How Do SPAM Filters Work?

Now that email has become a major way that many communicate, it has been, at times, reduced to worthless and annoying sales pitches. The problem with spam is that you don't want it, but it keeps coming anyway. You may never open these, or buy what they are selling, but someone must be doing it or it would not be coming at alarming rates. You can get spam filters on your email, and some already come with these, but they don't always work. Each filter works in a different way.

Spam filters can have point values that they place on certain words or phrases that are most commonly found in spam emails. They may assign points, and when those points add up to a certain number, that email is then considered spam, and is filtered away from your inbox. Filters also attempt to see if they can tell when a header has been altered to hide the origin of the email. Many spam mailers can spoof other email services to appear legitimate.

Some of the words that spam filters look for are probably ones that you associate with spam already. The word Viagra is always a red flag, along with many pornographic words. Phrases that urge you to act now, or tells you that an offer ends soon are also flagged. Even things like excessive exclamation points and typing in all caps can mean an email is deemed to be spam. Remember that when writing your personal emails. Links and emails that are nothing but a large graphic can also be flagged.

Spoofed headers are often much harder to detect. You may not know it, but a spam mailer can send out a program that can take over your email. Your computer could be sending out spam without your knowledge. Though some programs can detect some altered headers, not all of them can. That is why some can get through when others are deleted or sent to your bulk or spam folder.

No spam filter is ever going to be perfect, but some do very good by having each person emailing you verify that they are a real person. It can be a pain, but it does work. Some can be set so that only addresses in your address book come through, and that can eliminate spam, but also some other emails that you may want to get. If you have any concerns about any email landing in your inbox, use a reverse email search for more information on the sender.

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