Sunday, July 1, 2012

Michael Tsai's Spam Sieve Solution

As the author of the Posts At Eventide blog and founder of the Braeburn Group of independent analysts, I use a number of different email addresses and a few of the addresses have wide Internet exposure. Spam is a problem. It's been a problem and will remain a problem for anyone engaging a large, global audience of readers in active and ongoing discussions.

To control spam I use Michael Tsai's SpamSieve. I've used SpamSieve since its initial commercial release years ago and I've used the product through each of its successive commercial iterations. I use the product because it works, works well and can be "trained" to meet the specific needs of each product user. SpamSieve uses a Bayesian approach to spam filtering and the more it's "trained" by the user the more accurately the product identifies spam messages.
Although SpamSieve is a Mac-only product, it will work in conjunction with a Mac to filter spam on iOS-based devices sharing access to email accounts. Instructions on setting up SpamSieve on a Mac to filter email traffic to all devices can be found at the SpamSieve site. Overnight and throughout the day SpamSieve filters all of the messages sent to my email accounts and moves suspected spam away from my inboxes and into designated spam folders.
Pictured below is screen shot of my Apple Mail menu and the contents of my color-coded SpamSieve folder. The colors reflect SpamSieve's spam probability rating for each piece of suspect email.


I've known Michael Tsai for the better part of twenty years. He holds a Master of Engineering, Computer Science degree from MIT. SpamSieve is his brainchild and as long as I've known him I've respected his work. The product's effectiveness evidences SpamSieve's smart design while its ease-of-use belies the sophistication that's brewed into this comprehensive spam solution. SpamSieve differentiates between email accounts and factors address traffic and incidences of spam on each email account in determining the mail it filters.
The more a user works with SpamSieve, the more the product responds to the user's spam classification preferences. Pictured below is a screen shot of Apple Mail's message menu with SpamSieve's added options to manage and classify messages. When a message is reclassified as spam it's automatically moved from your inbox to a spam folder. 


SpamSieve is my recommended solution for active professionals seeking a comprehensive spam solution that can be tailored by each user to meet their individual needs. It's available for download for only $30. A Family Pack license is $48 and a free trial version is also available at the SpamSieve website.

Robert Paul Leitao