Anyone with clever email security tips ?

  • what i do is have 2 email accounts - a filtered and a semi-filtered. the filtered/private account only allows email into my inbox if the sender's address matches an address in my address book and/or a secret word is placed in the "Subject" field. this account is for trusted friends and relatives to email me. i never receive spam into this account.and i mean NEVER EVER.
    the semi-filtered is more flexible,it allows most email in .it's my everyday account that i use for most purposes on the internet. yes,i get spammed at this account,but not as much as i used to at another account i had. what i did was use a very uncommon name that most spam robots don't seem to have figured out...yet.
    so,anyone got other tips or ideas to share?


  • Hey,
    I have used a usa.net email address for a number of years now. OK you gotta pay for it but they have a built in virus checker which checks email before it gets to you (saved me once). With AVG + Sentinel on my machine I give everything a second blast. Usa.net also removes spam mail. The minute amount which does get thru I use MailWasher to sort it out.
    Nothing is foolproof and something will probably get thru but all we can do is try and make it harder for them. :D


  • For all you OE users. http://www.blkviper.com/Articles/OS/Email/filter1.htm


  • Hooray for kazzi, from a fellow AVG/Sentinel user!

    I use Mailwasher. Calypso is my eMail client. I have it set such that...

    1) All attachments are ripped off & sent to a Virus-check folder on my iOmega zip drive. If you are a Calypso user, the filter settings to do this are...
    {Pattern to search for} * {in} Subject
    {What action to take} Save attachment {in} e:calypso viruscheck

    [NOTE: The wild card * means that every message with an attachment gets the attachment ripped off & sent to e: -- my iOmega zip drive.

    2) HTML is turned off. If I decide to look at an HTML-encoded message, I either open it in Opera [NEVER IE!] or send it to Metapad [where it opens in its native HTML code.]

    3) Even if I neglect to pre-screen with Mailwasher, Calypso is set so that it will not download from server any message that exceeds 40k.

    I have several websites, each of them displaying my email address on every page, so I get LOTS of email. A fair amount of that mail is NOT nice. With the above controls in place, I have never been stung by a virus, trojan or worm. My security person is very emphatic that none of the folks on his servers are allowed to use OE under any conditions. If he finds you using OE, you're history on his servers. Period.

    aloha......bellgamin


  • I have a junk mail folder that I send all suspected spam to. I have rules for it that send mail to it because they meet the following conditions.

    You may have to use regular expressions if allowed by your client.

    My rules to filter mail into my junk mail folder:

    I find a lot of spam claims to be from hotmail.

    If your mail client allows them create the following rules to send fake hotmail e-mails to the trash can (or to some folder for junk).

    any mail from @hotmail.com where the bit before the @ starts with numbers. Like 12bob@hotmail.com, real hotmail addresses don't start with numbers.

    any mail from hotmail with more then just @hotmail.com. For example, @msn.hotmail.com, @hotmail.microsoft.com. Real hotmail addresses only say @hotmail.com.

    any mail that claims to be from hotmail that doen't have the header 'X-originating-IP:' All real hotmail gets this header added.

    Any mail with Nigeria in the body or subject (unless of course you actualy do converse with people from Nigeria a lot).

    Any mail with the the phrase 'hello my friend' in the body or subject. 'Nigerian' mail uses this phrase a lot.

    Any mail with the header 'Precedence: bulk'

    Any mail with the header 'Precedence: list' I subscribe to a lot of mailing lists and can't be bothered to keep trashing them, so the above two send all mailing list mail to my junk mail folder which is set up to delete mail over 7 days old.

    Any mail with the subject 'Your future is here'

    Any mail with the subject '£££' or '$$$' or ' '

    Any mail with the subject 'vaiagra'

    Any mail from 'backwire.com'
    I can't actualy rememeber what this filter is for :eek:

    any mail with the subject 'Stephen Cox', obviously put your name instead. :p

    Any mail with the subject 'obligation'

    Any mail with the subject 'free'

    Any mail with the subject '***'

    Any mail with the subject 'porn'

    Any mail with the subject 'adult'

    Any mail with the subject 'loan'

    Any mail with the subject 'loans'

    Any mail with the subject 'get rich quick'

    Any mail with the subject 'xxx'

    Any mail with the subkect 'Adults only'

    Any mail with the subject 'Bulk email sending'

    Any mail with the subject 'urgent'

    Any mail with the subject 'confidential'

    Any mail where the to field does not contain '@coxster.com'
    this sends all mail not addressed to me to the junk folder.

    Of course all the filters for the junk mail folder get processed after all the other folders filters so that mail I actualy want gets sorted to the correct folder and not in to the junk folder.

    You could just create one rule for the junk folder to send all mail with an @ in the from or to to the junk mail folder. Then put sorting rules for other folders above the rules for the junk mail folder. What this would do is the same as hotmails junk filter on it's highest setting where all mail ends up in the junk unless you have a rule directing it to another folder above the junk mail folder rules. It's not exactly the same as hotmails junk filtering as that sends all mail not on your allowed senders or in your address book to the junk mail folder.


  • Bit of paranoid are you ? :D

    Seems you're well protected against most spam. But not against other e-mail risks, like corrupted e-mail services at your friends and relatives systems. Any infected third party's pc could mail you to your trusted mail and send you some less friendly mail as well.

    You didn't say if you use a pop3/imap client as well. If not, most risks are absent.
    If you use the regular Microsoft tools: there are better options avalable...


  • excellent post risc os. i've just sent a copy to my GF,sister and myself!


  • :) well,let me see...i use Outlook Express for POP3 (but that's my isp's default email account that i never use) and for IMAP with fastmail.fm (strict filters). i use AVG6 antivirus to screen email received through OE. and my other is with msn.com . i just never open an attatchment before scanning. i only get about 12 email/week. most have no attatchments.


  • two words: SpamPal (http://www.spampal.org.uk/) and Mail Washer (http://www.mailwasher.net/)







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