Spam deletion - My method. What's yours?

SharpByCoop

SharpByCoop

Enjoying the discussions
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 8, 2001
Messages
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Hi guys,

I use Entourage (MS's poor substitute for Outlook for a Mac OS.). I still find it useful, in spite of actually enjoying the old PC's Outlook efficiency.

Anyway, one thing it does seem to do well is filter spam. I get probably 30-50 emails a day because of a couple of needed emails out on websites for my business and my other job.

These Spam notes go into the 'Junk Mail' folder. Not all, but most. I also get a ton of other emails that are subscribed advertising/information, but from companies that I may want to read. Somehow the program knows the difference and they arrive in my inboxes.

Here's the dilemma and how I approach it: Like most people, I still go back into my 'Deleted Items' folder for review of a personal conversation or an address. I run back about a year.

Now, if I deleted all these Junk emails and all the legitimate advertising emails, my deleted folder would be unmanageable to find a personal note. They'd all go out. Sheesh.

So, I drag any spam AND personal emails I won't need into the Junk Mail folder, I don't 'Delete' them into that folder, yet.

Once a week, I create a 'new folder' in my hierarchy. I go back and simply select all and drag ALL the Junk Mail notes into that new one. Then I delete this folder. It arrives in my trash/deleted items as a folder, and then I delete it again, this time it will go out permanently.

In the end, I still have a bunch of deleted notes, but only from personal contacts that I may wish to review. The Spam is gone for good.

This works well for me. I'd like to hear your approach.

Coop
 
I use Gmail, almost unlimited online storage of all emails, good spam filter and folder options. You can search entire mailbox for key words or if you have it in a folder you can find it easily. Mark your email with name of sender or org.

I get about 300 spams a day, but they are not a problem, they are in the spam folder, occasionally I will check folder for mis marked emails, but haven't found one yet. You can delete all with a click of a mouse, but only 30 days is kept. Deleted automatically after that. Any read mail that you delete is kept in a deleted folder and held for 30 days, if you accidently delete one, it is there until you delete or 30 days goes by.

Try it, you will like it.

Jim
 
I got a little lost in your process, but it sounds overly complicated. You can permanently delete items and bypass the Deleted Items bin. On a PC you just hit SHIFT+DEL. I don't know what it is for a Mac, but I would assume the same or similar. That way you don't have to create all sorts of extra directories for shuffling around: just permanently delete your SPAM in the first place.

On a side note, I never understood people who keep stuff in their Deleted Items for later review. Nothing personal: I see a lot of people do it. I just don't get it: too easy for that info to get lost. It would seem better to create some sort of archive or personal folder if you want to keep stuff for later review but get it out of your inbox. But I guess that's another matter.

In terms of SPAM management, I use Comcast and GMail for email and Thunderbird as my desktop app. I get close to no SPAM in the first place since I don't sign up for lots of stuff. GMail is good about filtering and anything beyond that I mark as SPAM in Thunderbird so that it learns my preferences and then routes mail going forward.
 
I use Yahoo, it does an excellent job of filtering Spam into your "junk mail" folder. Every few days I just delete the contents; never look at the stuff.

If some bit of spam sneaks into my regular mailbox, I mark it as "spam" before deleting; again Yahoo seems to keep track pretty well. They do not count junk mail as part of your allowable total.
 
Thanks, guys. Not looking for another email with all the attendant notifications, etc. My Entourage does all of the sorting, searching and organizing like gmail. It just does it right here. No advantage for me to switch. (Jim as you mentioned, you get triple the Spam I do, and my email is posted on two internet sites. No advantage that I can see.)

ThinkOfTheChildren said:
I got a little lost in your process, but it sounds overly complicated. You can permanently delete items and bypass the Deleted Items bin. On a PC you just hit SHIFT+DEL. I don't know what it is for a Mac, but I would assume the same or similar. That way you don't have to create all sorts of extra directories for shuffling around: just permanently delete your SPAM in the first place.
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TOTC: Exactly why I remarked that I liked Outlook on my old PC. One of those conveniences that the MAC, for all it's glory, doesn't do. And so I move them away. My process takes me one minute per week. Not too hard.

Point of my post is not eliminating spam (which is next to impossible) but managing it, and also separating it from my legitimate contacts in the trash bin. And then again I could delete all my unwanted mail once a week and just grouse when I want to reconnect.... :p

Coop
 
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It may be the reason I get so much spam is the fact I do a LOT of online ordering for several different folks that do not use the internet. When ordering you always have to leave an address, and I am sure that my address is sold over and over again. It is not published on any web site, but with the ordering I do. It does create a lot of spam.

Just thought I would explain why I get so many.

At least that is why I THINK I get them.
Jim
 
Registered addresses = Spam? Maybe not.

I have (3) email addresses: One personal (which is also on my other job's website), one for my own SBC site, and one that I only use for online ordering and registrations.

The one that gets the least amount of spam (unsolicited emails) is the registration email account. I get 'legitimate' spam (solicitations from the parent company) on this account. Not much at all. Crazy, huh?

Thanks for your input.

Coop
 
You should look at using RULES to sort your mail. Once it's set up you don't have to much of anything. It's built into Entourage.

Oh and use ENKODER to conceal your emails on your website. Armoralleather uses it on their site.
 
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tedwca said:
You should look at using RULES to sort your mail. Once it's set up you don't have to much of anything. It's built into Entourage.
Click to expand...

Got that. Smart tip. Already did. My three emails go to separate folders.

Oh and use ENKODER to conceal your emails on your website. Armoralleather uses it on their site.
Click to expand...
Nice tip. I downloaded it. I'll read and try to use it. Thank you!

Coop
 
Coop right click on the spam folder and hit empty spam folder, deletes the spam bypassing the deleted items folder entirely.

Yes I use entourage.
 
65535 said:
Coop right click on the spam folder and hit empty spam folder, deletes the spam bypassing the deleted items folder entirely.

Yes I use entourage.
Click to expand...
Maybe that's why I have this workaround. I don't have that option. (ver. 11.4.0) See for yourself:

orig.png


No provision to eliminate entirely, and if I 'Move to Trash', or 'Delete', they clog up the Deleted folder.

Hmmmmm.....

Coop
 
Why not just create a folder called "Saved" or whatever and drag the ones you want to keep into that? That way what's in the Deleted folder is worthless and you can empty it whenever you want.
 
My computer skills are very limited, but I have had no spam and little junk mail for the last couple of months since the PC came back from my Tech. I am running Vista home premium, and AVG internet security suite and Avant as my browser. I also clear my cookies after each visit on the internet. So far so good.
 
BlackHills said:
Why not just create a folder called "Saved" or whatever and drag the ones you want to keep into that? That way what's in the Deleted folder is worthless and you can empty it whenever you want.
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He he he! Ya know, it would be the exact same thing.

Sometimes the plausible answers are so obvious, but I'm blinded. I think I will try THAT for a few weeks, and see how much time I spend shuffling comparatively. ;)

Coop
 
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