Wizcrafts MailWasher Pro Anti-Spam Filters Updated Frequently
For those you don't know, MailWasher Pro is a renowned email screening, spam detection/deletion program, designed for people who use a POP3 email client to send and receive their email (Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Thunderbird, Eudora, etc). It can be set to automatically check all of your POP3 email accounts at any whole-minutes interval you choose and contains built-in tools to detect spam messages and viruses, then deal with them in the manner you define. MailWasher Pro uses a variety of spam detection techniques including a Bayesian learning filter (with user overrides), configurable blacklists and whitelists, a database of known/reported spam, domain name server (DNS) blocklists, and user configurable custom filter rules to block various types of spam, or other unwanted email. Once incoming spam has been deleted from your email servers you can download legitimate messages to your email program, which should be set to manual mode when used with MailWasher as the front-end screener.
The custom filters are very powerful tools that many people don't fully understand, hence they often go unused by less technical users. Fortunately for them, I am part of a group of technically advanced MailWasher Pro users who have learned to develop and use these custom spam filters. In fact I am the author of many of the filters now in common use by MailWasher Pro users around the World.
I use MailWasher Pro, every day, all day long, to screen all of my incoming email for spam, scams and malware, across two dozen POP3 accounts and my custom filter rules usually block almost all incoming spam, scams and malware embedded or attached to email messages. This includes image spam promoting pump and dump stocks or counterfeit drugs, and fraudulent e-card/postcard messages with links to hostile scripts that might turn your PC into a member of a Zombie BotNet. However, as spammers tend to alter their codes occasionally, from one spam run to another, sometimes a previously effective rule will to fail to block a known type of spam. I usually detect these changes and apply them to existing or new filter rules within minutes of discovering a failure to detect and delete that type of spam. I then publish these alterations and/or additions to copies of my filters that are available for copying and pasting into your own MWP filters.txt file. See my extended comments for more information about the location of the Filters.txt file.
The gist of all this is that since I hate spam and spammers I have been updating and fine-tuning my MailWasher Pro filters quite often these days, sometimes more than once per day, to respond to changes in spam runs. You can find my most recently updated/uploaded filter sets on my MailWasher Pro Filters page. Since this is time consuming work I am not too proud to accept PayPal donations from any of you who are benefiting from my ongoing filters work and can afford to make a contribution to the cause. Thanks in advance!
See my MailWasher Pro product details page for complete information about this spam screening tool, with links to download a trial version, or to purchase a permanent license (pay once, get upgrades for life). I am also available for hire to write custom MailWasher filter rules for individuals or organizations. Contact me with your requirements and I'll send you an estimate.
MailWasher Pro stores user information in the logged on user's personal profile folder. If you use Windows 2000 or XP that location is at:
C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_User_Name)\Application Data\MailWasherPro
For Windows Vista computers the default application data location is at:
C:\Users\(Your_User_Name)\AppData\Roaming\MailWasher Pro\
If you experience "access denied" error messages when trying to save custom filter rules or blacklist entries on a Windows Vista PC, some users have reported that simply changing the security permissions on the "Roaming" folder has allowed them to use MailWasher Pro with no other changes. If that doesn't work read the workarounds listed on this forum entry.
If you cannot see the application data folders when browsing for them in My Computer they are probably hidden (by default as system folders). To unhide them go to any open folder Window, like My Computer, and click on this sequence:
Tools > Folder Options > View:
Place a checkmark in: Display the contents of system folders
Place a dot in: Show hidden files and folders
Uncheck: Hide extensions for known file types
Click APPLY, then click OK. Hit F5 to refresh your view and you should now see the Application or AppData folder and it's sub-directories and their contents.
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