How do Anti-Spam Systems Work?

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Receiving unsolicited emails can not only be annoying as they clog up your inbox but harmful too. For hackers and other internet users with malicious intent, sending viruses and malicious code via email is more common than ever and if you’re not protected the results could be catastrophic.

In this blog, we explain how anti-spam systems can work for your business, school or enterprise.

What is anti-spam designed to do?

The main aim of anti-spam systems is to identify and block malicious emails. As hackers use more sophisticated methods, it becomes harder to identify which emails are fake and which are legit – which is why you need a spam filter to do the work for you.

How do spam filters work?

Once you have anti-spam software installed in your email system, it will get to work by scanning through your inbox. Each system works differently but there is a set of common protocols used to determine the good mail from the bad, including:

Content filtering

As the name suggests, this involves reviewing the content within a message to determine if it is spam. For example, the subject line and body of the email will be scanned for terms that are considered ‘spammy’, blocking them from getting into your inbox and flagging them.

Profiling

There are many telltale signs of a spam email, many of which don’t appear at first glance or reading of the message. Profiling involves a number of checks and searches to identify bugs, IDs and invalid messages which are used to come up with a score, blocking the email if it hits a designated number.

Algorithms

Spam software is extremely clever in detecting malicious emails. One example is the use of algorithms to filter emails which are done by comparing legitimate email accounts to suspicious emails. The algorithm will constantly adapt to your habits so you stay protected at all times.

Are you looking for anti-spam software that can protect your business or school? At MailCleaner, our anti-spam systems are designed to protect your servers from malicious attacks. By filtering your inbox, it’s the perfect solutions for eliminating up to 99% of spam. Contact us today for more information.