8 ways to fight spam filter frustration

8 ways to fight spam filter frustration

False positives are the scourge of spam filters. Whether you're sending or receiving, here are some steps you can take to keep good e-mail out of the slush pile.

(Gawkwire.com) Spam. It fills our in-boxes, wastes our time and spreads malware -- and it's only getting worse. According to Ferris Research, which studies messaging and content control, 40 trillion spam messages are expected to be sent in 2008, costing businesses more than $140 billion worldwide -- a significant increase from the 18 trillion spam messages sent in 2006 and the 30 trillion in 2007.

In theory, e-mail filtering software and appliances allow "good" or "true" e-mail messages to pass through while prohibiting spam. But the filters can err in either of two ways: They can mistakenly allow spam to pass through, believing it to be true e-mail (known as a "false negative" situation), or they can mistakenly block true e-mail, believing it to be spam (a "false positive"). ... Go to source