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Blog: Technology As An Organizing Tool
 Controlling the S***
If you have an email account, you've probably had some. If your email address appears online, you've probably had lots. (If you don't have an email account, wake up – it's the 21st century!) Yes, I'm talking about spam. Although Outlook and other software programs can be helpful in filtering these unwanted messages out of your inbox, it can be a real drain on your system (not to mention your patience!) waiting for them to download. For this reason, last year I decided to try Spam Arrest, which does the filtering right on the server. Here's how it works.
You upload your contacts so any messages from these people will automatically be approved. If anyone else sends you an email, they'll be sent an automatic reply to which they must respond before their messages will be delivered to you. You can even customize your message. Mine reads as follows:
Janet Barclay, Organized Assistant here,
I'm protecting myself from receiving junk mail.
Please click the link below to complete the verification process. You have to do this only once.
Once the sender clicks on the verification link, they are added to the "approved" list. As most spam is sent out by automated systems which are unable to deal with this request, only messages sent by actual human beings will go through. Since some spam is sent by real people who are unaware of the laws, or choose to disregard them, the occasional spam message goes through, but I'm able to log into my account and block the senders from sending me any further emails.
The only drawback is that I occasionally have to log into my Spam Arrest account to check the unverified messages, because some people don't realize they need to respond to the challenge email. If the other person uses Spam Arrest or a similar service, your challenge email will generate one from their system, so human intervention is necessary at some point! However, I find this takes far less time than I was spending downloading all the messages to my own computer, only to then turn around and delete most of them (after a quick peek to make sure no good mail got filtered).
Although it's not a free service, it's not terribly expensive, and it's far superior to anything else I've seen. They even offer a free 30 day trial so you can see the benefits for yourself before you commit to buying it. To see a video of how it works and get your free trial, just go to the Spam Arrest website. You have nothing to lose – except your spam!
posted on: 10/9/2008 8:30:00 AM by Janet Barclay
category: Business
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Technology As An Organizing Tool
by Janet Barclay
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About Janet:
Janet Barclay is a Master Virtual Assistant and the founder of Organized Assistant. Specializing in supporting entrepreneurs in the Organizing and Career Services industries, Organized Assistant provides top-notch Internet marketing services to business owners of all shapes and sizes.
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