SPAM is a REAL PROBLEM! We have noticed an increase in spam over the last 6 months. More high speed access means more spammers can send more mail to more addresses per hour than ever before. Try some of the suggestions below to reduce your intake of this fatty and dangerous substance.

Our first tip: NEVER respond to spam. NEVER click on anything in a spam. To do so reveals your email address to the spammer, which results in even more spam.

Our second tip: Remember KISS:

Keep It Simple Sweetheart !

That means that if you can find a simple solution that is not too much work, you will be better off. The alternative can be a lot of work for little real benefit.

Just Say Delete - Preclean your Mail with Squirrelmail.

Positive -

• It's simple and easy to do.
• Use the Squirrelmail button on the Home Page to clean your box before using your mail client.
• Make sure to read the Squirrelmail help page for tips. Set your Display Preferences to show as many emails as you receive in a typical session.
• Check all the obvious spam and hit delete. Log off Squirrelmail and pick up your mail from the POP3 server normally.

• There really is no negative aspect to this strategy.
• However, using Squirrelmail to preclean your mail is an extra step.

Mail Filters - Use your Existing email Software to Catch spam.

Positive -

• Most spam isn't addressed directly to you. Spammers use lists to send mail, so your name doesn't appear in the normal 'to' or 'cc' headers. You can take advantage of this fact and filter it directly to the trash or a spam folder you create to trap spam. Filters are part of email software, so you already have the software. It's easy to configure, but the setup varies depending on your email software. The most spam will be caught by a filter that catches anything that isn't addressed in the to: or cc: line to you@westernet.net or one of the lists you are subscribed to.

• Mail Filters won't work with Squirrelmail.
• Takes some fooling around to get it right.

Quick How-to for Outlook Express:

1. Create a new folder called SPAM (Select "Local Folders" then click file, new folder). Click Tools, Click Message Rules, Mail. [screenshot]
2. Click New, and check the box for "Where the To or CC line contains people" and "Move it to the specified folder". [screenshot]
3. Click the "contains people" link, and enter your email address. [screenshot]
4. Click the "Add" button. Add all of your addresses, and don't forget that lists are usually not sent to your individual address, but to a list address.
5. Click the "Options" Button and change the conditions of the filter to "Message does not contain the people below". If you've added more than one email address, then select the option for "Messages matches any one of the people below". This will make the filter catch everything that DOESN'T match (likely spam). [screenshot]
6. Click Ok, Click Ok again, until you are back at the "new mail rule" window.
7. In the rule description, click on the word "specified" link. [screenshot]
8. Select your spam or trash folder and click ok.
9. Give a name to the filter rule - "spam".
10. Click ok again to close the filter rule.
    

Quick How-to for Netscape:

1. To create a new folder called SPAM, click Edit, click Message Filters, click New.
2. Name the filter Spam, pulldown for "To or CC", and fill in your username@westernet.net in the boxes. [screenshot]
3. Now click the New Folder button and name the folder Spam.[screenshot]
4. Click the "More" button if you are on some mailing lists. Since lists are usually not sent to your individual address, but to a list address, fill it out the same way. [screenshot]
5. Do this as many times as necessary for each list. Make sure that you have checked "Match any of the following" so that anything that fails any condition will wind up in the Spam folder. [screenshot]
6. The last step is to route the failures. Either pulldown to "Trash" or press the New Folder button and create a new folder Spam as a subfolder of Inbox. [screenshot] (You could pull down to Delete, but you might want to see how it's working first.)
7. OK your way out 3 times to finish up this filter.
8. If you create multiple filters (for example to route listmail to list folders), you will want to adjust the order in which they are applied.

Now a WORD OF CAUTION:

The following are Programs that you can load into your machine. As with any program, there will be a learning curve, and it may not work the way you expect or want. Although Spam is a nuisance, it's not really work. You may end up loading a program in, messing with it, not liking it and having to unload it. This is work. Ask yourself if you really want to do this BEFORE you proceed.

Mailwasher - A windows utility that 'washes' the spam out of your mailbox on the mailserver BEFORE you download it to your computer.

Positive -

• Works great for identifying spam and removing it.
• Saves you time by automatically marking spam for deletion & deleting it BEFORE you waste your time downloading it.
• Shareware, Free for personal use. Registration is encouraged.

• Since it's a program, it's more complicated to install, use and maintain.
• Adjust the settings in the Mailwasher configuration. See the help file in Mailwasher if this is at all confusing.
  Note: Mailwasher is free software, not supported by WesterNet.
  We cannot help with Mailwasher configuration.
• Requires some configuration, but easier to setup than Spamweasel(below).

• Windows only.

Spamweasel - A windows utility that works as a proxy between your regular email program (Netscape, Outlook Express, Eudora), and our mailserver.

Positive -

• Works great for catching spam if it's configured properly.
• Free for personal use.

• Since it's a program, it's more complicated to install, use and maintain.
• Spam must be downloaded to your computer, sorted into folders, then deleted.
• Configuration is not automatic. Here's a basic setup:
  • Download, register and install Spamweasel.
  • Set it to start automatically.
  • See Spamweasel FAQ for instructions on how to configure your email software for use with Spamweasel.
  • Adjust the settings in the Spamweasel configuration. See the help file in Spamweasel if this is at all confusing.
    Note: Spamweasel is free software, not supported by WesterNet.
    We cannot help with Spamweasel configuration.
  • Create a new folder in your email software called "spam" or something similar.
  • Create a message filter rule in your email program to sort incoming email with "SPAM" in the subject line to the new folder. (spamweasel will add the "SPAM" tag to the subject line for this purpose).
  • Collect your email, and make adjustments to the configuration of Spamweasel until it works best for you.
    Hint: In the configuration dialog of Spamweasel, be sure to add all of the addresses at which you receive mail to 'My Addresses'

• Windows 95 or later.

For more options, or help with spam or other support issues, Contact us.

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