There is no Internet user who wouldn’t suffer from spam at a higher or lower levels. An active Internet surfer or a business that works online a lot, receives hundreds if not thousands of messages that are hard to separate into legitimate mails and spam. Software companies have come up with a solution in the form of free and paid spam blockers.

Anti-spam tools can be classified in three different categories, depending on how they operate. Plug-ins for email clients is one first category of spam blockers. Such programs get installed on the computer and take care of the downloading the messages and eliminating the unwanted emails. For some users this may not be the ideal anti-spam option.

Spam blockers are also available as stand-alone applications. Such software runs on the computer that requires constant communication with the email server. The mailbox is checked for spam several times per hour, and every time unwanted emails are identified they are immediately deleted. Such spam blockers consume resources and bandwidth.

Spam blockers that are installed on the email servers are the common used tools available with MSN or Yahoo! Mail. Starting from potentially aggressive phrases, keywords or writing styles, the incorporated software detects the unwanted emails. Spam filters are definitely not infallible, and many dishonest Internet users have found ways to fool the filters.

Spam blockers could be a problem for Internet marketers that use opt-in listings to advertise their products and services. The problem is that e-commerce mail messages may not reach the recipient because they get deleted by the spam filters or the spam blockers installed on the prospects’ computers. Many marketers have found ways to adapt to this situation, managing to pass filters by changing the email content.

Although, we’d like to believe we have full protection against unsolicited mail, spam blockers have a 90% efficiency most of the time. There are even very advanced anti-spam systems that can delete 99% of spam.

When shopping for an anti-spam tool, check those free spam blockers that are compatible with your computer and email service. Also make sure that you won’t have difficulties of installation, and find out how high the level of blockage is. The cost is also an issue as the most effective tools are the priciest on the market.