How to Reduce or Eliminate Spam Emails Using a Spam Filter

Spam emails are unsolicited messages that often carry harmful links or attachments that can compromise your computer's security. They may spread malware, steal personal data, and clutter your inbox, making it harder to manage essential communications. While wanting to stop or eliminate spam emails is not possible, there are several steps you can take to reduce them and protect yourself from these threats. A spam email filter is one of the most effective tools available to detect spam emails and protect from spam.

For more details about spam detection and protecting yourself from harmful email content, refer to our article How to Detect Unwanted Email.

• How to Protect Yourself from Spam Email
• What to Do if You Receive Spam Email
• Reduce or Eliminate Spam Emails Using Spam Filters
• SPF Records and DNS Settings for Spam Prevention
• Summary

How to Protect Yourself from Spam Email

The best defense against spam starts with protecting your email address:

1. Keep your email address private: Avoid sharing your email on public platforms like websites, forums, or social media. Use contact forms for communication instead.
2. Use Domain Privacy services: To further protect your email, activate domain privacy services that shield your email address from spammers.

What to Do if You Receive Spam Email

If spam emails slip through your defenses, report them immediately to your email provider. Almost all email services allow you to mark emails as junk or spam. By reporting spam emails, you not only prevent them from cluttering your inbox but also contribute to improving your email provider's spam filter system.

Reduce or Eliminate Spam Emails Using Spam Filters

Spam filters are one of the most effective ways to reduce spam emails. Setting up a filter once you create your email account can block most unsolicited emails from ever reaching your inbox. Even if spam has already started to accumulate, configuring a filter can stop further intrusion immediately.

Two popular spam filters to consider are:

• SpamAssassin
• SpamExperts

SpamAssassin

SpamAssassin is a free and widely used spam filter. It evaluates incoming emails for known spam phrases and formats, assigning a spam score. Although setup is required, it identifies and reduces spam over time. Be sure to keep it updated to maintain effectiveness against new spam techniques.

SpamExperts

For a more advanced solution, SpamExperts offers a more streamlined solution to boast advanced filtering capabilities that can eliminate 99.98% of unsolicited bulk emails. Operating at the domain level, SpamExperts allows for personalized rules to be set for individual email addresses.

While both filters are highly effective, we recommend choosing one to avoid conflicts. SpamAssassin suits basic filtering needs, while SpamExperts provides robust protection for more complex scenarios.

SPF Records and DNS Settings for Spam Prevention

Besides spam filters, configuring your SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records is another way to minimize your chances of receiving spam. SPF records verify your email address so that only approved servers may send emails under your name; thus, these help prevent spam and spoofing.

Bluehost offers DNS management tools to configure SPF records, making securing your domain against spam easier.

Common SPF policies include:

• all "Hard Fail" indicates that all mail not on the allowlist is rejected.
• ~all "Soft Fail" indicates that it accepts mail that is not on the allowlist but handles it carefully (e.g., may send it to spam).
• ?all "Neutral" indicates no policy for servers not on the list; it allows all mail. This is the default configuration.

For more information on configuring SPF records or managing DNS settings, refer to the following Bluehost articles:

• DNS Management
• How To Set up SPF Records

Summary

While it's impossible to eliminate spam emails, there are several spam prevention strategies you can employ to reduce unwanted emails and protect your inbox significantly:

• Utilizing a spam filter like SpamAssassin or SpamExperts
• Configuring SPF records for better email authentication will help you stay safe from spam and phishing attempts
• Upgrading to a professional email hosting service can give you even stronger defenses against spam.

Being proactive about email security and using domain protection services will secure your inbox against spam.