Exchange Server Spam Blocker

Spam is a reality of the Internet, but not all users suffer from it at the same extent. Business owners have difficulties with identifying real messages from interested prospects from unsolicited mails. Software companies have come with solutions in the form of anti-spam programs meant to detect and delete over 90% of junk mail. One intelligent tool is the exchange spam blocker first released by Microsoft in May 2004. The target market for this product consists of individual users and companies that receive unsolicited commercial emails in very large numbers.

Exchange spam blocker is based on Microsoft SmartScreen technology that helps with the identification of a message that has a spam potential. The access of the unsolicited mail messages can thus be stopped at the mailbox or at the gateway depending on the settings. Other Microsoft tools were used before the launch of Exchange spam blocker. Nevertheless, the older technologies are no longer supported by updates, as it happens with the modern variants of the email protections. The current version of the Exchange spam blocker is capable of stopping spam in the tracks, allowing for good business development.

The spam blocker for exchange combines several technologies in order to separate spam from legitimate messages; thus, besides the use of the Bayes filtering, the the messages are scanned for spam headers and spam keywords. After the identification of the spam messages, the delete or read-mail options are controlled by the PC user. There are versions of the Exchange spam blocker that even notify a sender if his/her legitimate message has been taken for spam or not. Plus, the advantages of preventing spam directly on server before downloading into the computer are manifold: there is no malware unauthorized installation or virus attacks.

To sum it up, most of the tasks required for small business operations and personal usage should be covered by using the Exchange spam blocker. A problem of the 2003 version of the blocker consisted in the impossibility to import or export blocked messages or send domains. Another problem is the fact that the user does not know how much spam is blocked or how well the filters are functioning. It is important to check the settings and learn about the best operational mode so that you can maximize the usage of your anti-spam defenses.