server or you can also pass it though their server.

    Both use bright mail I think and work really well. I've used it for years, well worth the cost. Which isn't that bad.

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  7. Not opensource, but Cloudmark has a product, Cloudmark Desktop, that is not terribly expensive, and works wonders. I set it up for 3 users who use Outlook for email through an ISP, and after I installed it there were no more spam complaints.

    I too was looking for something open-source, but for end-user ease-of-use and the relatively small cost, Cloudmark was a winner for me. YMMV....

    Update: I noticed that it works for Outlook, Outlook Express, and now Thunderbird (which is new since I installed it a few years ago)

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  8. Since you're not running your own Exchange server, I'm assuming that you're using your ISP for mail provision; is this correct? If so, do they offer any anti-spam services? Most will, and if you're already a customer the price tag may not be that high. Worth a look, anyway.

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